The headers of unread messages appear in bold text. A count of unread messages appears next to the folder name in the Navigation Pane (Navigation Pane: The column on the left side of the Outlook window that includes buttons for the Mail, Calendar, and Tasks views and the folders within each view. Click a folder to show the items in the folder.).
Mark messages as read or unread
- Select one or more messages that you want to mark as read or unread.
How do I select more than one message?
- To select multiple adjacent items, click the first item (item: An item is the basic element that holds information in Outlook (similar to a file in other programs). Items include e-mail messages, appointments, contacts, tasks, journal entries, notes, posted items, and documents.), and then hold down SHIFT and then click the last item.
- To select nonadjacent items, click the first item, and then hold down CTRL and then click additional items.
- On the Home tab, in the Tags group, click Unread/Read.
Keyboard shortcut To mark message as read, press CTRL+Q. To mark message as unread, press CTRL+U.
If you mark a message as unread after replying to or forwarding the message, the message symbol continues to appear as an open envelope. However, it is considered unread for sorting, grouping, or filtering.
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Mark all messages in a folder as read or unread
You can quickly mark all of the messages in a folder as read or unread. Multiple folders cannot be selected.
Mark as read
- In the Navigation Pane, click the folder.
- On the Folder tab, in the Clean Up group, click Mark All as Read.
Keyboard shortcut Click any message in the message list, press CTRL+A, and then press CTRL+Q.
Mark as unread
- In the Navigation Pane, click the folder.
- Click any message in the message list, and then press CTRL+A.
- On the Home tab, in the Tags group, click Unread/Read.
Keyboard shortcut To mark all messages as unread, after you press CTRL+A to select all messages, press CTRL+U.
Automatically mark messages as read in the Reading Pane
- Click the File tab.
- Click Options.
- Click Advanced, and then under Outlook panes, click Reading Pane.
- Select the Mark items as read when viewed in the Reading Pane check box, and then type a number in the Wait n seconds before marking item as read box.
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