Cannot forward an email from another email account that is in my Outlook

Question

Cannot forward an email from another email account that is in my Outlook

Philip Haretos 10

Hi,

In old Outlook, I was easily able to change the "from" email address by selecting any email account that was set up in my Outlook. I could simply switch the "from" email and send the email I was working on. Everything worked as it should.

Now, when I change the "from" email, Outlook automatically opens a new message window instead of just changing the address in the email I'm trying to send. It's so incredibly frustrating.

PLEASE HELP!

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4 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

Hornblower409 16,350

@Damien Fort said

[when I change the "from" email, Outlook automatically opens a new message window] That's crazy

So say we all.

But all you can do at this point is Vote for and Comment on this existing Feature Request, and hope that someone at Microsoft notices.

Preserve Reply/Forward content when changing the From address in New Outlook
https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/idea/ca02da50-66b2-f111-aad1-6045bd8232d6
(You must open the Feedback Portal link and "Sign In" at the top right of the Feedback page before you can vote).

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Answer 2

Damien Fort 0

That's crazy. When Will Microsoft finish the development of that terrible software?? We pay for outlook and so many basic functionality are not working.

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Answer 3

Victor1-V 13,040 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Philip Haretos,

Thank you for your post in the Microsoft Q&A forum. I understand your frustration with the change in behavior when trying to switch the "From" address in the new Outlook for Windows. It can be very disruptive when a familiar workflow is altered.

I have reviewed the existing answer from Q&A Assist, and it correctly identifies the current design of the new Outlook. This behavior is indeed different from the classic Outlook and is intended to provide better account separation. While the previous method of seamlessly switching within the same window is not currently available, I would like to offer an alternative method you can try:

Do not change the "From" field in your current email draft.
Instead, copy the content (Ctrl+C) from your current draft (the email you want to send).
Go to your account list in the folder pane, select the account you want to send from, and click New Message.
Paste the content (Ctrl+V) into this new message window.
Complete and send the email from this new window.

While this is not a perfect solution, it can help you achieve the goal of sending content from a specific account without losing your work.

If this new design does not meet your needs, the most effective way to request a change is to provide direct feedback to the Outlook development team. Within the new Outlook app, please go to Help > Feedback to share your thoughts on this feature. User feedback is a key factor in planning future updates.

User's image I hope this additional information is helpful. Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Ragz 0 Reputation points

2026-04-09T13:47:00.72+00:00

This is not a helpful "solution" this is MORE work.....Like the OP, I work out of several shared mailboxes and some emails need to be sent from MY email or one of the other email addresses.

On top of that... one of my CCA's has been using MY name b/c the system will not let her use her own without loosing the email.... this is unacceptable.

Please fix this, don't give me a work around or a band aid...
Victor1-V 13,040 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-10T13:38:07.7733333+00:00

Hi Ragz,

I understand your frustration. Changes like this can be very disruptive, especially when you regularly work with shared mailboxes and need flexibility with the From address.

Please note that this is a user‑to‑user forum. Contributors here are fellow users and do not have the ability to change product behavior or apply fixes on the Outlook side. The behavior you’re seeing is part of the current design of the new Outlook experience.

Since this does not meet your workflow needs, the most effective way to raise this is by submitting feedback directly from Outlook (Help > Feedback). That feedback goes to the product team and is how requests like this are formally tracked and considered.

Hopefully this explains the current situation and helps ensure your concern reaches the right channel.

Answer 4

In the new Outlook for Windows, when you attempt to change the "From" email address while composing an email, it opens a new message window instead of just changing the address in the current email. This design is intended to prevent accidental actions on the wrong account. Unfortunately, this means that the functionality you were used to in the old Outlook is not available in the new version at this time.

More cross-account functionalities are being planned for future updates, but currently, this is how the new Outlook operates.

References:

Supported accounts in new Outlook for Windows