How to display and hide the Reading pane

Outlook 365 2016 2010 2007 2003
You can display or hide a Reading pane that displays the header and partial contents of the selected message.

To do so, on the View tab, in the Layout group, choose Reading Pane:

Layout in Outlook 2013

You can specify where the Reading Pane should be placed:

  • Right:
Right Layout in Outlook 2013
  • Bottom:
Bottom Layout in Outlook 2013
  • Or turn off the Reading pane.

Please, disable AdBlock and reload the page to continue

Today, 30% of our visitors use Ad-Block to block ads.We understand your pain with ads, but without ads, we won't be able to provide you with free content soon. If you need our content for work or study, please support our efforts and disable AdBlock for our site. As you will see, we have a lot of helpful information to share.

Using the Calendar's Reading Pane

Using the Calendar's Reading Pane

Like the Inbox and other message views, the Calendar view also has a Reading Pane that lets you preview appointments and other items in your schedule without opening them.
Read and Unread email messages

Read and Unread email messages

When you open an e-mail, it automatically is marked as read. However, if you are using the Reading Pane to view messages instead of opening them, you have a number of possible options for marking e-mails as being read.
Message settings

Message settings

Outlook message window does not show all message fields. There many fields hidden behind the Options button, where you can set message priority, delivery notifications, etc.