Outlook 365 – Title bar – Folder Name

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Just recently on my work PC they pushed an update for office 365.  This update moved the outlook search box from above the messages to the Title bar.  I understand this is some so called enhancement MS created in 2020.  With the search box now in the Title bar it no longer displays the current outlook folder name in the title bar.  I rarely use the search box but relied on the current folder name displaying in the title bar all the time.   Is there any way to get the current folder name to display next to the search box in the title bar?

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There seems to have been quite a bit of disquiet about this particular change.

Is there anything in this HowToGeek article that may allow you to make adjustments to better suit you?
Good luck!

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No that doesn’t help.  It appears there is no longer a way to see the folder you’re currently in on the title bar.  Only option is scrolling through 30 folders (or however many one has) and see which is hi-lighted bold.  MS 365 Word, Excel and PowerPoint still have the doc name in the title bar along with the search box.  Those apps also have the ability to reduce the search from a search box to just a magnifying glass.  Don’t understand why MS didn’t give the same options for Outlook.  Definitely makes Outlook harder to use.  I rarely use the search box as I keep my email organized.  Anyway thanks for responding.

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I think they did it to make the placement match the web based version of Outlook.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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You can vote for Microsoft to fix it here:

Readd Folder Name after Search Box Location Changed

Outlook Feedback by UserVoice

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[MHCLV941]

b wrote:

You can vote for Microsoft to fix it here:

This actually started showing up months ago, depending on the release track you were on.

There were thousands of “votes” posted ranging from “please put it back” to “can you make the position optional so I can put it back” to ones that questioned – occasionally in very “colorful” terms, the ancestry, intelligence and intentions of everyone involved in such an “unwelcome” change.

There was a response from Microsoft that said, in effect, we know better than you so get over it and get used to it.

Remember,  this is the same company that foisted the ribbon on the world.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 3 months ago by MHCLV941.
• This reply was modified 4 years, 3 months ago by MHCLV941.

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The new Outlook Search box does have some advantages:

• More vertical space for search terms
• New keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl+E or Alt+Q)
• Recent/Suggested searches, people, actions
• Drop-down menu for advanced search options

How to Use Microsoft Outlook’s New Search Box

And the only disadvantage is that it’s moved up by an inch!

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b wrote:

And the only disadvantage is that it’s moved up by an inch!

WRONG!!!!  It broke the work habits and muscle memory for tens of thousands, if not millions of users.   If you don’t consider that a disadvantage, you have a future at Microsoft and nowhere that customer consideration is in any way taken into account.

1 user thanked author for this post.

cyberSAR

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I did say it was a disadvantage. But I should have also included the topic of this thread, the missing folder name in the title bar, as a second disadvantage.

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The irony is that many, if not all, of the so-called “new” capabilities already existed in Outlook as far back as 2007 in the Advanced Find function.  It was not readily obvious that it existed, but the only thing really new was Microsoft relocating the search bar.   There is no compelling reason why that was necessary.

See Where is Advanced Find/Search in Outlook 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019 and 365 (addintools.com) and How to use the Advanced Search in Outlook? (extendoffice.com)

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Had to log in to thank you for that. I HATE it too. They also change icons subtly, moved the quickparts. Now I have to think while working.

Creature of habit!

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cyberSAR wrote:

Now I have to think while working.

I put up a Happy Meal that says you were thinking while you worked before this “improvement” but it was directed at actual productivity, not relearning how to use the software.

1 user thanked author for this post.

cyberSAR

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Whenever I’d be in meetings in Redmond (in the days before Covid) they would say “we received feedback that….” and I’d be questioning who they got feedback from?  Insider folks that don’t use Outlook?  How about you talk to crusty old me who actually uses your software?

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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Here’s an inelegant but effective workaround for the time being.  In any folder:

1.  Right-click in any of the field names just above the top message shown (e.g., From, Subject, Received, etc.)

2.  Select Field Chooser

3.  In the drop-down, change from “Frequently-used fields” to “All mail fields”

4.  Scroll down to “In Folder,” then click and drag it to the desired location in the row that shows the other fields (I put it all the way to the right).  5.  Close Field Chooser.

5.  Now when you open that folder, the folder name will appear next to each message.  The width of the “In Folder” column can be reduced so that just enough of the folder name is visible to allow quick identification of that folder.

I like all my folders to look pretty much the same, so first I made the above change in my Inbox, then applied it to all others:  (a) in the View tab, choose  “Change view”; (b) Choose “Apply Current View to Other Mail Folders”; (c) in the “Apply View” dialog box that appears, check the names of all the folders I want to have this view (i.e., all folders where I want the folder name to appear next to each message).

1 user thanked author for this post.

b

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Yes, I had already discovered the “In Folder” option and set it up after my original post.  It is a work around.  Better than nothing but most definitely inelegant.  It appears to be about the only option after Microsoft’s nonsense of removing the folder name from the title bar and releasing it as a “new and improved” Outlook.  Much like so much of Microsoft’s continued nonsense with not fixing simple things, removing things I do use, adding useless things that I don’t use (and most likely only appealing to a very minor subset of folks)  and then releasing versions of their software as “improved”.

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