If you’ve been using Outlook for any length of time, you’ll be familiar with the Favourites section, above your mailbox and folders on the left-hand side. It’s one of those features that, once you start using it, becomes your go-to for quick navigation. However, Microsoft has quietly introduced some changes to New Outlook’s Favourites that many users haven’t discovered yet. Let me walk you through what’s changed and why it matters customising favourite folders in New Outlook.
Understanding Outlook Favourites: The Basics
The Favourites section serves as your personal shortcut hub, displaying particular folders from across any mailboxes in your account. This means no more endless scrolling to find that important project folder or client correspondence. You can add as many folders as you need, creating a streamlined navigation experience.
Of course the more folders you add, the more space the favourites section takes up. Which in turn means less space for the main folders list.
Adding a folder to your Favourites remains straightforward: simply right-click on any folder or click the three dots to access settings, then select “Add to Favourites”. Once added, a single click opens that folder instantly.
Some things haven’t changed
Removing folders from Favourites follows the same pattern – right-click or use the three dots menu to select “Remove from Favourites”. This functionality has been around for decades and hasn’t changed.
Collapse and Expand The familiar arrow next to the word “Favourites” still allows you to collapse and expand the section, helping you manage screen space when needed.
What’s Actually New in Outlook Favourites
Here’s where things get interesting, there are some new options when it comes to customising favourite folders in New Outlook. When you hover over the right side of the word “Favourites”, you’ll notice three dots appear – and this is where Microsoft has added some intriguing new options.
The Unpin Feature
The first new option is “Unpin Favourites”. When you unpin the section, you’ll notice the dividing line between Favourites and your main mailbox (and all the folders) disappears. Your favourites become part of the main folder list, which means they’ll scroll away as you navigate through your folders.
I’ll be honest – I don’t recommend this setting. The whole point of Favourites is quick access, and having them scroll off screen defeats that purpose entirely. If you’ve accidentally unpinned them, you can easily restore the pinned state through the same menu.
The Hide Feature: A Controversial Addition
The second new option is “Hide Favourites”, which completely removes the section from view, allowing your main mailbox to move up and take its place.
I’m genuinely puzzled by this feature. If you’re someone who doesn’t use Favourites at all, I suppose hiding them could clean up your interface. However, if you find Favourites useful (as I certainly do), I can’t see why you’d want to hide such an useful shortcut tool.
The Recovery Challenge
Here’s where things get tricky. If you’ve hidden your Favourites section, getting it back isn’t immediately obvious since the menu option has disappeared along with the section itself.
Through some experimentation, I discovered that the most reliable way to restore hidden Favourites is to pin a folder to Favourites using the right-click menu. This action brings back the entire section, and you can then check that it’s properly pinned again – because I don’t fully trust it. 😀
My Recommendation for Outlook Users
After testing these features, I believe the traditional pinned Favourites setup remains the most practical choice for most users. The new options seem to solve problems that don’t really exist for typical Outlook users who benefit from the quick folder access.
If you’re curious about these new features, I encourage you to experiment with them, but keep in mind that the classic Favourites functionality exists for good reason – it genuinely improves your email efficiency.
The key takeaway is that Microsoft continues to evolve Outlook’s interface, sometimes in ways that aren’t immediately obvious. Staying informed about these changes helps you make the most of your time working with email and avoid accidentally changing or loosing things and having to find out how to return things.
Remember, the best email organisation system is the one you’ll actually use consistently. These new Favourites options give you more control over your interface, but don’t feel pressured to change what’s already working well for you.
Written with the help of Claude AI from an original transcription.
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