Folder pane width change

rseiler

Senior Member
Outlook version
Outlook 2016 32 bit
Email Account
Outlook.com (as MS Exchange)
It's so funny that they never fixed this. I wonder if they really ever even understood it.
 

Diane Poremsky

Senior Member
Outlook version
Outlook 2016 32 bit
Email Account
Office 365 Exchange
I thought it was fixed in the beta builds - at least for a few weeks. It's broken again though.
 

rseiler

Senior Member
Outlook version
Outlook 2016 32 bit
Email Account
Outlook.com (as MS Exchange)
It definitely could have been, as I only think to check it every couple months. Hard Computer Science problems take time.
 

Blair

Member
Outlook version
Outlook 2016 64 bit
Email Account
Exchange Server
I thought it was fixed in the beta builds - at least for a few weeks. It's broken again though.
I'm not sure this is necessarily a 'fix', but I was having a very similar issue as what you describe, but the converse. I have two monitors - when I run Outlook on the one that's in a landscape orientation, I can resize the folder pane with no problems. When I move the outlook window to the other monitor which is in the portrait orientation, I can only reduce the size of the folder pane - it won't resize larger beyond a fairly narrow size. I discovered through another forum a sort of a workaround... (This assumes the reading pane is on and is set to be on the right.)

When Outlook won't let you resize the folder pane the way you want, drag the left edge of the reading pane as far left as you can. For some reason when this is done, I can then resize the folder pane. Afterwards, just resize the reading pane back to where you want it. This is continuing to work after a few restarts of Outlook. May be worth a minute of your time to check if it works for you also.

Good Luck!
 

rseiler

Senior Member
Outlook version
Outlook 2016 32 bit
Email Account
Outlook.com (as MS Exchange)
Interesting, but that has no effect on the folder pane here. It's still a hard wall when you try to move it left (without the earlier dumb workaround of mine). Do you think it's maybe some byproduct of your dual monitor setup (just one here) that's aiding you somehow?

I'd really like to find some resolution to this, since it's also broken in the "new UI" in 16.0.14301.20004 out today. Further, my dumb workaround nullifies the new UI in not only Outlook but Word, Excel etc. That is, deleting those keys resets things to the old UI, and if you want the new UI again you have to re-enable it again and then not use my dumb Outlook workaround. But, of course, if you don't you're back to the Outlook problem....
 

Diane Poremsky

Senior Member
Outlook version
Outlook 2016 32 bit
Email Account
Office 365 Exchange
When I move the outlook window to the other monitor which is in the portrait orientation, I can only reduce the size of the folder pane - it won't resize larger beyond a fairly narrow size.
How wide is it? Portrait has some changes to best accommodate narrower screens. I think the break point is around 1000px width, but I no longer use a portrait regularly and forgot exactly.
 

Diane Poremsky

Senior Member
Outlook version
Outlook 2016 32 bit
Email Account
Office 365 Exchange
Hmm... quickie test on a 24" monitor (2 monitors, Outlook is on #2) The width of the message list seems to be the key - with the list at its minimum width - i can change the folder list to cover half. The reading pane get shrunk. So... shrink the message list, adjust the folder list....

Snag_13b59ef4.png


Wider message list - folder list max width -

Snag_13b6f983.png


message list at its max width -

Snag_13b8a3d7.png



Reading pane turned off - message list narrow

Snag_13b7c4e1.png
 

rseiler

Senior Member
Outlook version
Outlook 2016 32 bit
Email Account
Outlook.com (as MS Exchange)
Diane, your third screenshot shows what we're after (though only if your message list doesn't need to be that wide), but are you implying that your preceding maneuvers are what allowed you to get that far left? Or were you already in the state where it wasn't a problem to get that far left? When in that state, I've tried all kinds of dragging of everything but can't find anything to "unlock" the ability to get that far left, which is why I resort to deleting the Registry items.
 

Diane Poremsky

Senior Member
Outlook version
Outlook 2016 32 bit
Email Account
Office 365 Exchange
The third one - i just moved the bar in the reading pane to make it narrower. Basically, the width of one element is related to another and the order my make changes affects how much you can do.
 

Diane Poremsky

Senior Member
Outlook version
Outlook 2016 32 bit
Email Account
Office 365 Exchange
If you can't resize it, try turning off the reading pane, resizing it then turn it back on. That worked on another computer where i couldn't make it wider.

The narrowest i can go and still show the folder is 200ish px.
 

rseiler

Senior Member
Outlook version
Outlook 2016 32 bit
Email Account
Outlook.com (as MS Exchange)
Maybe that would have worked, I don't know, but nothing previous did (for me, though we may each have different expectations about this so may be talking about two slightly different things) except the Registry.

And as of 16.0.14322.20000, not even that works, which is not a good sign at all. The "experiment" may be over.
 

rseiler

Senior Member
Outlook version
Outlook 2016 32 bit
Email Account
Outlook.com (as MS Exchange)
All builds after 14315 show the problem, with no known workaround (including the reading pane one mentioned), so I'm forced to revert to that one every time. Tested through 14405.
 

Diane Poremsky

Senior Member
Outlook version
Outlook 2016 32 bit
Email Account
Office 365 Exchange
Is it not resizing at all? I've noticed I need to be very careful and slide a little at a time - it fails if it try to slide too much. Every pane does this. And sometimes dragging a little bit will end up moving the pane to its largest or smallest size. It's definitely possessed.
 

rseiler

Senior Member
Outlook version
Outlook 2016 32 bit
Email Account
Outlook.com (as MS Exchange)
It's the original problem: drag right as much as you want, but not as far left as you could before this bug came into being last year. And since the Registry workaround (Experiment* keys) no longer works, only reverting the build does. Speed doesn't seem to matter here, unless you drag left fast, which then collapses the pane completely (that's a feature, not a bug), which I don't want.

So, on newer builds you're left with a choice between a collapsed pane and one where there's a silly amount of space between the end of folder names and the unread message count.
 

rseiler

Senior Member
Outlook version
Outlook 2016 32 bit
Email Account
Outlook.com (as MS Exchange)
After really zooming into your third image above, I noticed that it doesn't have tight spacing at all. It's just that the lines are so long for the first half of your Favorites that I mistook it to be. The rest of it, including, most importantly the Inbox itself at the bottom, is very broad. And I think that was your best-case image.

Capture.PNG


This is of renewed interest because I tried installing the latest build in a VM and do NOT see the problem I've been describing. In fact, the spacing is extremely tight, closer even than I remembered being possible:

Capture.PNG


So, there's another variable in play here such that in a clean install the spacing is like that automatically but otherwise you're out of luck. I assume it's some other part of the Office Registry.
 

jjaeger

New Member
Outlook version
Outlook 365 64 bit
Email Account
Outlook.com (as MS Exchange)
After really zooming into your third image above, I noticed that it doesn't have tight spacing at all. It's just that the lines are so long for the first half of your Favorites that I mistook it to be. The rest of it, including, most importantly the Inbox itself at the bottom, is very broad. And I think that was your best-case image.

View attachment 3398

This is of renewed interest because I tried installing the latest build in a VM and do NOT see the problem I've been describing. In fact, the spacing is extremely tight, closer even than I remembered being possible:

View attachment 3397

So, there's another variable in play here such that in a clean install the spacing is like that automatically but otherwise you're out of luck. I assume it's some other part of the Office Registry.
Came across this thread a few months back and have been using the registry edits to get back to a 'normal' width navigation pane. System update took place and was surprised to see the first registry command fail (looks like it no longer exists) and as noted here - we are now stuck again with no workaround to avoid a very wide pane.

Is this indeed the current status, as it will take me some time to get used to this as my new normal. Appreciate all those here who have been contributing with suggestions on how to remedy this strange behavior.
 

rseiler

Senior Member
Outlook version
Outlook 2016 32 bit
Email Account
Outlook.com (as MS Exchange)
Thanks for the confirmation. I still have no answer short of completely wiping Office from your system (especially the Registry), but it continues through 14427 (tested with two distinct accounts/Office profiles). When I put 14315 back on, no more problem. Yet, on that VM I mentioned, I can't reproduce the problem no matter what I do regardless of build.

Best as I can figure that points to some Registry entry (aside from all the "Experiment" ones, which no longer pertain) that matters to post-14315 builds but has no bearing on earlier ones. Finding that, if that's even what it is, might be difficult given the vast number of Office Registry entries.
 

rseiler

Senior Member
Outlook version
Outlook 2016 32 bit
Email Account
Outlook.com (as MS Exchange)

Diane Poremsky

Senior Member
Outlook version
Outlook 2016 32 bit
Email Account
Office 365 Exchange
The switch from a space to block right is by design. As far as I know, a fix for the navigation pane was not about the number position but with the ability to shrink the pane - this is currently about as narrow as it will go - next step down is collapsed. I believe at the time of my earlier screenshots, the navigation pane's smallest width is the one in the screenshot you enlarged. So progress.... just not what we want.

1636653948943.png
 

rseiler

Senior Member
Outlook version
Outlook 2016 32 bit
Email Account
Outlook.com (as MS Exchange)
When you say "from a space to block right," does that mean right-justified? I'm not really sure what you mean by that.

In any case, you tend to have very long folder names, which I think makes this whole thing a non-issue:

Screenshot 2021-11-11 103535.png


But when you don't:

Screenshot 2021-11-11 103647.png
 
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