If you’ve recently switched from Classic Outlook, you may have noticed that some of your favourite productivity features seem to have disappeared. You’re not imagining it – New Outlook removed drag and drop options that were tie-savers in many peoples’ daily workflows.
New Outlook Removed Some Drag and Drop Options
In Classic Outlook, creating contacts and tasks from emails was incredibly straightforward. You could simply drag an email to your Contacts folder to create a new contact, or drag it to Tasks to generate a to-do item. This intuitive functionality was a massive time-saver for everyone.
Unfortunately, New Outlook changed the options, it kept the most useful one – creating calendar events – but removed all the others. When you attempt to drag emails to the Contacts or Tasks sections, you’ll encounter a frustrating “no entry” symbol instead of the experience you once enjoyed.
This change has left many people searching for alternative options that will work in this new version.
The good news is that there are other ways, although not always as straight-forward as we were used to.
Creating Contacts from Emails – Alternative Method
Fortunately, there’s still a reliable way to create contacts from Outlook emails, though it requires a few more steps:
Step-by-Step Process:
- Open the email (reading pane or separate window) containing the contact information you want to save
- Hover your mouse over the sender’s email address, in either the from, to or cc section
- Wait for the contact card to appear – this shows basic information about the sender
- Click the three dots (more options) on the contact card
- Select “Add to contacts” from the dropdown menu (you’ll see “Edit contact” if they’re already saved)
- Review and modify the contact details in the created contact card
- Click Save to add them to your contacts list
This method works regardless of which email account you’re using and automatically captures the sender’s name and email address, making it reasonably easy despite the extra steps required.
Yes, this is an option in Classic Outlook as well.
The biggest difference in this option, is that the email content isn’t added into the Contact’s notes section. You’ll need to manually copy and paste that if it’s important.
Creating Tasks from Emails (With Major Limitations)
Creating tasks from emails in New Outlook is where things become significantly more complicated, and the limitations depend on your account setup.
The Account Type Issue
Here’s where understanding primary versus secondary accounts becomes relevant. Your primary account is whichever email account you connected to New Outlook first. Any additional accounts are considered secondary accounts, and this distinction affects task creation functionality.
For Primary Accounts:
- Hover over the email you want to convert to a task
- Click the flag icon – this familiar feature still exists
- Navigate to your To Do list to find the flagged email under the “Flagged email” section
- Edit the task to add additional details and due dates
- The task maintains a link back to the original email for easy reference
For Secondary Accounts:
This is where Microsoft’s changes become particularly frustrating. Whilst you can still flag emails in secondary accounts, these flagged items won’t appear in your task list. Microsoft has removed easy task creation from secondary email accounts.
Workaround Solutions for Task Creation
If you need to create tasks from emails in secondary accounts, your options are limited:
Option 1: Manual Copy and Paste Method
- Keep the relevant email open in one window or tab
- Navigate to your To Do list and click “Add a task”
- Copy and paste relevant information from the email into the task details
- Add due dates and priorities manually
Option 2: Use Classic Outlook (Temporary Solution)
Classic Outlook still supports the full drag-and-drop functionality. However, this is only a temporary solution as Microsoft plans to discontinue Classic Outlook around 2029.
The Impact on Email Productivity
These changes represent a significant step backwards for email productivity in Microsoft 365. Many of us frequently used the quick conversion of emails to actionable items, and the current limitations force users to adapt to less efficient processes.
Looking Forward: What This Means for Outlook Users
As someone who regularly teaches Outlook productivity techniques, I understand how frustrating these limitations can be. The removal of intuitive drag-and-drop functionality forces users to remember and use alternative processes, ultimately slowing down daily workflows.
If email-to-contact and email-to-task conversion are crucial to your productivity, consider which email account you designate as your primary account when setting up New Outlook. Using Outlook’s settings you can change which account is your primary email fairly easily, but consider the potential impact that this might cause. Based on your needs this change might not have any impact 😄.
We can hope that Microsoft will return this functionality in future updates, knowing these alternative methods will help you continue to be productive with the current New Outlook options.
Written with the help of Claude AI from an original transcription.
Struggling with the transition from Classic to New Outlook?
I’ve been tracking the differences I discover in a simple spreadsheet – what’s been removed and what’s new. It’s free after joining my mailing list. Get the spreadsheet here.
YouTube Videos
New Outlook Settings: Where Did File – Options Go?
Set Your Work Location in Outlook – Show Remote vs Office Days Automatically
New Outlook: Stop Your Calendars Overlapping – Split View Tutorial
Rearrange Folders in New Outlook – Custom Folder Order is Back!
How to Change Calendar Colours in Outlook (New & Classic Outlook)
New Outlook Favourites: What’s Changed & How to Use Hidden Features
How to Add Bank Holidays to New Outlook Calendar
Drag & Drop Magic: Turn (New) Outlook Emails into Calendar Events Instantly
New Outlook Tips: Creating Contacts & Tasks from Emails (Primary vs Secondary Accounts)
Outlook on the Web vs New Outlook Desktop: What’s the Difference?
Stop Email Disasters! 2 Essential Outlook Settings Everyone Should Know
Hidden Outlook Tricks: How to Ignore & Sweep Away Unwanted Emails
Outlook Quick Steps: Turn Multiple Email Actions into One Click
Other New Outlook Posts
Where Are the Settings in New Outlook?
How to Set Your Work Location in New Outlook
Split Multiple Calendars in New Outlook: Stop the Overlapping Mess
Custom Folder Sorting Returns to New Outlook – Here’s How
Customise Your Outlook Calendar Colours for Better Organisation
New Outlook Favourites: Hidden Changes You Need to Know
Adding Public Holidays to New Outlook Calendar
How to Convert Outlook Emails to Calendar Events
New Outlook Removed Drag Options for Contacts and Tasks (current post)
Outlook Web vs Desktop: What You Need to Know
Make Email Mistakes Disappear With These Outlook Options
Ignore and Sweep – Outlook’s Features You Need to Know
Making use of Outlook Quick Steps to Save Time
Recent Posts
- Microsoft Copilot Versions: Which One Do You Actually Need?
If you’ve ever stared at Microsoft’s Copilot line up and thought “what on earth is the difference between all of these?”, you’re in good company. There are actually several distinct versions, and understanding which Microsoft Copilot version you need — and whether you should be paying for it — is genuinely confusing when you’re running… Read more: Microsoft Copilot Versions: Which One Do You Actually Need? - Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace: The Truth About Business Platforms
When choosing between Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace for your business, I hear people repeating the same myths that simply aren’t true. After using Microsoft products for over 30 years, I decided to give Google a proper test to see how these platforms really compare for business owners. The differences I discovered might surprise you,… Read more: Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace: The Truth About Business Platforms - The Expensive Mistake 90% of New Businesses Make with Microsoft365
When deciding between personal vs business Microsoft 365, I see the same expensive mistake over and over: new business owners choose personal plans to save money, only to pay for it later. Right now, you might think you’re being smart by using that family subscription you already have. After all, Microsoft has quietly changed their… Read more: The Expensive Mistake 90% of New Businesses Make with Microsoft365 - The Simple OneDrive or SharePoint Rule That Changes Everything
If you’ve ever hesitated before clicking save, wondering whether to choose OneDrive or SharePoint for your business files, you’re not alone. After twenty years of teaching Microsoft 365, I’ve discovered one simple rule that makes this decision instant – and it changes everything about how you work with files. Before this rule, I’d spend minutes… Read more: The Simple OneDrive or SharePoint Rule That Changes Everything - You’re Wasting Hours on These Microsoft 365 Mistakes
If you’re making these Microsoft 365 mistakes, you’re probably losing endless hours and making your work life far more complex than necessary. After twenty years as a Microsoft-certified trainer, I’ve spotted the same five issues appearing time and time again with my clients. The frustrating part? You’re already paying for these tools, yet like 90%… Read more: You’re Wasting Hours on These Microsoft 365 Mistakes
new outlook removed drag and drop options, new outlook drag and drop not working, outlook drag and drop not functioning