The following articles were included in our Exchange Messaging Outlook (EMO) newsletter published on January 6, 2022.
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Today's Highlights
- Search issues in Outlook
- Two copies of every message?
- What’s the difference between Office 2021 and Office 365?
Search issues in Outlook
I’m seeing a few different issues with search.
The newest problem: no results after installing a Windows update (KB5008212).
To work around the problem until it is fixed, you need to switch to the old, slow Outlook search, which is enabled by a registry key.
The registry key will “fix” all of the search problems, but Outlook searches will be slower.
- Press Windows key + R to open the Run command.
- Type regedit, and then click OK to open the registry editor.
- Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Policies > Microsoft> Windows
- Click Edit > New > Key and name the new key Windows Search.
- Right-click on the new key and choose New > DWORD.
- Type PreventIndexingOutlook as the name of the DWORD
- Right-click on PreventIndexingOutlook, and then click Modify.
- In the Value data box, type 1 to enable the registry entry, and then click OK.
- Exit Registry Editor, and then restart Outlook.
If you upgrade to Windows 11, Outlook searches may be slow or incomplete. This is because the search index was deleted with the upgrade and Windows 11 needs to index everything. If it’s taking too long to finish the indexing and you need to search, remove Outlook from the indexing options or set the registry key.
To remove Outlook from being indexed: Close Outlook. Open Control Panel and find Indexing Options. Click Modify then uncheck "Microsoft Office Outlook". You’ll lose the predefined search options (category, sent to, unread, etc) but can type it in: isread:no, categories:(Business), from:john, etc.
Don't forget to re-enable indexing when you have time to wait for Outlook to be indexed.
Another search issue – find Related searches not working properly - is now fixed. Anyone still having problems needs to check for updates then restart Outlook.
Two copies of every message?
When the first user came to me with a complaint that he had two of every message in his inbox but one message had only a name and won’t not open, I was surprised because I thought *everyone* knew sorting by name or subject grouped the messages and added a group header.
Then another person asked the same question. And another. And another... clearly, my assumption was wrong.
The cause: the user changed the sort order of the folder.
The solution: click on the filter button at the top of the message list and change the sort back to Date. In Outlook for Windows, you can also reset the view to restore the default sort order.
What’s the difference between Office 2021 and Office 365?
A user currently has Office 365 and his subscription is up for renewal. He was wondering if he should “upgrade” to Office 2021.
Office 2021 is the perpetual license, one time purchase version of Office. It doesn’t get new features, only security updates and bug fixes. It is licensed for a single computer. It's basically a build of Office 365 from last spring.
Office 365 is the newest most-up-to-date version. It gets new features regularly and has some features not found in the perpetual versions, such as AI-powered tools, such as Editor, PowerPoint Presenter Coach, Resume Assistant, and more. (Some of the features are nice, others might only be useful in a corporate environment.)
It can be installed on up to 5 computers and includes licenses for mobile devices (10” screens or larger). The Office 365 Family version can be shared with 5 family members but is not licensed for commercial use.
The Office 365 subscriptions include 1TB OneDrive (plus Skype calling minutes and other features many people do not use).
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Leave suggestions and feedback for Outlook and Outlook.com in the Microsoft Feedback portal. Most, if not all, of the other Office applications are also available in the Feedback Portal