While most people find an oldest on top sort order unworkable unless they move or delete their mail as they read it, it will sort the messages within a conversation oldest to newest too. Select Use Classic Indented View.Īlternately, you can change the sort order, so oldest messages are on top. To change the conversation view settings, go to the View Ribbon and expand Conversation Settings. On the View tab, in the Current View group, click the View Settings button: 2. If you want to change the view, do the following: 1. You can customize the fields displayed, sorting, grouping, filtering, fonts, and other formatting options. When outlook doesn't know where the message belongs in the thread, its placed at the end of the thread.) Any of Outlook's default views can be modified to suit your needs. (Note that threading may not work as expected with email from mailing lists or with mail sent from some email clients.

Messages will no longer by grouped together after this setting is changed. If you use the Classic Indented View, the messages within a conversation are arranged in proper threading order within the conversation, according to which message was replied to and the received date. In the message pane, select the drop down arrow labeled All, then under View select Messages to disable the conversation view. It would make sense if the oldest unread message was shown when you select a conversation, but it might be more confusing to users than showing the latest message in the thread.īut, yes, it is configurable. If you're reading messages as they arrive, the newest message first makes sense, as you've already read the earlier messages. Click to view earlier items.' How can I change this? Isn't it more logical to show the first message in the thread, not the last? Surely it is more common to start reading a conversation at the beginning? Is this configurable?Īs a person who was in the habit of reading the last chapter of a book before reading the whole book, I'm probably not the right person to ask about reading from the beginning… Why is the default message view showing the latest message first? For example, when I click on the conversation and it states 'Latest message shown.

Conversation view in outlook 2016