Outlook 365: Folder sorting resets automatically to A–Z
Outlook 365 – Folder sorting resets automatically Environment: - Outlook desktop app (Microsoft 365) - Exchange / Office 365 mailbox - Dark mode enabled - Multiple shared mailboxes Problem description: Outlook automatically changes the folder sorting/display settings without user action. The option “Sort subfolders A to Z” reactivates randomly during the day. The configured sorting (e.g., Received – Descending) resets several times per day. In View Settings, the sorting remains configured correctly, but visually Outlook displays a different order. The issue occurs across multiple folders (Inbox, shared mailboxes). Actions already taken: - Verified and modified sorting via View > View Settings > Sort. - Applied the same view to multiple folders. - Confirmed that the settings remain saved correctly. - Issue persists: the parameter stays the same, but Outlook displays mails differently after refresh. Possible causes considered: 1. Outlook bug – display refresh resets the sorting visually even though settings remain unchanged. 2. Corrupted Outlook views – local view definition might be corrupted (outlook.exe /cleanviews). 3. Outlook add-in – third-party add-in may override sorting. 4. Exchange synchronization – server-side policy may enforce default sorting on shared mailboxes. 5. Recent Microsoft 365 updates – some users have reported similar issues in 2025 (views automatically resetting). Request: - Confirm whether this is a known Outlook 365 bug related to automatic resetting of folder views/sorting. - Provide solution or patch/workaround. - Official Microsoft recommendations to prevent Outlook from reverting to A → Z sorting automatically.
Outlook 2016/2021 remains running after CreateObject() from VBA in Version 2412 and later
Hi everyone, I’d like to report a behavior change that affects Outlook (Classic) in Office 2016 and 2021, starting from Version 2412 (Build 16.0.18324.20168). We use VBA to check whether Outlook is installed and configured for sending/receiving mail. We do this at startup of MS Access (2016, 2021 and 365) apps on Windows 11, but I guess this will be the same out of Excel, Word,... . The check is simple and basically does nothing like this: Dim objOutlook As Object On Error Resume Next Set objOutlook = GetObject(, "Outlook.Application") If objOutlook Is Nothing Then bolOutlookIsThere = False Else bolOutlookIsThere = True Set objOutlook = Nothing End If On Error Goto 0 In Build 16.0.18227.20162 (Version 2411) and in Microsoft 365 Outlook, this results in no lasting Outlook process - the instance is released properly. However, starting with Version 2412, this same code causes OUTLOOK.EXE to remain running in Task Manager after execution. The System tray shows up a grayed-out outlook symbol saying "outlook is going to be closed" --- forever. If Outlook had been started manually before running this code, everything works fine, that is: the extra instance will be released and a subsequent manually closing of Outlook will remove the whole. This causes problems in scripts and services that expect to perform a "clean" check without side effects. This same COM automation pattern works exactly as expected with both Excel and Word - they terminate automatically when the last object reference is released (via Set = Nothing), assuming they were not already running. Outlook, however, remains running in memory starting with Version 2412, even though no UI is shown and all references are cleared. This strongly suggests that Outlook now maintains additional internal session state or background services that prevent the process from terminating - unlike other Office applications. Confirmed behavior: Office 2016/2021, Version 2412+ -> OUTLOOK.EXE remains in memory. Office 2016/2021, Version 2411 -> no leftover process. Microsoft 365 Outlook -> behaves as expected. Excel, Word -> behave as expected Can anyone from Microsoft confirm whether this is an intentional change in COM/session behavior (possibly due to caching or MAPI preloading)? If so, is there a recommended workaround for non-interactive detection of Outlook availability? Is anyone else able to duplicate this behavior and/or able to find a workaround (other than downgrading Office to Version 2411)? Thanks in advance!
Migrated users in a new MS Tenant have old calendar invites from previous tenant users
Good afternoon. We recently moved a group of users to a new Microsoft tenant. Before the migration, some users had sent out meeting invitations while using the old tenant. Now that they’ve transitioned to the new tenant, they were able to remove those meetings from their Outlook client. However, the attendees who received those invitations still see the meetings in their calendars I have tried to use the command "Remove-CalendarEvents" but because the original account was used to create the invites under the old tenant, the command cannot find that email address in the new tenant. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Old Outlook image on external Microsoft sites
An old Outlook profile photo persists when I create accounts on sites outside of Microsoft. I've updated my profile photo several times, but when I create an account, only providing my email address, sites that use a Microsoft photo associate an old photo of me that I'm embarrassed to see. One example was when I created my profile on ChatGPT, where the photo used there is this old photo. I've tried contacting Microsoft support several times, but they haven't answered my question. They always instruct me to update my profile photo, but I've had this problem for eight years, and it's never been resolved.
How do I stop Copilot from adding to my Outlook?
I'm using Outlook Classic, and every day Copilot adds itself to my Outlook. I right-click and select uninstall, but the next day it comes right back. I do not want Copilot. How do I stop Copilot from adding to my Outlook. I've included screenshots to see what I'm talking about. Version: Microsoft® Outlook® for Microsoft 365 MSO (Version 2504 Build 16.0.18730.20122) 64-bitConcern Regarding "Automatically Deleted Without Read" Notifications
I have recently observed that emails I send—even to new recipients—consistently show as "Automatically Deleted Without Read" when I enable Delivery and Read Notifications in Outlook. While delivery is succeeding, the read receipt always indicates the email was deleted without being opened. This is particularly concerning because I use this account exclusively for job applications, and I need to ensure my emails are reaching and being considered by hiring teams. Has anyone encountered this issue before, and are there potential solutions or settings that could be adjusted to prevent this? I am posting this to the Microsoft Outlook Community to seek insights. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Is MS Places available on Outlook Mac?
Hi there, one of our Mac Users has a problem adding MS Places on the left app bar in Outlook. However, in the MS Teams App he can add it just fine. What could the issue be? MS Places is seemingly still in PRE Phase, is it even currently available for Outlook on Mac? Thanks in advance!Outlook not parsing ics invites with rrule BYMONTHDAY=-1 or BYSETPOS=-1 properly
Current Behavior When an ics event is attached or imported as a file, and the rrule contains either BYMONTHDAY=-1 or BYSETPOS=-1, it is not properly converted to the outlook/exchange meeting type and the ics attachment will read as "not supported calendar message". It is possible to work around this by appending an additional semicolon to any property in the rrule string prior to the BYMONTHDAY=-1 or BYSETPOS=-1. However, the workaround above is actually syntactically invalid. Sending .ics invites that contain an rrule with this workaround that are opened in any application other than outlook would fail to be processed. Reproduction environment MacOS Sequoia 15.3.2 (24D81). definitely doesn't matter. using outlook for mac desktop app, outlook web app Reproduction steps See the attached ics invites - note the only difference is the additional semicolon before BYMONTHDAY in the second invite. Save these as files with the .ics extension, and then open them with outlook. Invalid invite - an event that repeats monthly on the last day of the month starting on May 31st for two months. BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 CALSCALE:GREGORIAN PRODID:adamgibbons/ics METHOD:REQUEST X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VEVENT UID:726df22a-cc8d-4276-9be9-236f4af16450 SUMMARY:Reserved by user DTSTAMP:20260413T225217Z DTSTART:20260531T050000Z DTEND:20260531T060000Z SEQUENCE:0 DESCRIPTION:hi LOCATION:hi STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES: TRANSP:TRANSPARENT X-MICROSOFT-CDO-BUSYSTATUS:FREE ATTENDEE;ROLE="REQ-PARTICIPANT";CN="user":mailto:user@example .com RRULE:FREQ=MONTHLY;INTERVAL=1;COUNT=2;DTSTART=20260531T050000 Z;BYMONTHDAY=-1; END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR Valid invite - same event but with an additional ; before BYMONTHDAY: BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 CALSCALE:GREGORIAN PRODID:adamgibbons/ics METHOD:REQUEST X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VEVENT UID:726df22a-cc8d-4276-9be9-236f4af16450 SUMMARY:Reserved by user DTSTAMP:20260413T225217Z DTSTART:20260531T050000Z DTEND:20260531T060000Z SEQUENCE:0 DESCRIPTION:hi LOCATION:hi STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES: TRANSP:TRANSPARENT X-MICROSOFT-CDO-BUSYSTATUS:FREE ATTENDEE;ROLE="REQ-PARTICIPANT";CN="user":mailto:user@example .com RRULE:FREQ=MONTHLY;INTERVAL=1;COUNT=2;DTSTART=20260531T050000 Z;;BYMONTHDAY=-1; END:VEVENT END:VCALENDARQuick Templates for Replies in Outlook
It would be incredibly useful to have a feature in Outlook that allows users to easily insert saved replies or text snippets with a simple keyboard shortcut or dropdown menu. Key Ideas: Create and manage a list of reusable response templates Assign keyboard shortcuts or shortcut phrases to insert them quickly Support for both new emails and replies/forwards Great for customer service, internal approvals, or common responses
