Note  To see only unread and flagged messages, click the arrow at the top of the conversation again.

To prevent unread and flagged messages from displaying, on the View menu, point to Expand/Collapse Groups, and then click Always Show Unread and Flagged Messages.

The grouped items (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.) may be collapsed. To expand groups (group: A set of items with one common attribute; for example, priority or status. Also, to group is to combine items with a common attribute under a shared heading in a table or on a timeline.) to show details, click Expand . To collapse groups to hide details, click Collapse .

The field may not be included in the current view. Add the field.

In the Group By dialog box, fields (field: An element of a table that contains a specific item of information, such as a last name. A Title field might contain Mr. or Ms. Databases such as Microsoft SQL Server refer to fields as columns.) are divided into several sets to help you find them easily. You may need to select another set of fields. In the Select available fields from box, click a different field set.

Items (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.) in the table (table: A view type that displays a list of items (rows) and their attributes (columns). Use this view to display details about items. Table is the default view type for Inbox and Tasks.) may be grouped (group: A set of items with one common attribute; for example, priority or status. Also, to group is to combine items with a common attribute under a shared heading in a table or on a timeline.) by a field (field: An element of a table that contains a specific item of information, such as a last name. A Title field might contain Mr. or Ms. Databases such as Microsoft SQL Server refer to fields as columns.), such as Categories, that can contain more than one value (value: The text, date, number, or logical input that completes a condition that a field must meet for searching or filtering. For example, the field Author with the condition equals must include a value, such as John, to be complete.). For example, if an item is assigned to two categories, such as Business and Ideas, the item is listed under the Business group heading and is repeated under the Ideas group heading. Even though you see the item more than once, it is stored only once. Any changes you make to one instance of the item are made to all instances of the item.

In multi-line layout, group headers do not show the total number of items in the group, and the number of unread items is visible only when the group is collapsed. If you want to see the total number of items in the group, switch to single-line layout for the folder.