Bring back "Read/Unread" option in email preview

Question

Bring back "Read/Unread" option in email preview

Jonathan Bergen 5

Please bring back the "Read/Unread" button in the email preview pane/area. It has been replaced with a "Settings" button. User's image

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Answer 1

Alice-N 9,205 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Please note that our forum is a public platform. Kindly ensure that you hide any personal or organizational information the next time you post an error or other details to protect personal data.

Hi Jonathan Bergen

I understand the Read/Unread control no longer shows in the message preview/reading pane in Legacy Outlook for Mac, and that area now shows a Settings button instead.

Please confirm whether you are using Legacy Outlook for Mac or New Outlook for Mac (toggle in Outlook).

In Legacy Outlook for Mac, it’s not possible to add or remove buttons on the ribbon, so restoring a removed built-in command to that same preview area isn’t supported. Reference: Customize views in Legacy Outlook for Mac

If you want the old one-click placement back, please kindly submit feedback from within Outlook: Help > Feedback (and for new Outlook for Mac, “Make a suggestion” is available). Reference: How do I give feedback on Microsoft 365?

Thank you for your understanding and time. Have a lovely day!

Alice-N 9,205 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-25T00:35:43.9933333+00:00

Hi Jonathan Bergen

I hope you are doing well ! I just want to check if you have had a chance to check my reply earlier? Please let me know when you have time.

Have a lovely day!
James Wang 0 Reputation points

2026-04-29T04:36:17.9633333+00:00

look like it could be a potential bug on their end, click that settings putting that replaces the mark as read button, it will bring you do the icon settings. uncheck and recheck the mark as read button. and save settings and refresh. it should work as it used to
Alice-N 9,205 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-30T01:16:19.23+00:00

Thanks James Wang, toggling those icons may refresh the UI for some users/builds.

However, in Legacy Outlook for Mac, it’s may not be possible to add or remove buttons on the ribbon, so there may be no supported way to permanently bring back the old one‑click Read/Unread button in that exact preview spot.

Thank you for your understanding.

Answer 2

In the current Outlook experience, some message list and preview commands such as Read/Unread have been moved or replaced to make room for other features. Similar changes on Windows moved the All/Unread and other filters into a consolidated menu and onto the ribbon/Quick Access Toolbar, and there is no option to revert to the prior inline behavior.

For Classic Outlook, the supported approach is to use the available read/unread controls (for example, via the ribbon, context menu, or Reading Pane behavior settings) and, if the previous one-click Read/Unread button in the preview area is important, submit it as a feature request so it can be considered for future updates.

To request that the Read/Unread button be brought back:

In Outlook, go to the Help or Feedback entry point.
Choose the option to send feedback.
Describe that the Read/Unread button in the preview/message list was replaced by Settings and that the previous behavior is desired.

There is currently no documented setting to restore the old Read/Unread button in the preview area.

References:

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Bring back "Read/Unread" option in email preview

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