How Can I stop an email from opening another window with the message in web Outlook?

Melissa L 15 Reputation points
2026-09-13T03:18:00.01+00:00

I do NOT want a pop-up window when I open my mail in the reading pane. It's really infuriating because I have a lot of mail to go through, and when checking the box to delete multiple junk emails, invariably it will pop-up window when I'm trying to check the box to delete it. I want to turn that off. It's not a feature. It's a mess-up of a feature.

Outlook | Web | Outlook.com | Email
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  1. AI answer

    2026-09-13T03:18:15.0466667+00:00

    In web Outlook, turn the Reading Pane away from the inline preview mode that is causing the message to open while selecting mail.

    Use either of these supported layouts:

    1. Go to Settings > Mail > Layout.
    2. Under Reading pane, choose:
      • Right or Bottom if mail should open in the same screen, or
      • Popout only if a reading pane should not display.
    3. Save the change, then refresh the page if needed.

    If the problem is that messages are being marked read while selected, the reading pane settings also include read behavior controls. In Outlook mail settings, under Reading pane, these options are available:

    • Mark the item displayed in the reading pane as read
    • Mark the item as read when the selection changes
    • Don’t automatically mark items as read

    If the goal is to stop mail from opening in a separate browser side pane in Microsoft Edge, turn that off in Edge:

    1. Open the Edge sidebar settings.
    2. Under App and notification settings, select Outlook.
    3. Turn off Automatically open Outlook email context in the side pane.
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  2. Jhun Buala 5,545 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-09-13T04:34:12.3433333+00:00

    Hi Melissa,

    Good day. The setting you're looking for is the Reading pane layout. In Outlook on the web, you can keep the reading pane visible without having messages open in a separate window.

    1. Open Outlook on the web.
    2. Select Settings (gear symbol) > Mail > Layout.
    3. Under Reading pane, select Right (or Bottom).
    4. Make sure it is not set to Popout only.
    5. Select Save if prompted.

    Microsoft's current Outlook settings confirm that Popout only is specifically the option that opens messages in a separate window. One more important point, simply checking the box beside a message to select it shouldn't normally open a separate window. If that's exactly what is happening, specially when you're clicking the checkbox on junk messages, it may be a browser or UI issue rather than a Reading Pane setting.

    If the setting is already Right or Bottom and you're still getting the pop-up, try a different browser or an InPrivate or Incognito window mode next.

    I hope this helps.

    Regards,
    Jhun

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