Volume 29 Issue 34

Issue Date: November 21, 2024 « Previous Issue | Next Issue »

The following articles were included in our Exchange Messaging Outlook (EMO) newsletter published on November 21, 2024.

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There will not be an Exchange Messaging Outlook issue next week as it is the US Thanksgiving holiday. If you are traveling over the holiday, safe travels!

Availability Icons in Outlook

A user wondered why there was an X inside a circle next to has name in the To field on messages in the Inbox. He said he is not working offline and couldn’t get the icon to change.

The icons that display next to the sender or recipients’ names in the message header area in the mailbox are the presence icons from Teams. The X icon is displayed when you set Teams to show your availability to Appear offline or are not signed into Teams.

Available and Busy are set automatically based on your meetings on the calendar, while the option to Appear away and Do not disturb are set manually. These are set in Teams. Click on your name or picture to change your availability.

Uninstall New Outlook?

While there is no official way to remove new Outlook, if you aren’t using it or Windows Mail, you can uninstall it and unpin all shortcuts for it (so you don't accidently open it).

If you want to use Windows Mail, some users report the following steps stop the switch to new Outlook. Note: I have not tried these steps. I use classic Outlook as my main email client and have new Outlook pinned to the task bar so I can use it too (I often have both open at the same time).

From the thread "How do you permanently turn off new outlook?" in the Microsoft Answers community

1. Let Outlook(new) install itself
2. Go to C:\Program Files\WindowsApps (It's a hidden folder.)
3. Look for a folder named Microsoft.Outlook.something
My Tip: you can quickly open the new Outlook app folder in file Explorer using the following PowerShell command, then click on WindowsApps in the address bar to go back one level.
Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.OutlookForWindows | Select-Object -ExpandProperty InstallLocation | Invoke-Item
4. Right click > Properties > Security > Special. Give yourself full access to the folder.
5. Delete the folder
This will leave an installed but broken Outlook(new) app in your start menu. Don't uninstall it!
This broken installation can't run, thus it won't take over from Windows Mail, old Outlook, or anything else you wish to use.

If you use classic Outlook ("old Outlook"), you can add a registry key to remove the Try new Outlook switch from Outlook. Instructions and a ready to use registry key are here: Use Classic Outlook, not New Outlook

Remove or Change RE: and FWD: Prefixes

I have a new macro to change (or remove) the prefix on messages you reply or forward in classic Outlook. This is most useful when you respond to messages sent by users using a different email clients or Windows / email language, where the Reply and Forward prefixes are different, such as AW: instead of RE: (RE: instead of AW.) It can also be used to remove or change other prefixes, such as External:.

It’s an Application_ItemSend macro and the prefix is changed after you click the Send button.

Get the code at Remove or Change RE: and FWD: Prefixes

oAuth2 and Yahoo-hosted Email

Classic Outlook supports oAuth2 with Yahoo accounts, bringing up the Yahoo sign in page. If you get the standard Outlook password dialog, you need to use an app password.

However, not all Yahoo-hosted accounts (such as Cox) will trigger the Yahoo sign in page in classic Outlook.

If you want to use oAuth2 instead of an app password with a Yahoo-hosted account, try this:

Enter a fake Yahoo address. When the yahoo sign in screen comes up, enter your correct address and password. It should authenticate you but not add the account to Outlook and loop back to asking you to sign in. Quit the Add account dialog.

Re-open the Add account dialog and enter your correct address. Choose Advanced options then manual setup option. Choose IMAP. When it fails, check the account settings and update the server names to use the yahoo mail server and try again. Because the authentication is saved in the registry by Outlook, the authentication from the previous attempt allows Outlook to set up the account without requiring an app password.