New Outlook or Classic Outlook?

Help deciding if you need to make the switch and ways to take control
14 June 2023 by
New Outlook or Classic Outlook?
Open User Systems Ltd, Chris Mann

In the last year, Microsoft has begun the "phasing in" process of a shiny new Outlook.
For the casual user it might just seem like an update, but to those in the IT world you might want to take a closer look before taking the leap, or rather being pushed!

The good news is that you can actually run both on the same computer, it is only the user's preference which to choose.
Also Classic Outlook will remain supported in the future.

If you've seen this icon at the top right of your screen, you'll be familiar.

Pros of New Outlook

  • Unifies the "Outlook Web" experience to desktop
  • Pin and Snooze emails

Cons (reasons you may want to stick with Classic)

  • No offline support
  • No PST support
  • COM Add-ins not supported (web addins only)
  • Limited support for 3rd party email accounts (Gmail, Yahoo etc)

Microsoft published a guide showing what the new Outlook looks like and praising the benefits.  Getting started with the new Outlook for Windows - Microsoft Support

There is a way to disable the reminder to upgrade


1.Right-Click Start, Choose Run
2.Type Regedit
3. Browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Options\General
4. Create a DWORD named HideNewOutlookToggle, set it's Value = 1
5. Reload Outlook

Switching back to Classic Outlook


1. Right-Click Start, Choose Run
2. Type Regedit
3. Browse to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Preferences
4. Create a DWORD named "UseNewOutlook", set it's Value = 0
5. Reload Outlook



New Outlook or Classic Outlook?
Open User Systems Ltd, Chris Mann 14 June 2023
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