individual emails won't open when i click on them

Question

individual emails won't open when i click on them

Christina Goodridge 0

I can see emails in the inbox but when I try to open them they don't open unless I double click and open a new windwo

Christina Goodridge 0 Reputation points

2026-11-06T20:11:48.13+00:00

I don't want to have to have 3 columns open at a time

I just want to be able to open the email and; not have to see the rest of the inbox like I could in my previous address
Bob Wilson 0 Reputation points

2026-11-07T21:01:50.79+00:00

I agree with Christina Goodridge . This only affects one of my accounts in THE SAME browser. Are you experimenting on me Microsoft? I want to click on a email and read it in the same window, not a new window. I DO NOT WANT the reading pane. I want my account to work as it did YESTERDAY! There is no setting that affects this behaviour.

2 answers

Your answer

Christina Goodridge 0 Reputation points

2026-11-06T20:11:48.13+00:00

I don't want to have to have 3 columns open at a time

I just want to be able to open the email and; not have to see the rest of the inbox like I could in my previous address
Bob Wilson 0 Reputation points

2026-11-07T21:01:50.79+00:00

I agree with Christina Goodridge . This only affects one of my accounts in THE SAME browser. Are you experimenting on me Microsoft? I want to click on a email and read it in the same window, not a new window. I DO NOT WANT the reading pane. I want my account to work as it did YESTERDAY! There is no setting that affects this behaviour.

Answer 1

This usually means the reading pane is turned off in Outlook on the web or Outlook.com.

Turn it back on:

Open Settings.
Go to Mail > Layout.
Under Reading pane, select Right or Bottom.
Save the change and refresh the page.

After that, a single click should open the email in place instead of requiring a double-click to open it in a new window.

my emails are no longer opening under my hotmail account. I have to double click them to open them in outlook - Microsoft Q&A

Answer 2

Welcome Christina Goodridge,

Thanks for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A Forum. I understand that emails in your Outlook.com inbox only open when you double-click them, which opens a new window. You would like a single click to open the email on its own, without the message list and other columns showing alongside it.

To narrow down the issue, could you please confirm:

Are you using Outlook.com in a web browser, or the new Outlook for Windows app? If it's a browser, which one (for example, Edge or Chrome)?
When you single-click an email now, does nothing happen at all, or does the email get selected without opening?

Please make sure you already tried the Q&A Assist steps. In addition, please try the following:

1, Hide the reading pane so emails open in full view

Select the gear icon in the top-right corner to open Settings
Go to Mail, then Layout
Under Reading pane, select Hide reading pane
Select Save, then refresh the page
A single click should now open the email across the full page. Use the back arrow to return to the inbox

2, Collapse the folder pane to reduce the number of columns

Select the three-line menu icon at the top left, next to Home, to hide the folder list
The folder pane will stay collapsed until you select the icon again

3, Make sure messages do not open in a new window by default

In Settings, go to Mail, then Compose and reply
Clear any option that opens messages or replies in a new window, then select Save

4, Test in a private browser window

Open an InPrivate window (Edge) or an Incognito window (Chrome) and sign in at outlook.com
If single-click works there, the issue is likely caused by browser data or an extension

5, Try a different browser

Sign in to Outlook.com in another browser to see if emails open with a single click

Looking forward to your update.