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Outlook Mac solution for changing reading pane between light and dark mode

Anonymous
2024-06-21T14:36:44+00:00

I saw posts on this issue that didn't seem to be fully resolved. The issue is that you are using dark mode but the reading/writing pane is in light mode and you want to switch it to dark. Or the reading pane is in dark mode and you want to switch it to light. Either way, you're trying to change the reading pane w/o changing the rest of the window.

Solution: open any email in your Inbox. In the ribbon, you will see a button called "Switch Background." It will have either a crescent moon or a sun icon on it depending on whether your reading pane is currently in light or dark mode. (Sorry, upload image function here didn't work.) Clicking that button will change toggle your reading pane between light and dark modes w/o affecting anything else.

Outlook | MacOS | Legacy Outlook for Mac | For home

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-06-21T16:57:39+00:00

    Hello Dan,

    Greetings. Thank you for posting to Microsoft community.

    I understand that you had an issue with changing the reading pane between light and dark mode which you managed to resolve by using the sun or crescent icons on the top right of the reading pane. Example in screenshot below.

    Thank you for sharing with our community so that anybody who finds themselves in a similar situation may use this as a reference.

    Your cooperation and kindness are much appreciated. Stay Safe!

    Best Regards,

    Ashraf.

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  2. Anonymous
    2025-01-15T22:08:48+00:00

    I found a way to change the reading pane in New Outlook for Mac "permanently" so you don't have to click the crescent moon/sun on each email. This is wonky, but it worked for me.

    1. Switch back to Legacy Outlook (Outlook menu, Legacy Outlook)
    2. In the Ribbon of Legacy Outlook, click the Switch Background button (to change the reading pane background to light in dark mode)
    3. Switch back to New Outlook

    The background setting in New Outlook stays the same as what you chose in Legacy Outlook. I now have dark mode with light background in the reading pane for ALL emails (what I wanted) with no manual switching.

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  3. Anonymous
    2024-12-04T03:05:17+00:00

    My problem with this answer is I don't want to click on the crescent moon/sun EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I want it as my permanent setting, dark mode with white reading pane. JUST LIKE IN THE OLD OUTLOOK. New outlook kinda sucks--this issue is one amongst many others.

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  4. Anonymous
    2024-06-21T19:47:35+00:00

    Hello Dan,

    Thank you for the response.

    Regarding the search results, it may take some time for your post to be indexed and appear in search results. In most cases, search results are prioritized based on relevance, popularity and engagement. You can submit your vote on any of the replies so that it is pinned to the top and other community users can easily find the thread. Answered threads are usually prioritized in the search results.

    Best Regards,

    Ashraf.

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  5. Anonymous
    2024-06-21T19:18:24+00:00

    Ashraf, thank you for your post. FYI, I submitted my post because my reading pane got switched to the mode I didn't want and I couldn't figure out how to change it back. I came to the community for an answer and what I saw were dozens of posts that complained about the problem but didn't provide a solution. So clearly, I'm not the only person who got stock there.

    I figured it out on my own and posted the result here. What I'm curious about is how long it will take MSFT to incorporate my post into your search results (and how you prioritize those results) so that anyone who gets stuck like I did gets a quick, usable answer. I just tried searching using the exact title of my post as the search term and did not get my own post back as a search result.

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