Show as Conversations

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 exchange account in Microsoft Outlook 2019 desktop program in Windows 10. And 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.

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.

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

  • 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  at the leftmost of the conversation, and the conversation will be expanded. If the conversation has been expanded, click the black triangle  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.

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. You 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, you will get both sent email and reply message in the Inbox folder.

Show Senders Above the Subject

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

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.

More articles ...

Show or view email messages by conversations in Outlook
Outlook 2013 and 2010 has a new feature of showing your email boxes’ messages as conversations. You can sort and link your messages which has the same subject by this show as conversations function. It gives you an efficient way to know what has been discussed in these emails because it organized all the same subject emails together as a tidy group. But, how to enable this feature?

Remove an email from conversation group in Outlook
Let’s say you have discussed a sale contract with a customer via Outlook emails forth and back, and all emails about this contract are grouped in one conversation automatically. But now, another customer sends a sale contract to you with same subject as the first one, and this email will also be grouped to the conversation too. In this situation, how could you remove the email from the specified conversation in Outlook?

Save Outlook conversation as PDF
You may be familiar to save one email to a PDF file in Outlook, but do you know how to save an entire conversation to a PDF file? And what if saving every email of a conversation to an individual PDF file in bulk? This article will show the solution.

Forward an entire conversation (email chains) in Outlook
Let’s say you discussed a technique issue with your customer via Outlook emails back and forth, and now you need to collect these emails and forward them to your colleague. How could you forward all emails in the conversation quickly? This article will introduce two methods to batch forward an entire conversation easily.

Count the total number of conversations in a folder in Outlook
Let’s say you discuss technique problems with fellows by emails in Outlook, and there are many replies and forwards about a topic. In general, one conversation covers one technical problem. We can show the emails in Conversation view, but how to count the total number of all conversations in Outlook?

Kutools for Outlook - Brings 100 Advanced Features to Outlook, and Make Work Much Easier!

  • Auto CC/BCC by rules when sending email; Auto Forward Multiple Emails by custom; Auto Reply without exchange server, and more automatic features...
  • BCC Warning - show message when you try to reply all if your mail address is in the BCC list; Remind When Missing Attachments, and more remind features...
  • Reply (All) With All Attachments in the mail conversation; Reply Many Emails in seconds; Auto Add Greeting when reply; Add Date into subject...
  • Attachment Tools: Manage All Attachments in All Mails, Auto Detach, Compress All, Rename All, Save All... Quick Report, Count Selected Mails...
  • Powerful Junk Emails by custom; Remove Duplicate Mails and Contacts... Enable you to do smarter, faster and better in Outlook.
shot kutools outlook kutools tab 1180x121
shot kutools outlook kutools plus tab 1180x121
 
Say something here...
symbols left.
You are guest ( Sign Up? )
or post as a guest, but your post won't be published automatically.
Loading comment... The comment will be refreshed after 00:00.

Be the first to comment.