Microsoft Outlook 2010 : Configuring Reading Pane Behavior

6/8/2012 6:21:32 PM

You will frequently read and work with messages and other Outlook items in the Reading Pane. You can display the Reading Pane to the right of or below the module content pane.

Viewing Reading Pane Content

You might find it difficult to read the text in the Reading Pane at its default size, particularly if your display is set to a high screen resolution, as is becoming more and more common. You can change the size of the content displayed in the Reading Pane by using the Zoom controls located at the right end of the program window status bar to change the pane's magnification level.

In the program window, the Zoom controls change the size of the content in the Reading Pane.

You can change the magnification of the Reading Pane contents in the following ways:

To set a specific magnification level, click the Zoom Level button to open the Zoom dialog box.

Select one of the three predefined magnification levels, or select or type a specific magnification level in the Percent box.
To change the zoom level in 10 percent increments, click the Zoom Out and Zoom In buttons.
To quickly change the zoom level to any setting between 10 percent and 500 percent, move the Zoom slider to the left or right.

Marking Messages as Read

By default, Outlook does not change the read status of a message when you preview it in the Reading Pane. If you commonly read your messages in the Reading Pane rather than opening them in message windows, you can keep better track of read and unread messages by changing the default setting.

To instruct Outlook to mark a message as read after you have previewed it in the Reading Pane:

Display the Backstage view, and then click Options.
On the Mail page of the Outlook Options dialog box, in the Outlook Panes area, click Reading Pane.

The Reading Pane dialog box opens.

You can configure the way Outlook handles messages displayed in the Reading Pane.
In the Reading Pane dialog box, select the check box corresponding to the way you want Outlook to handle messages you view in the Reading Pane.
- Mark items as read when viewed in the Reading Pane Outlook will mark the item as read after it has been displayed in the Reading Pane for five seconds or an alternative amount of time (up to 999 seconds) that you specify.
- Mark item as read when selection changes Outlook will mark the item as read when you select another item.
Click OK in the Reading Pane dialog box and in the Outlook Options dialog box.

Single Key Reading

You can scroll through a long message in the Reading Pane in the following ways:

Scroll at your own pace by dragging the vertical scroll bar that appears at the right side of the Reading Pane.
Move up or down one line at a time by clicking the scroll arrows.
Move up or down one page at time by clicking above or below the scroll box.
Move up or down one page at a time by pressing the Spacebar. When you reach the end of a message by using this feature, called Single Key Reading, pressing the Spacebar again displays the first page of the next message. This option is very convenient if you want to read through several consecutive messages in the Reading Pane, or if you find it easier to press the Spacebar than to use the mouse.

Tip

Single Key Reading is turned on by default. If you find it distracting, you can turn it off by clearing the Single Key Reading Using Space Bar check box in the Reading Pane dialog box.