Skip to main content

Show as Conversations

Author: Kelly Last Modified: 2025-04-08

The "Show as Conversations" function can group emails by thread across one or multiple mail folders in Outlook. All emails with the same subject line will be grouped into the same conversation automatically. This tutorial will show you how to enable the "Show as Conversations" function and configure the conversation settings.

Note: This tutorial is introduced based on an Exchange account in Microsoft Outlook 2019 desktop program in Windows 10. It may vary significantly or slightly depending on the types of email accounts (Exchange, IMAP, or POP), the versions of Microsoft Outlook, and Windows environments.


Enable Show as Conversations option

1. Click the folder you will show as conversations, and then tick the "Show as Conversations" option on the "View" tab.

steps on showing as conversation

Tips: If the emails are not arranged by date, this "Show as Conversations" option will be gray and invalid. You can click "Date" in the "Arrangement" box on the "View" tab to arrange emails by date quickly.

steps on showing as conversation

2. In the Microsoft Outlook dialog, please click the "This folder" or "All mailboxes" button as you need.

steps on showing as conversation
  • "This folder": If you want to arrange emails by conversations in the current folder only, please click the "This folder" button.
  • "All mailboxes": If you want to arrange emails by conversations in all mail folders of all mailboxes, please click the "All mailboxes" button.

Now the emails in the current opening folder or all mail folders are grouped by conversations in the message lists.


Expand or collapse a conversation

If you have enabled the "Show as Conversations" option, emails in the same conversations will be grouped together in the message list. You can easily expand or collapse a certain conversation easily.

Click the blank triangle steps on showing as conversation at the leftmost of the conversation, and the conversation will be expanded. If the conversation has been expanded, click the black triangle steps on showing as conversation to collapse it.


Configure conversation settings

After enabling the "Show as Conversations" option, you can enable or disable some conversation settings as you need by clicking "View" > "Conversation Settings", and clicking options in the drop-down menu.

steps on showing as conversation
Show Messages from Other Folders

By default, this option is enabled after checking the "Show as Conversations" box, and it will group all emails by conversation thread, no matter which folders these emails are saved in originally.

For example, you sent an email to your colleague, and the sent email is saved in the "Sent Items" folder. Your colleague replied to you, and you got the reply message in the "Inbox" folder. Now you enable the "Show as Conversations" option in the "Inbox" folder, and you will get both the sent email and the reply message in the "Inbox" folder.

steps on showing as conversation
Show Senders Above the Subject

This option is enabled by default after checking the "Show as Conversations" box. When this option is enabled, the sender field content will display above the subject. If you disable this option, the conversation subject will display above the sender. See screenshots:

steps on showing as conversation steps on showing as conversation
Enable "Show Senders Above the Subject" Disable "Show Senders Above the Subject"
Always Expand Selected Conversation

If you have enabled this option, when browsing conversations in the message list, you can just click a conversation to expand all messages arranged by this conversation automatically.

Use Classic Indented View

If you enable this option, the replies are indented automatically under the emails you replied to in the conversations.

steps on showing as conversation

More articles ...


Best Office Productivity Tools

Breaking News: Kutools for Outlook Launches Free Version!

Experience the all-new Kutools for Outlook FREE version with 70+ incredible features, yours to use FOREVER! Click to download now!

🤖 Kutools AI : Uses advanced AI technology to handle emails effortlessly, including replying, summarizing, optimizing, extending, translating, and composing emails.

📧 Email Automation: Auto Reply (Available for POP and IMAP)  /  Schedule Send Emails  /  Auto CC/BCC by Rules When Sending Email  /  Auto Forward (Advanced Rules)   /  Auto Add Greeting   /  Automatically Split Multi-Recipient Emails into Individual Messages ...

📨 Email Management: Recall Emails  /  Block Scam Emails by Subjects and Others  /  Delete Duplicate Emails  /  Advanced Search  /  Consolidate Folders ...

📁 Attachments ProBatch Save  /  Batch Detach  /  Batch Compress  /  Auto Save   /  Auto Detach  /  Auto Compress ...

🌟 Interface Magic: 😊More Pretty and Cool Emojis   /  Remind you when important emails come  /  Minimize Outlook Instead of Closing ...

👍 One-click Wonders: Reply All with Attachments  /   Anti-Phishing Emails  /  🕘Show Sender's Time Zone ...

👩🏼‍🤝‍👩🏻 Contacts & Calendar: Batch Add Contacts From Selected Emails  /  Split a Contact Group to Individual Groups  /  Remove Birthday Reminders ...

Use Kutools in your preferred language – supports English, Spanish, German, French, Chinese, and 40+ others!

Instantly unlock Kutools for Outlook with a single click. Don't wait, download now and boost your efficiency!

kutools for outlook features1 kutools for outlook features2