After adjusting your toolbars as you like them, you may discover that Outlook doesn't remember their position the next time you open it. This is caused by add-ins that set a specific position for their toolbar or don't properly handle toolbars. It is the result of bad toolbar design on the part of the add-in developer.
Add-ins known to cause problems include:
- Business Contact Manager (BCM)
- Adobe Acrobat Outlook add-in
Outlook does not have a "lock toolbar" feature, leaving your only choices to disabling the toolbar that is causing them to move or using the default toolbar layout.
Reset Toolbar configuration
Outlook stores toolbar information in a file called outcmd.dat. You can delete or rename this file to reset your toolbars to the default configuration and Outlook will recreate it. If you haven't customized any toolbars, outcmd.dat won't exist.
In Windows XP or Windows 2000, outcmd.dat is located at C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook. In Windows 7 or Vista, look for outcmd.dat at C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Outlook. These folders are hidden, so you either need to paste the path into Windows Explorer (changing the username) or change the Windows Explorer options to show hidden files and folders.
Using Word as your Editor:
The toolbars shown when you compose a new message using Microsoft Word as the editor are stored in Word's normal.dot template. If you change a setting or display a toolbar while using Word, that setting or toolbar will be visible when composing new email too.
Follow the directions at Removing the Acrobat Toolbar from Outlook to hide or disable the Acrobat add-in.
Jacob says
You're the best! First person I found to actually provide the pathname to outcmd.dat. Deleting this worked perfectly. Thank you
Frustrated with IE9 says
Well, of course then the problem would go away! It's the Roboform toolbar that takes the extra line of real estate. I keep moving it to share a line, LOCK, and then IE9 keeps moving it back to its own line.
If I disable it, my question is moot, making your suggestion a bit of a "duh."
Diane Poremsky says
Well, I wasn't sure it was the cause of the problem. Since it is, you may need to keep it on a separate line. IE is not my specialty and the solutions for it are probably different than in Outlook.
Frustrated with IE9 says
I meant to say "maximize screen real estate." :)
Frustrated with IE9 says
Hi Diane. Thanks for the quick reply. My only active add-in is Roboform 6.10.2. I disabled all other add-ins because IE9 was constantly crashing. I even disabled the Adobe PDF add-in.
Roboform has a toolbar setting that I've tried adjusting but that didn't solve the problem. In Roboform, Options, Toolbar, I found "Automatically enforce Whole Line toolbar setting." I unchecked that box to see if that was the culprit. But whether checked or unchecked, every time a new IE9 tab is opened, or IE9 re-opened, the Roboform toolbar moves to its own line.
So I constantly have to unlock the IE toolbar, move the Roboform toolbar up next to the menu bar (to conserve screen real estate), and then re-lock. I have to do it for each new tab and each time I open IE. Any idea why the "lock" setting isn't doing the trick?
Diane Poremsky says
disable RoboForm and see if the problem goes away.
Frustrated with IE9 says
Hi Diane. I'm having a similar dilemma with IE9 and can't find help on the web for this. Even after I set up my IE9 toolbar how I want it, ad click LOCK... if i open a new tab, it doesn't have those settings. And worse yet, if I close IE9 and re-open, it re-sets and loses the locked position.
Help?
Diane Poremsky says
The usual cause of toolbars not sticking is addins - what addins are installed in IE? I know skype adds a button, that would be my first suspect.
Oli says
Thank you this worked!!!! (Deleting outcmd.dat)
Norm Nelson says
This doesnt help me! I dont want to buy a program to lock my toolbar. (edited by the admin for seriously foul and uncalled for language)
Diane Poremsky says
To the best of my knowledge, there is no program for sale that will lock the toolbar, so even if you wanted to buy a program, you can't. Your only options are to disable the addin that is causing the toolbars to shift or stick with the default layout.
Because Outlook 2010's ribbon is not subject to the problem, I don't expect a fix from Microsoft or a locking tool from other vendors.