Microsoft is now switching Outlook to vertical navigation for apps too

Outlook will soon move the location of apps for everyone to a different location. The background is the switch to vertical navigation. This is highly criticized as there is no option to undo the changes. Martin Geuß reports this in his online magazine dr. windows. Microsoft announced a few days ago that the layout of apps such as mail, calendar, contacts, and tasks in Outlook will be changed.

The TechCommunity announced the move, explaining what the change is about: “The position for accessing Outlook apps is moved from bottom to left. Since March 2022, Outlook users in the current channel can choose to use the new test feature. default for navigating Mail, Calendar, Contacts and other apps (as of Current Channel version 2207)”.

But that also means Microsoft is now doing away with the option that’s been around since March and making the change the default. Then there is no way to change the position of the apps themselves.

Unified User Experience

The change, Microsoft says, will provide a consistent experience across Outlook, Teams, and Office.com. The new position also frees up space in the UI for integrating more apps into Outlook: “You can easily launch popular apps like Tasks, Yammer, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint without leaving Outlook, with more to come.

You can also customize which apps you see by right-clicking on your favorite apps to pin them,” Microsoft CEO Abdias Ruiz told TechCommunity. The Outlook team is aware that this is a big change in the user experience and it will take time to get used to the new place for email, calendar, etc. However, the previous navigation will be completely replaced and there is no option to go back to the old navigation. This, in turn, annoys some users who have criticized the switch.

The problem with vertical navigation is especially difficult with smaller displays or split window layouts because the bar takes up valuable space. So far, however, Microsoft has not responded to this wish, which has arisen many times since March, to leave the regulation to the users themselves.