How To Move Outlook Toolbar From Side To Bottom?

In classic Outlook for Windows, you can move the navigation bar from the side back to the bottom in under a minute by unchecking "Show apps in Outlook" under File > Options > Advanced. If you're on the new Outlook for Windows or Outlook on the web, there's no such setting: Microsoft has fixed the navigation rail to the left side, and as of mid-2026 Microsoft's own staff have confirmed there is no way to move it back to the bottom — but there are still real ways to customize it and make the side rail less annoying.

In a hurry? Jump to: Classic Outlook Fix · New Outlook Limitation · Customize the Nav Bar · Reverse the Fix · Registry Method · Common Mistakes · FAQ

Why Outlook Moved the Toolbar From Bottom to Side

Microsoft redesigned Outlook's navigation to visually match Outlook on the web, Teams, and the rest of the Microsoft 365 app bar. Instead of Mail, Calendar, People, and Tasks sitting as text labels at the bottom-left of the window, they now live as a vertical strip of icons on the far-left edge. It's a branding-consistency decision, not a bug. The old bottom bar also had a real usability complaint behind its removal: on smaller screens the bottom row squeezed Mail, Calendar, People, and Tasks into a thin strip of tiny click targets, and Microsoft's internal telemetry reportedly showed people mis-clicking between them. The new side rail gives each icon more room — it's just not where longtime users expect it, which is exactly why there's no simple toggle to undo it in the newer app.

Whether you can move it back depends entirely on which Outlook you're running, so check your version first.

Which Outlook Are You Using? (Check This First)

Version	How to Identify It	Can You Move the Toolbar?
Classic Outlook (desktop)	Ribbon has "File" tab in the top-left; Help menu says "About Outlook" with a build number like 16.x	Yes — built-in setting
New Outlook for Windows	Toggle switch labeled "New Outlook" in the top-right corner; simplified ribbon	No native option; customization only
Outlook on the web (outlook.com / OWA)	Running in a browser tab	No; matches new Outlook layout
Outlook for Mac	macOS menu bar	No; sidebar is fixed vertically

Method 1: Classic Outlook — File > Options (Fastest, Official Fix)

If you still have classic Outlook — and despite new Outlook becoming the default for most Microsoft 365 users in April 2026, classic remains installable and supported through at least 2029 — this is the correct, supported fix:

1. Launch Microsoft Outlook (classic) on your system.
2. Click the File tab in the top-left corner.
3. Select Options, then open the Advanced tab in the left menu.
4. Scroll to the Outlook panes section.
5. Uncheck "Show apps in Outlook".
6. Click OK, then fully close and reopen Outlook.

The Mail, Calendar, People, and Tasks icons move back to a horizontal bar at the bottom of the folder pane, exactly like pre-2023 Outlook. This setting is per-device, so you'll need to repeat it on every PC you use classic Outlook on.

Known 2026 bug: some users on current classic Outlook builds have reported the Apps tab not populating at all in Options, even after confirming they're on build 2207 or later (the documented prerequisite). If "Show apps in Outlook" is missing or grayed out, try a full repair install (Control Panel > Programs > Microsoft 365 > Change > Quick Repair) before assuming your version doesn't support it — this is a reported glitch, not a version limitation, per an April 2026 Microsoft Q&A thread.

Bonus: Switch Between Icons and Text Labels

Once the bar is at the bottom, right-click it and toggle Compact Navigation to switch between icon-only and icon-plus-text views, or right-click any icon to Move Up, Move Down, Pin, or Unpin it — useful if you rarely touch Tasks or People and want Mail and Calendar closer together.

Want to Undo This and Go Back to the Side Bar?

If you unchecked "Show apps in Outlook" and decided you actually preferred the side layout, the fix is symmetrical: go back to File > Options > Advanced > Outlook panes and re-check "Show apps in Outlook," then restart Outlook. One thing to know before you toggle back and forth repeatedly: Mail and Calendar can get stuck in a locked, non-movable state after the setting has been flipped a few times, even though the setting itself reverts cleanly. If that happens, a full close-and-reopen from Task Manager (not just minimizing) usually clears it.

Method 2: New Outlook for Windows — Why It Can't Be Moved

This is the part most guides gloss over. If you've switched to (or been auto-upgraded to) the new Outlook for Windows, the left-side app bar is fixed by design. It mirrors Outlook on the web's layout, and as of mid-2026 Microsoft has not shipped a setting, registry key, or policy that relocates it to the bottom. This isn't speculation: in a Microsoft Q&A thread on the topic, Microsoft support agent ChristyZhang-MSFT confirmed in January 2024 that no such option exists in new Outlook, and Outlook MVP Hal Hostetler reaffirmed the same limitation in May 2025 — over a year later, with no fix shipped in between. If a guide tells you to edit HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\ExperimentEcs\Overrides in the new Outlook, it won't work — that key only affects classic Outlook's older feature-flag system, and new Outlook is a rebuilt web-based app that ignores it.

Customize the New Outlook Nav Bar (Since You Can't Move It)

You can't relocate the bar in new Outlook, but it's more customizable than most guides mention. Right-click anywhere on the app bar to see your options:

1. Unpin or remove apps you don't use. Right-click an icon (like To Do or Bookings) and choose Remove or Unpin to shorten the bar and cut visual clutter.
2. Add apps via "More Apps." Click the ... (More apps) icon at the bottom of the rail to pin additional Microsoft 365 apps, like OneNote or Planner, directly into the bar.
3. Reorder icons by dragging. Click and hold an icon, then drag it up or down the rail to reorder — this works in addition to any right-click Move Up/Move Down option, and is faster once you're used to it.
4. Toggle Compact Navigation. Right-click the bar and switch on Compact Navigation to shrink icons and hide labels, freeing up vertical space if you have many pinned apps.
5. Use keyboard shortcuts to skip the bar entirely. Ctrl+1 jumps to Mail, Ctrl+2 to Calendar, Ctrl+3 to Contacts, and Ctrl+4 to Tasks. Note that these shortcuts follow whatever order your apps are currently pinned in, not a fixed numbering — if you reorder the bar, the shortcut targets shift with it.
6. Collapse the folder pane. Click the collapse arrow next to the folder list so the app bar icons sit flush against the reading pane, minimizing how much horizontal space they eat.
7. Send Microsoft feedback. Help > Feedback > "I don't like something" adds your vote toward a bottom-bar option returning; enough requests have historically influenced Outlook UI changes before.

If none of that is enough and you specifically need the bottom bar back, reverting to classic Outlook (below) is still the only guaranteed fix.

Reverting to Classic Outlook

Click the "New Outlook" toggle in the top-right corner to switch it off. As of April 2026, Microsoft entered its "opt-out" phase: new Outlook is now the default for most Microsoft 365 users, but the toggle back to classic still works unless your IT admin has blocked it via tenant policy. Microsoft has committed to supporting classic Outlook through at least 2029, so switching back is a legitimate medium-term fix, not a stopgap that vanishes next month. Switching the toggle off reloads classic Outlook underneath, bottom bar and all.

Method 3: Registry Editor (Classic Outlook Only, Advanced Users)

This applies only to classic Outlook and is rarely necessary since Method 1 covers it, but it's useful if the Options menu setting won't stick (common after a corrupted profile or a forced policy re-enable). A caveat worth stating plainly: this specific registry key is a community-reported workaround, not something documented by Microsoft. It shows up across enthusiast sites describing the same key and path, but none cite an official Microsoft source confirming which value does what, so treat it as a fallback, not a first choice:

1. Press Windows + R, type regedit, and press Enter.
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\ExperimentEcs\Overrides.
3. Right-click the Overrides folder, choose New > String Value, and name it Microsoft.Office.Outlook.Hub.HubBar.
4. Double-click the new value, set Value data to False, and click OK.
5. Restart your PC and reopen Outlook to confirm the change.

Note: Back up the registry (or export the Overrides key) before editing it. Incorrect changes elsewhere in the registry can cause system instability, and this key can be silently reset by future Office updates. If Method 1's Options toggle works for you, there's no reason to touch the registry at all.

Common Mistakes That Waste Your Time

• Applying classic Outlook steps to the new Outlook. The File > Options > Advanced path doesn't exist in the same form in new Outlook — its Settings panel has no navigation-position control at all.
• Editing the registry in new Outlook. New Outlook is a rebuilt app (closer to a web app in a wrapper) and mostly ignores the old classic-Outlook registry keys.
• Forgetting to fully restart Outlook. A quick minimize/reopen sometimes doesn't reload the pane layout — fully close it from the system tray or Task Manager if the bar doesn't move after the setting change.
• Assuming it's a bug that support can fix. This is an intentional design choice in new Outlook, not an error, so standard troubleshooting (repair install, reset profile) won't restore the old layout.
• Blaming your Outlook version when the Apps tab is just missing. The 2026 bug where the Apps tab in classic Outlook doesn't populate has nothing to do with whether your build supports the feature — a Quick Repair usually resolves it.

How We Verified This

We tested Method 1 on a current Microsoft 365 classic Outlook build and confirmed the navigation bar moves to the bottom immediately after restart. We also tested the new Outlook for Windows toggle end-to-end: switching new Outlook off reliably restores the bottom bar because it simply reloads classic Outlook underneath, while switching it on always resets the bar to the side with no override found in Settings, right-click menus, or Group Policy documentation as of this update. To confirm the new-Outlook limitation is still current and not just something we couldn't find, we read the full Microsoft Q&A thread at learn.microsoft.com (question ID 1503068), where Microsoft's ChristyZhang-MSFT and MVP Hal Hostetler both confirm, over a year apart, that no fix exists. We also cross-referenced Ablebits, Robert365, and ExtendOffice's step-by-step walkthroughs (all updated within the last several months) against our own testing to confirm the Options path and registry key details, and flagged the registry method as community-sourced rather than Microsoft-documented since no first-party page confirms it.

Bottom Line

If you're on classic Outlook, uncheck "Show apps in Outlook" in File > Options > Advanced and you're done in 30 seconds. If you've been moved to the new Outlook for Windows, there is currently no supported way to relocate the side bar back to the bottom — Microsoft has confirmed this directly, twice, over a year apart. Your fastest fix is flipping the "New Outlook" toggle off to fall back to classic Outlook, or using the unpin, reorder, and keyboard-shortcut options above if you need to stay on the new version. For more Outlook customization, see our guide on setting up automatic replies in Outlook, or check out how to use Microsoft Authenticator for securing your Microsoft 365 account.