Outlook 2003: selecting a mail folder automaticallyhighlights/selects/opens the first message in tha

[vtyau.online]

I've been struggling with how to describe this problem and thus
searching for similar reports of my issue is proving difficult. So I'm
posting this to the group for support.

I have several folders for various accounts and email filtering rules.
I select to only download message headers by default on all my
accounts. I use the Reading Pane. I use the option that marks a
message read when the message selection changes.

When I open Outlook 2003, it opens into the mail portion of the
application and automatically highlights/selects the first message in
the Inbox. Similarly, if I select a different folder Outlook
automatically highlights/selects the first message in that folder.
This is a very annoying behavior of the application for two main
reasons:
1) If only the header of the message was downloaded Outlook pulls down
the message body.
2) Since the application automatically selects the first message in
the active folder, when I change selection the message is marked as
read.


I really would like to continue using the Reading Pane, as I dislike
having to double-click on a message to view it. I want everything self-
contained in one application window. But automatically opening
messages when either Outlook launches or when I change folder
selections is not at all acceptable to me.

Is there another solution to my issue(s)?

Thanks,
Vahid

 

[Judy Gleeson \(MVP Outlook\)]

The solution I know if to change this setting:

"I use the option that marks a
message read when the message selection changes."

Right mouse click each email or a selected bunch of them to mark them read.

Regards

Judy Gleeson
MVP Outlook
Trainer and Consultant

www.pragmatix.com.au


..

 

[vtyau.online]

Thanks for the quick reply Judy. However, the proposed solution does
not address all of the issues. De-selecting the option to mark a
message read when selection changes addresses the 2nd problem. But
that 2nd problem is really an artifact of the 1st problem, which is
Outlook automatically selecting the first message of an active
folder.

After posting and searching some more, it is becoming more apparent to
me that it is not possible to modify that "auto-select" behavior of
Outlook. And in turn, this means I cannot use the Reading Pane since
Outlook will always download the rest of the message.

If anyone has other ideas about that auto-select behavior and how to
counter it, please advise.

Thanks,
Vahid