Favorite Folders Pane Enhanced (Outlook 2007)

Outlook 2007 got lots of little improvements to go with the big ones. The Favorite Folders pane got two new features: the ability to minimize the pane, and the ability to remove it altogether. There is also a new look to the pane that comes into play when you minimize the Navigation pane , but I talk about that where I talk about the rest of the Navigation pane changes.

Minimizing the Favorite Folders Pane

While having the Favorite Folders pane visible is usually the best way to go, you may want to minimize it at times. This is easy in Outlook 2007. If you look closely at the title bar of the pane, you will see a little double-headed arrow facing up (assuming the pane isn't already minimized). See the figure for an enlarged view.

Use the arrow to minimize the Favorite Folders pane.

This works as you would expect. Click the up-arrow to minimize the pane so only the title bar is visible. When the pane is minimized, the double up-arrow is replaced by a double down-arrow that you can click to restore the pane.

Removing and Restoring the Pane

If you don't want to see the Favorite Folders pane at all, you can remove it from view by turning it off. Doing this doesn't change what's in the pane, it simply removes it from the Navigation pane. If you later restore the pane, the contents of it are the same as they were when you removed it.

To remove or restore the pane from view, do this:

In the Mail view, click View then Navigation pane.

In the Navigation pane menu,

Either clear or set the checkmark next to the Favorite Folders option in the menu to respectively remove the pane from view or restore it to view.

Click here to return to the main Favorite Folders pane page.