2021 Outlook Email Navigation Pane on left interfering with email flow, how do I remove or move??

Blackberry Designs 41

We read right to left and as I am in my email many times a day the new navigation pane on the left of my Outlook email is distracting to work with. It is interfering with my daily work flow of over 500 emails. How do I remove, or move these files from my Outlook/email account?

Machia, Tina 51 Reputation points

2021-10-07T17:53:40.523+00:00

I'm having the same problem, but it happened when I downloaded from the "coming soon, try it now" button, top right of the outlook screen. So I believe it's linked to the new update coming out for Microsoft 11, and this is in Outlook on my PC.

I don't want to know how to move things up and down in the navigation bar, I want to move the whole bar from the left side where it went when I downloaded the "coming soon, try it now button", back to where it was at the bottom under my inboxes.

I really don't care what's in the navigation bar, it's where it is that's bothering me!
Byron Simmonds 26 Reputation points

2022-03-09T10:06:46.017+00:00

Same thing just happened to me. MS needs to fix this now!
Goldhawk / Trinsyc Strategic 41 Reputation points

2022-03-09T14:48:37.227+00:00

I too am having this exact same problem. The navigation bar now appears vertically on the left side of the screen. It used to be on the bottom and this was a much better location for me. I'm at a loss regarding how to move/change it. Any suggestions would be welcome.
Daniel G 31 Reputation points

2022-03-10T08:00:07.057+00:00

Same thing here. The navigation bar has moved from below the folders to the left of everything else. It can't be moved or removed. The old position was perfect and did not take focus or space from my workflow.

The settings for the navigation bar below Advanced > Navigation does not make sense for the new position and layout either and the checkbox Compact Navigation is grayed out.

And why are there even three overflow dots in the new navigation bar when there is so much space?
BlackBeard 21 Reputation points

2022-03-10T17:49:53.75+00:00

I am suddenly having this same problem and complaint, and it's not about the folders its about the navigation icons that were previously out of the way and using very little space at the bottom of the screen, but are now using a big chunk of my horizontal screen real estate. I cant' find any way of turning it off or to permanently put it back like it was.

Microsoft, please put it back like it was. Stop using up our precious screen real state on fluff.
Galen O 1 Reputation point

2022-03-11T18:57:46.317+00:00

Same issue for me as well. Happened after applying the Version 2202 Build 14931.20132 update. Can find no way to move the navigation bar to the bottom of the screen where it was before. Turning off the Folder Pane does not affect the Navigation bar. Changing the number of Visible Items (File/Options/Advanced/Outlook Panes/Navigation/Navigation Options does not impact the number of Visible Items in the Navigation Bar (even though there is a screen height of room. . .).
Ian 11 Reputation points

2022-03-14T19:31:50.33+00:00

found a solution in another forum. https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook_com/forum/all/how-do-i-move-email-calendar-people-icons-back-to/6dd0ded4-7a9e-4d0a-aa6f-1870e0ef8ac1?page=18

basically restart Outlook in Safe mode and then reopen normally. From what other people have said it may become a new "Feature"

"
Guys, this feature drove me also crazy but I did what @AKSNC30 wrote BUT I had NOT the possibility to unclick the "Coming Soon" feature in the normal or safe Outlook.

What I did:

1) Closed MS Outlook

2) run with WIN+R (Windows button + R) and typed outlook.exe /safe (there must be a space between "exe" and "/safe"

( 3) if there is no feature for "Coming soon" - just close safe Outlook)

4) closed the "Safe Outlook"

5) reopened normal Outlook

and all was again in place (nav bar under e-mail folders). So I don't really know but Microsoft is doing some stuff without even the possibility to revert it back ... and we pay for this ...

Cheers,

Vik"
Hal Diggs 1 Reputation point

2022-03-29T14:38:57.183+00:00

this Coming-Soon feature sucked. It was very tough to revert it. Now I have to have Coming-Soon turned off... meaning I cannot participate as an insider.
Matt Watson 6 Reputation points

2022-03-31T17:49:37.713+00:00

Thank you!
FAISAL GILL 6 Reputation points

2022-04-05T15:00:57.86+00:00

i had the same problem, for the past 5 days, it drove me crazy trying to fix it, i just fixed it while reading through here. solution: turn off "coming soon" on the top right corner of your outlook, click off outlook and reboot outlook. when it comes back again the navigation pane will be in the bottom position. it worked for me, i hope it works for you guys too
Edward J Gerety III 1 Reputation point

2022-04-11T13:08:03.75+00:00

Thank you for putting this out here, as I would never think that "COMING SOON" button would cause such issues.!

Anyone have an Outlook replacement? I am so tired of Microsoft.
Edward J Gerety III 1 Reputation point

2022-04-11T13:08:12.287+00:00

Thank you for putting this out here, as I would never think that "COMING SOON" button would cause such issues.!

Anyone have an Outlook replacement? I am so tired of Microsoft.
Andrew M 1 Reputation point

2022-04-14T01:35:55.937+00:00

Thanks for this, I didn't have coming soon turned on, turned out I just needed to toggle it on and then off again, rebooting outlook each time and then the navigation pane was restored.
Lynne Simpson 1 Reputation point

2022-04-21T14:35:22.917+00:00

This method has not worked for me :( Really hate all the junk appearing in the app title bar and things being repositioned and not being able to change them to suit me!! Like others have said, the navigation down the left-hand side is very distracting and takes up too much room. Maybe Microsoft can change it to be collapseable?
Larry Mandelberg 6 Reputation points

2022-05-02T02:07:15.957+00:00

I've been fighting with this issue for days now, struggling to figure out how to even ask how to fix it!. The post by "IanRoberts-2138 · Mar 14 2022 at 12:31 PM" below did the trick. Short form - close outlook, open it in safe more, close it, open it normally and the app icon task bar will be back under the left column of information.

THANK YOU IanRoberts-2138 · Mar 14 2022 at 12:31 PM
Steve Clancy 1 Reputation point

2022-07-17T19:22:03.81+00:00

Once again, Microsoft changing things that don't need fixing! How can a such a clueless bunch keep in business? Answer: Because most of us don't any choice but to use their products,.
Steve Clancy 1 Reputation point

2022-07-17T19:22:16.73+00:00

Once again, Microsoft changing things that don't need fixing! How can a such a clueless bunch keep in business? Answer: Because most of us don't any choice but to use their products,.
Fred A 1 Reputation point

2022-08-09T15:18:09.157+00:00

I know this is an older post but hopefully this helps someone else with the same problem. Sorry, I don't know how to get back to the wrong view to replicate. I do remember clicking somewhere in this view and seeing a "pin" icon. When I clicked on the pin it fixed it and reverted to showing all of the inboxes, folders, and my calendar, notes, etc across the bottom. Try to find the pin and see if this works.
Dale W 11 Reputation points

2022-08-16T07:53:36.607+00:00

Yes, as at August 2022 this is a forced change and I can't see how to move or remove. Microsoft, please give us an option to move this back the way it was or remove completely as it takes up far to much screen realestate!
Vincent Verbaeys 1 Reputation point

2022-08-17T13:54:30.467+00:00

Since last week i have this in my Outlook too. On a Surface this takes up precious screen estate. What is the whole idea behind this? Anyone has found a fix to disable this?
David OMg 11 Reputation points

2022-09-09T20:47:52.773+00:00

I FOUND A SOLUTION!!! This is not mine but I have tried it and it worked for me. I do not have admin on my work system and it still worked. I have not rebooted yet to see if it will persist without admin.

The site I found the solution on is: https://www.extendoffice.com/documents/outlook/7190-outlook-move-navigation-bar-left-to-bottom.html

If this removes the link or you don't want to go, here is the short steps summary:

1) Open Regedit

2) Navigate to Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\ExperimentEcs\Overrides

3) If the string "Microsoft.Office.Outlook.Hub.HubBar"does not exist, create it by right clicking on Overrides in the left pane and selecting New->String Value

4) Paste "Microsoft.Office.Outlook.Hub.HubBar" in the new entry that appears in the right pane

5) Double-click the new name

6) Enter "False" in the Value data field.

7) Click OK

8) Close and restart Outlook

9) Voilà (pop culture reference, "which is short for, and then I found out")
Gavata Smith 1 Reputation point

2022-09-16T15:29:44.233+00:00

I cut off the “try it now” selection next to “coming soon”, restarted Outlook and IT WORKED!!!! yayyyyy!!!
Dale W 11 Reputation points

2022-09-19T00:02:22.303+00:00

THIS WORKED!! Thank you David! - Havent tried system restart yet though....
Martin Head 6 Reputation points

2022-12-14T16:28:11.953+00:00

For me this is the definitive answer! It worked perfectly! Thank you!!!
Andy Edeburn 6 Reputation points

2022-12-15T16:26:04.483+00:00

Edit the registry.

https://www.extendoffice.com/documents/outlook/7190-outlook-move-navigation-bar-left-to-bottom.html
Jonathan Y 5 Reputation points

2023-01-21T01:56:48.9533333+00:00

Microsoft.Office.Outlook.Hub.HubBar registry thing worked for me. That was SUPER annoying.

19 answers

Jade Liang-MSFT 9,956 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2021-03-11T09:29:37.89+00:00

Hi @Blackberry Designs ,

Welcome to our forum.

What's the specific version of your Outlook client(File>office account>about outlook) ?

According to my test on Outlook 365 (version 2102), we actually could minimize the folder pane and navigation pane via this icon above of folder pane, so that your folder pane and navigation pane would like below.

If that's your case, we could click the icon again to expand and pin the folder pane to a standard view.

If you still don't like it and would like to remove the navigation pane, we could also turn off it directly via View>Folder pane>Off

If that's not your case or you still need further assistance, please feel free to post back.

If the response is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and upvote it.
Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.
Please sign in to rate this answer.
Jade Liang-MSFT 9,956 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2021-03-16T02:47:47.53+00:00

Hi @Blackberry Designs ,
Has your issue been solved after so long?
If so, please cilck Accept Answer for the helpful response.Thanks for your understanding.

Nigel Allori 61 Reputation points

2022-03-09T09:55:43.47+00:00

NO, your "fix" bears absolutely ZERO help with the issue we all seem to be having here.........................THE NAVIGATION pane which was on the bottom is now on the LEFT and is interferring with everything. We want to move it back to the bottom. PLease dont come with a solution that has no relevance to the issue at hand.......................

Joe Brooks 11 Reputation points

2022-03-10T14:10:34.547+00:00

This is absolutely NOT the solution to this problem.
We aren't complaining about the Folder Pane, we're talking about the Navigation Bar, that used to be under the Folder Pane. It is now to the left of the Folder Pane, taking up WAY too much room, There is no way to move it or hide it.
The only solution provided in this thread was from @Vik99977 .
Hopefully @Blackberry Designs does NOT accept your answer, as it is completely useless and ignores the problem.

Pete Marrable 6 Reputation points

2022-03-14T12:15:54.58+00:00

Hi Microsoft

it is MY desktop

leave it alone - stop moving stuff around; stop messing with my preferences

I may be old fashioned; but I get things as best as they can be considering the amount of garbage you insist I have to display; so leave MY layouts alone

PLEASE

our companies really ought to charge you for all the hours of user's time you waste

Zsolt Cseszak 6 Reputation points

2022-03-17T08:40:23.73+00:00

You did not even read the replies, did you? Or if you did, you should not be working in a job where brain is required...

Hal Diggs 1 Reputation point

2022-03-31T18:10:43.623+00:00

I think the biggest issue with this potential change is that it takes up primary screen space for something not needed. Most people are used to clicking on the folders they use anyway, I think. The navigation at the bottom gives you the options without sitting there out in the open. I hate it, I had to help multiple users in my office to get rid of it.

Gavata Smith 1 Reputation point

2022-09-16T15:33:44.047+00:00

I cut off the “try it now” selection next to “coming soon”, restarted Outlook and IT WORKED!!!! yayyyyy!!!
Sign in to comment
Bob Frank 6 Reputation points

2021-06-07T22:10:57.927+00:00

I'm having a similar problem in Office 365 Outlook webmail. The navigation bar used to be small and on the bottom of the screen - now it is on the left and taking up too much screen space. There is virtually no wiggle-room to change the width of the Folder menu, email section, or Preview Pane. I have to collapse the Folders, and then re-open them any time I want to go from Inbox to Sent to Deleted to any other folder.... Surely I'm missing something, because this seems ridiculous. Webmail has no View tab, and there's nothing in settings.... Help please!!
Please sign in to rate this answer.

1 person found this answer helpful.
Adam Leonard 6 Reputation points

2021-09-25T18:30:02.557+00:00

Same problems. This is typical Microsoft - they bury one click functions behind an extra layer and then they take something unobtrusive and functional and make it big with no additional functionality. They don't understand users want to maximize screen real estate on things that add value to the use case/work flow.

Diorio, James L 0 Reputation points

2023-03-26T04:10:03.5666667+00:00

Take a look at the answer from @Stig Marthinsen
Sign in to comment
Nicholas Page 6 Reputation points

2021-06-25T18:02:18.387+00:00

Same problem, I can no longer customize the navigation pane, my custom shortcuts are gone and it's taking up way to much space on my screen, I cannot move it now, I cannot customize it, it's just broken. It is also cause Outlook to crash, if I try to click on the ... to get to Notes half the time it crashes Outlook. Why remove features and options? So frustrating...
Please sign in to rate this answer.

1 person found this answer helpful.

0 comments No comments
Sign in to comment
TAHNEE REDMAN 6 Reputation points

2021-11-02T22:06:19.94+00:00

I have tried everything to remove or move the left column and it is very irritating! It should not be this difficult to fix such a small thing and Microsoft is absolutely no help at all. On all that I have read it says click "File", Where in the heck is FILE??? Nowhere and this is just one more issue that is making a whole bunch of people upset. I also get a thousand junk mails, spam weekly which I have reached out to Microsoft to try to fix with no resolution. I literally block a sender and the next day get twenty more junk mails from the same exact sender. I guess it's time to move on from Microsoft. I just purchased a brand new HP laptop that works directly with Microsoft. Does anyone know of a brand of laptop that does not use Microsoft? I still have 15 days to return this PC and get a new one. I want be using a service that actually listens to the customer and takes the comments seriously.
Please sign in to rate this answer.

1 person found this answer helpful.
Diorio, James L 0 Reputation points

2023-03-26T04:10:48.2166667+00:00

Take a look at the answer from @Stig Marthinsen
Sign in to comment
Paolo Mosconi 1 Reputation point

2022-03-09T08:43:31.76+00:00

Today this new leftmost sidebar has appeared in my Outlook 365 and there is no Off or Minimize as indicated above. How is it possible to get rid of it? It's taking a lot of vertical space on a screen that is wider than higher: if they really think we need it, it should be like Quick Access on top.
Thanks!
Please sign in to rate this answer.
Lisa Kirby 16 Reputation points

2022-03-09T15:08:53.717+00:00

same, it is stressing me out
Sign in to comment