The following articles were included in our Exchange Messaging Outlook (EMO) newsletter published on January 18, 2024.
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Today's Highlights »
- Copilot Pro in Outlook
- Keeping messages unread
- Links in Outlook open in a sidebar in Edge
- Sync iCloud Calendar and Contacts in New Outlook
- Turn off the Calendar Peek
Copilot Pro in Outlook
Microsoft announced this week that Copilot Pro is available to Microsoft 365 business and consumer subscribers. It’s not cheap at $20 US a month, but people are buying it.
One of the most frequent questions is "how to make it work in Outlook".
It will only work in new Outlook for Windows and new Outlook for Mac desktop apps and only in the email account that has the subscription. (It works in Outlook on the web too.) It does not work in classic Outlook for Windows or Legacy Outlook for Mac.
If your Microsoft account address is not an outlook.com address (including Hotmail, Live, MSN), you won't have copilot in Outlook. If you have multiple accounts in Outlook, it will only be available in the mailbox that the subscription is linked to.
To use it in the other office apps, the only requirement is you need to be signed into the OneDrive app and Office using the account that has the subscription.
If you have a mix of personal and Microsoft 365 Work or School accounts signed into Office apps, you only need Copilot Pro on one account (unless you also want to use it with more than one account in Outlook). The Copilot account needs to listed in the menu when you click your avatar in the upper right corner of the office. It doesn't need to be the account shown on the title bar.
Microsoft article: Draft an email message with Copilot in Outlook
Microsoft’s announcement: Bringing the full power of Copilot to more people and businesses - The Official Microsoft Blog
To subscribe to Copilot pro: Copilot Pro Plan & Pricing - Latest AI Models, Chat Tool & Assistant | Microsoft Store
For the most up-to-date information, see:
Keeping messages unread
The problem: Outlook is installed on desktop computer and mobile phone. User reads mail on the phone but wants it left unread for when he’s at his desktop computer.
This is a common question from users who recently switched from POP3 accounts to either IMAP or Outlook.com / Microsoft Exchange accounts.
With IMAP and Exchange accounts, when a message is marked read on a mobile phone, the change syncs to the server and down to the desktop. The message appears as read on all devices that open the mailbox.
While you can change the mark as read options in Outlook desktop so messages are not marked as read unless you open in a new window or reply, this is not an option in Outlook mobile.
The workaround: set Swipe to change the read status to unread.
The Swipe setting is on the Settings page of the Outlook mobile app, below the list of accounts.
To change when classic Outlook marks a message read, open File > Options > Advanced. Click the Reading Pane button at the top of the dialog.
My preference is to uncheck both “Mark items as read when viewed in the Reading Pane” and “Mark item as read when selection changes” so nothing is marked read automatically. Messages are only marked read when I reply or forward, or open the message in a new window. I can manually mark messages read using Ctrl+Q or by clicking in the vertical bar on the left that identifies unread messages.
In new Outlook or Outlook on the web, to change when messages are read, switch to the View tab and open View settings > Mail > Messages Handling. (I use Don't automatically mark items as read.)
In Outlook for Mac, change the mark as read setting in Outlook app menu > Settings > Reading.
For current information and screenshots, see
Links in Outlook open in a sidebar in Edge
A user had a question about Outlook and Edge:
"I use Microsoft 365 Personal on a Windows 11 PC. I have my Outlook.com account in Outlook. When I click on a link, it opens in Edge, with the message in a sidebar. How do I prevent the Edge sidebar from opening?"
Go to edge://settings/sidebar, or if you prefer navigating with menus, click on the three-dots in the top-right corner of Edge and choose Settings near the bottom of the menu.
Select Sidebar on the left. This page has the options for the right sidebar – turn it off or change which apps are shown on it.
Under App and notification settings, select Outlook from the list of apps and move the slider to the left to turn it off.
If Edge is not your default browser and classic Outlook is opening links in Edge instead of your preferred browser, change this in File > Options > Advanced. Near the top is “Open hyperlinks from Outlook in”. Select Default browser.
For screenshots and the most up-to-date information, see
Sync iCloud Calendar and Contacts in New Outlook
Microsoft is pushing everyone to try the new Outlook, including classic Outlook users.
In classic Outlook, they use the iCloud add-in to sync calendar and contacts but can't figure out where to find their calendar and contacts or how to enable the iCloud add-in.
The good news: you do not need to use an add-in to sync iCloud calendar and contacts to new Outlook. You just need to add the iCloud account to Outlook. Note: you’ll need an app password, which you can get at https://appleid.apple.com/account/manage
If your Apple ID is not an iCloud, mac.com, or me.com address, you will need to add an iCloud alias to the account and use that address to add the account to Outlook. Add the alias in Manage Apple ID > Email & Phone Numbers.
Note: new Outlook does not support COM add-ins, only Office add-ins that are added from the Office store. These add-ins don’t have as many features as COM add-ins for classic Outlook but you only need to enable the add-in once and it will be available in Outlook on the web, classic Outlook, new Outlook, Outlook for mac and a few are available in Outlook mobile. When you add the account to Outlook, the app is added too.
Turn off the Calendar Peek
Are you annoyed by the little popups that fly out when you move the mouse over the Calendar, Contacts, and Tasks buttons in classic Outlook’s vertical side bar?
You can turn them off… right click on the icon and select Show the Peek on Hover to remove the checkmark.
New & Updated Outlook Support Articles
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Outlook starts up slowly and hangs at splash screen when REST to MAPI is unexpectedly toggled
Teams Meeting add-in is missing in Outlook Desktop after updating to New Teams
Other Resources
Draft an email message with Copilot in Outlook
Adding iCloud+ Custom domains to Outlook
How to add an iCloud+ custom domain address to classic Outlook for Windows,