How to unhide a folder in outlook "accounts"/"shared with me" settings

Question

This article below explains how to "hide" and unhide folders shared with me in Outlook - however, I can't see the folders I hid by mistake (in order to "unhide" them)? The article says I should be able to click "show in folder list", but I don't see the folder at all.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/view-hide-or-remove-shared-mailboxes-or-shared-folders-in-outlook-2bf5b545-1bd4-4d7f-8e66-884f2a294990

Answer 1

Hi @Caitlyn Seacat, 

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A Forum and for clearly outlining your concern. 

Based on the details you shared, I understand that you accidentally hid one or more shared folders under Accounts or Shared with me in the new Outlook and now you cannot find them in the folder list to select Show in folder list. I truly appreciate you sharing the article you followed and the specific restart behavior you noticed, as that context makes it much easier to pinpoint what is happening. 

In the new Outlook, shared folder visibility is managed through a cached folder tree, so changes to hidden or visible status do not always refresh immediately. As a result, a folder may only reappear after a restart and may show as greyed out before it becomes fully selectable again. Therefore, repeated restarts can sometimes be required when the folder list refreshes in stages rather than all at once. 

Below are some alternative steps designed to address your situation effectively: 

1/ Unhide it from Settings, Accounts, Shared with me 

• This is the most direct method because the Support article confirms that shared items should be managed from the Shared with me page.  
• First, open the new Outlook and select Settings. 
• Next, open Accounts, and then select Shared with me.  
• Then, locate the card for the shared mailbox or shared folder and expand it to view the available actions.  
• Finally, select Show in folder list so the shared folder appears again in your folder pane.  

If you do not see the shared item card here at all, please move to Solution 2, because it means Outlook is not currently listing that shared folder in your Shared with me catalog.  

2/ Re add the shared folder or shared mailbox so it becomes visible again 

• The Support article confirms that you can use the Add option to add any shared mailbox or folder you have permission to access, and once added it should show in the folder pane.  
• First, go to Settings, then Accounts, and open Shared with me.  
• Next, select Add and search for the shared mailbox or shared folder you need to restore.  
• After the shared item is added, return to the mail view and check the folder pane, because Outlook should automatically show shared items you add.  
• If the shared item appears but some folders remain hidden, open the shared item card again and use Show in folder list where available.  

If the shared folder was originally shared by a colleague and your access changed, the Shared with me entry may show that you do not have the required permissions, and in that case the folder owner needs to grant access again.  

3/ Repair or reset the new Outlook app to refresh the shared folder catalog 

If Shared with me is not updating correctly, repairing or resetting the app can help because Windows provides built in options to fix an app that is not behaving as expected.  

Option A: Repair first 

• Close Outlook completely. 
• Open Windows Settings, then go to Apps, and open Installed apps. 
• Find Outlook, open Advanced options, then select Repair. 
• Reopen Outlook and check Settings, Accounts, Shared with me again.  

Option B: Reset if Repair does not help 

• Reset returns the app to default and may remove app data, so it is best used only if Repair does not correct the issue.  
• Close Outlook completely.  
• Open Windows Settings, then go to Apps, and open Installed apps. 
• Find Outlook, open Advanced options, then select Reset.  
• Open Outlook and sign in again if prompted, then check Shared with me and re add the shared mailbox or folder if needed. 

4/ Contact IT administrator:  

Since your account is managed by your organization, please contact your IT administrator to review your permissions and policies. If the issue persists after these checks, ask your IT administrator to submit a support request directly to Microsoft Support team.       

They can raise a support ticket by visiting: Get support - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn 

As community moderators, we appreciate your understanding that our access to internal development details is limited. Our primary role is to guide users toward the appropriate resources and support channels. While we may not have visibility into deeper backend analysis, we’ll continue doing our best to support you within the scope of our responsibilities.     

I hope this information is helpful. Please follow these steps and let me know if it works for you. If you have any updates regarding the issue, please feel free to share them with me.       

Thank you for your patience and your understanding. I look forward to continuing the conversation. 

---

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".     

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. 

Answer 2

To unhide a folder in Outlook that you have hidden by mistake, you can follow these general steps:

1. Check Folder List: Ensure that you are viewing the correct folder list. Sometimes, folders may not be visible if the view settings are not configured to show them.
2. Show in Folder List: If you remember the name of the folder, you can try to right-click on the parent folder where it was located and look for an option to "Show in Folder List". This option may not be visible if the folder is completely hidden.
3. View Settings: If you still cannot find the folder, check your view settings. Go to the View tab in the ribbon, select View Settings, and ensure that no filters are applied that might be hiding the folder.
4. Restart Outlook: Sometimes, simply restarting Outlook can refresh the view and display hidden folders.
5. Check Shared Mailboxes: If the folder is part of a shared mailbox, make sure that the shared mailbox is still added to your Outlook profile. You may need to remove and re-add it if there are issues.

If these steps do not resolve the issue, you may want to consult the specific article you mentioned or reach out to your IT support for further assistance.

---

References:

• Items disappear or are not visible in an Outlook folder