Viewing your Inbox
To view your mail in Outlook, follow these steps:
- On the Outlook screen display, be sure that the option to view Mail is selected.

- Double-click the folder with your email address (or whatever you named your email account) to expand it, and then select INBOX.

When you relaunch Outlook, this setting will default to what it was originally. To configure Outlook so that it ALWAYS opens to your Inbox, follow these steps:
- Select Tools > Options. The Options dialog box appears.
- Select the Other tab.
- Click Advanced Options...
- In the Startup in this folder section, click Browse...

- The Select Folder dialog box appears. Click the folder with your email address (or whatever you named your email account) to expand it, then select the Inbox that appears under it.
- Click OK three times to close the dialog boxes.
Note: By default, Outlook is configured to check for new mail messages every 30 minutes. To modify this schedule, see Send/Receive Options. To force a check for new messages, click the Send/Receive icon in the Toolbar.

- Select View > Arrange by and de-select the Show in Groups option. Be sure that the Date option is selected.

- Select View > Reading Pane.
- From the drop down menu, select where you want the reading pane to appear: Right, Bottom or Off.

- Select View > Current View >Customize Current View.
- The Customize View dialog box appears. Select Other settings.
- The Other Settings dialog box appears. Under Other Options, uncheck the checkbox for Use compact layout in widths smaller than and select the check box for Always use single-line layout.
- Click OK twice to close the open dialog boxes.
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Outlook arranges your email in groups, by default. If you would prefer to list your email strictly by date, follow these steps:
By default, Outlook is configured to display the reading pane on the right side of the screen display. Follow these steps to alter the reading pane:
To configure Outlook to display only one line per header, follow these steps:
For more advanced features related to viewing Inbox items, see Send/Receive Options.
Last Updated: 2/3/09