Enforce "Do Not Group Messages" in Outlook via GPO

Question

We have a client who is running AVD. They want to enforce the Outlook setting for not grouping messages by conversation in their AVD environment, because their users keep getting confused. I've been hunting for a GPO setting to accomplish this, as that would be simplest, but my research hasn't been finding anything. Possibly a registry setting instead?

Answer 1

To enforce "Do Not Group Messages" in Microsoft Outlook via Group Policy (GPO), the goal is to disable the “Show as Conversations” view in Outlook. This feature is per-user and per-folder, but you can control its default behavior via the registry. Unfortunately, Microsoft does not expose a direct GPO setting specifically for “Do Not Group Messages,” but you can enforce it via registry changes pushed through GPO. Outlook stores the conversation view state in the registry, but it's folder/view-specific, making universal enforcement tricky. Here's what you can do:

1. Open Group Policy Management Console.
2. Create a new GPO or edit an existing one.
3. Navigate to:

      User Configuration > Preferences > Windows Settings > Registry
   

4. Add a new Registry Item with the following settings:

Setting	Value
Hive	HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Key Path	Software\Microsoft\Office<version>\Outlook\Options\Mail
Value Name	ShowConversationView
Value Type	REG_DWORD
Value Data	0

Replace <version> with your Outlook version (e.g., 16.0 for Outlook 2016, 2019, and Microsoft 365). This disables the conversation view globally if Outlook hasn't overridden the setting via view customization.

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hth

Marcin

Answer 2

Hi @Branden Willis 

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum. 

While there is no direct Group Policy Object (GPO) setting available to disable the Show as Conversations feature in Outlook, you can potentially manage this behavior through the Windows Registry. Based on testing, here are the steps to disable it: 
1.Win + R > type regedit > enter 
-Navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office<version>\Outlook\DisabledCmdBarItemsList  

Replace <version> with your Outlook version (e.g., 16.0 for Outlook 2016). 

-If the DisabledCmdBarItemsList key doesn’t exist, right-click the Outlook folder, choose New > Key, and name it DisabledCmdBarItemsList. 

2.Add the Command Bar ID 

-Right-click in the right pane and choose New > String Value. 

-Name it TCID1 (or TCID2, TCID3, etc., if others already exist). 

-Double-click the new value > enter the Command Bar ID: 22528 

-Close and reopen Outlook to apply the change. The “Show as Conversations” option should now be disabled in the ribbon.

I hope this helps.

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