How to Change Outlook View to Default?

Microsoft Outlook is the most professional means of communication used by millions worldwide. It is loaded with various features, where it is possible to customise the mail interface according to the user. Easy navigation from emails to other Outlook items. While this kind of flexibility is often handy, it can sometimes lead to undesired views for the account. If you have customised your view in Outlook, like adding/removing columns, changing the reading pane and then want to undo and reset it to the default view, then you have found the right article and are on your way to success. In this article, we will find out the simplest way to change the Outlook view to the default.

Resetting Outlook view back to the factory default is an easy task. The steps vary for different Outlook users but are generally similar. Below, we will find the complete guide on changing the Outlook view back to normal.

Understand What Outlook View Settings Are For

If you are new to this term, let’s get a basic understanding of it. Views in Outlook are settings that determine how the information is displayed in the folder, such as the Inbox, Send Items, Contacts, Calendar, etc. Not only the folders, but there are other factors too that the Outlook View settings are capable of:

• Layout: Different sections in Outlook are dedicated to a certain purpose. This can be changed to a different arrangement as per the requirement.
• Email Column Visibility: The columns in Outlook can be organised using these settings. The column included Subject, From, To, etc.
• Filtering: As the name suggests, users are free to set a rule to display only the items that meet the specified conditions.
• Sorting & Grouping content: Outlook view settings allow you to define the order in which emails are displayed. Grouping related emails can result in an easier-to-read and organised inbox.
• Reading Panel: the reading panel, which shows the messages, can be set to the right, bottom or hidden.

These are the few settings for the Mail view; other settings are for calendar, contacts and tasks. However, we will focus on how to bring back the original Outlook view.

Pro tip: In New Outlook, you can switch back to classic by disabling this toggle: Go back to the classic Outlook.

How to Change Outlook View to Default?

We can find several ways to revert Outlook views to their default state. The most common one is to use the Reset view option. Whereas the steps may vary depending on the scenario:

How to Reset Current Folder View to Default?

1. Sign in to the Outlook account.
2. Open any folder to reset to the default.
3. In the Outlook ribbon, select the View tab.
4. Now find the view settings.
5. A dialogue box with Advanced View Settings for the current folder.
6. Click on the Reset Current View button.
7. Finally, click on Ok button for confirmation.

In the Advanced View Settings dialogue box, click Ok to make the settings apply to the currently viewed folder.

How to Change Outlook View to Classic in All Folders?

If the customisations were done to different folders and you want to start fresh, we need another solution. Here we are using the command line to switch all Outlook views simultaneously.

• Firstly, Close Outlook.
• Press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialogue box.
• Then, type outlook.exe/cleanviews.
• Click the Ok button.
• Now, Outlook will start with the default view settings.

Create a New Outlook View and Change Outlook View to Default

If you are in a situation where you want to keep some of the customised view settings but want to change Outlook view to the original settings. We can create a new view and configure it based on the default view.

1. Open the Outlook folder where you want to create a new default-based view.
2. Go to View, find Change View and click on Manage Views.
3. Click on the “New…” button on Manage all Views.
4. Then, name the View.
5. In the View type section, ensure the default view type for the folder is selected
6. Go to View, click Change View and select the newly created view

This method allows you to have customised views and a clean default-based view.

Note: Whenever we apply any changes to the Outlook view settings, it is to be ensure that Outlook is online. If you find in the status bar – Working Offline, toggle the settings, if it’s not working, then find different solutions here – Fix Outlook stuck in Offline mode.

What If Outlook View Changed Automatically?

One of the common issues among Outlook users is that Outlook views changes automatically. Without doing anything, you found that your mailbox has a completely different layout. Following are some of the probable reasons and their fixes:

1. Microsoft Automatically Updated to the New Outlook

If your entire Outlook interface looks like it is not yours, and not just a folder layout. It might be Microsoft which has upgraded to New Outlook. Read the section above where you need to know which version you are using so you can switch to the old one or accept the New One.

2. A third-party add-in interferes with Outlook View

It’s also quite possible that the add-ins may have disrupted your Outlook view in an unidentified way. To get rid of this

1. Open Outlook, then click File > Options
2. Select Add-ins from the left panel.
3. In the Manage dropdown, choose COM Add-ins and click Go.
4. Uncheck all the checkboxes, then click OK.
5. Now open Outlook, then check if the view is back to normal.

Re-enable one by one until you find out which specific add-in is responsible for this whole mess.

3. Accidentally clicked on the changing view shortcut

It is not as impossible as you think. You might have moved your mouse scroll wheel over the ribbon bar while it was on a folder, and the same thing could happen while you were shifting folders. The quickest fix is to use the reset view button from the View tab, which is provided in the main steps.

4. Corrupted Outlook Profile

Tip: Before starting with the steps, if you want to access the content in the files, use PST File Viewer without the help of  Outlook. For Offline files, use the OST File Viewer.

If all the above fixes are unable to help you out, then it’s high time to suspect the Outlook profile.

1. Close Outlook
2. Open Control Panel > Mail > Show Profiles.
3. Click Add to create a New Profile.
4. Set it to Default Profile.
5. Open Outlook with the new profile.

This is the most advanced fix, but it usually solves most problems.

Conclusion

To change back to the normal Outlook view settings is not a simple solution to ask for. As uncertain settings could lead to a confusing interface. Therefore, we came up with different methods to change the Outlook view to the default settings. Follow the instructions in the article to get the default Outlook view back. You can then keep or modify the Outlook interface in any way you like to suit your communication preferences.