Outlook Icon on Taskbar or Notification area (System Tray)

Outlook 2016 2013 2010 2007 2003
Like most Windows applications, when the Outlook application is open and running, it displays a corresponding icon on the Taskbar, where you can pin it to launch the application more quickly in the future. Even if you use custom parameters to start the Outlook application, you can still pin the corresponding icon to the Taskbar:
Outlook for Microsoft 365 window settings

In addition, the running Outlook application displays the icon in the Notification area (sometimes called the system tray or systray):

Outlook for Microsoft 365 in system Tray

Notes:

  1. If you don't see the Outlook icon in the notification area after you start Outlook, the icon may be hidden. Click the Expand button (up arrow) on the left side of the Notification area to expand it and also to show all hidden icons:
    Outlook for Microsoft 365 in systray
  2. Instead of the Outlook icon, you may see a closed envelope icon, indicating that you have received new messages:
    New mail in Outlook for Microsoft 365 in system Tray

The default settings minimize Outlook to the Taskbar, but you can make settings to minimize it to the System Tray (Notification area).

To enable this feature, follow these steps:

   1.   Right-click on the Outlook icon in the System Tray:

Outlook for Microsoft 365 options in system Tray

   2.   Select Hide When Minimized from the menu.

Now, when you minimize Outlook, it minimizes to the Notification area instead of the Taskbar. This feature frees up space on the Taskbar for other applications.

See also this tip in French: Comment réduire Outlook vers la barre d’état système.

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.