The following articles were included in our Exchange Messaging Outlook (EMO) newsletter published on October 10, 2024.
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Today's Highlights »
- Autocorrect Settings in New Outlook
- Signatures in New Outlook
- Keeping Closed Emails Accounts in Outlook
Autocorrect Settings in New Outlook
The new Outlook app (and Outlook on the web) uses Microsoft editor for spelling and autocorrect and the settings for it are in the Editor settings, not in new Outlook’s Settings.
As common with Microsoft apps, there is more than one way to access settings and this is true for the Microsoft Editor Settings dialog.
Method 1: Click on a misspelled word, then click the Editor icon, the Editor panel opens. Click the “Customize your Editor” button at the bottom of the Editor panel to open the Microsoft Editor Settings dialog.
Method 2: Look on the Options tab (with a message open); the Editor icon is the first button on the left in both the Simplified ribbon and Classic (full sized) ribbon. Click the Editor button to expand it then click on Editor Settings.
The Open Editor command on the Editor menu opens the Editor panel on the right of the email and displays the corrections and suggestions for the message you’re composing. Click the “Customize your Editor” button.
If you have “Show suggestions count” enabled (the last item in the Editor menu will be “Hide suggestions count” when show suggestions is enabled.) Show suggestions adds an icon in the lower right corner of the message form with a number in it. The number indications the number of suggestions the Editor has for the current message. Click it to open the Editor panel then click the “Customize your Editor” button.
In the Microsoft Editor Settings dialog, you can turn Text predictions off (or on), enable or disable auto correct and auto capitalization. This is also where you add or remove additional spellcheck languages, and enable (or disable) spelling, grammar and various refinements.
Other versions: In classic Outlook, spell check and auto correct settings are in File > Options > Mail > Editor Options button. The Editor options dialog is slightly different if you open it from an open message form instead of from the main Outlook window but both dialogs have the same options.
In Outlook for Mac, spell check and auto correct settings are in the Settings (formerly Preferences) dialog.
Signatures in New Outlook
Microsoft keeps moving things around in new Outlook and Outlook on the web and over the last couple of weeks, users said they couldn’t find where to create signatures in Outlook.
The current location is in View tab > View settings > Accounts > Signatures.
If you are using new Outlook and have multiple accounts, select the account you want to create the signature for at the top, before adding the signature.
Unlike in classic Outlook, you cannot share signatures between accounts in new Outlook. If you want to use the same signature in more than one account, you’ll need to copy and paste it into a signature for each additional account.
Tip for Classic Outlook; Note that when syncing signatures to the cloud in classic Outlook, signatures can’t be shared between accounts but if you have signatures stored on the computer, they will be available to insert manually in any email from any account.
More information on roaming signatures (and registry keys to disable roaming signatures) in classic Outlook is here: Roaming Signatures in Microsoft 365
Also note: there was a bug that caused cloud signatures to be deleted when classic Outlook synced, the signatures were deleted. This is fixed in the Beta channel and other channels will receive the update in November. More information: Signatures are not syncing between Outlook Desktop and Outlook Web App
Keeping Closed Emails Accounts in Outlook
A fairly common question from users is how to prevent Outlook from bringing up the sign in dialog after an email account is closed but they are not ready to remove it from Outlook because they want to retain the email.
POP accounts are easy to fix: remove the account from File > Account Settings > Account Settings > Email tab. This only removes the now-defunct email account but leaves the data file.
Exchange accounts don't use send and receive settings, so disabling the account in Send and Receive Settings won’t work. You’ll need to export the mailbox to a PST, add the PST to your profile and remove the mailbox from your profile to get rid of the password dialog.
IMAP accounts can be removed from Send and Receive Settings in Send/Receive settings (Ctrl+Alt+S). Select the send and receive group at the top then click Edit. Select the account and uncheck the option to re” Include the selected account in this group”. The only issue with IMAP accounts is that opening a folder in that mailbox will attempt to sync it. The solution: export the mailbox to a PST file then remove the account and add the PST file to your profile.
Note that after exporting IMAP accounts, you may need to change the view on the folders to see the messages. I have a script that will fix it. For more information and the script, visit Fix the Outlook Folder Type after Exporting an IMAP Account
If you are using new Outlook, you are stuck as you can't currently export mailboxes in the new app.
In Outlook for Mac, you need to export the mail to an OLM file or move the mail to the On My Computer folders then remove the account.
New & Updated Outlook Support Articles
Classic Outlook reminders dialog not drawing properly and Dismiss button missing
Outlook Desktop is unable to apply labels with encryption
Signatures are not syncing between Outlook Desktop and Outlook Web App
Unable to add files as an attachment to emails in Outlook for Mac
Microsoft 365 Roadmap
Outlook: Org Explorer available for all M365 commercial users
Org Explorer for Outlook helps you to visualize and explore your company’s internal structure, work teams, and individual roles. This feature will be available in Outlook for all M365 enterprise users, including Microsoft Viva users. GA date: November CY2024
Outlook: Choose between Copilot Business Chat with web or work grounding
In Outlook for iOS and Android, you will soon be able to choose whether Microsoft 365 Copilot Business Chat uses Microsoft 365 Graph (work) or Web grounding via a Work/Web toggle within the chat interface, just like you can at microsoft365.com/chat. Web grounding will be available for all commercial Microsoft 365 customers, while Graph grounding will require a Copilot for Microsoft 365 license. GA date: November CY2024
Outlook: New Modern Themes
Adding four new themes to Outlook for Windows and the Outlook Web App. These themes will bring more personalization and expressiveness to your email client. GA date: November CY2024
Outlook: People module improvements on new Outlook for Windows
In the new Outlook for Windows, the people module offers a streamlined contacts interface with a single view of each person, automatically linking duplicates and enriching them with organizational profiles. GA date: February CY2025
Other Resources
Fixes or workarounds for recent issues on Outlook.com
Make your content accessible to everyone
Find info about accessibility in the Microsoft 365 products and tools to make your content accessible for people with disabilities.
Updates to High Volume Email (HVE) Public Preview
High Volume Email (HVE) for Microsoft 365 allows customers to send large volumes of email, primarily to internal recipients without any recipient rate limits at GA (the public preview has a limit of 100,000 recipients per day per tenant).HVE is a companion feature to Azure Communication Services (ACS) for email , which offers high-volume transactional, bulk, and marketing emails to external recipients.