Windows 11 - Outlook display issue after latest office update?

[HCHTech]

Well, here's a maddening problem. Two computers at the same client. One is Windows 10 pro (22H2), the other is Windows 11 pro (22H2). Both have Office 365 apps, with the latest update (normal channel) installed last Friday: 16.0.16924.20124.

Outlook on the Windows 10 computer looks just like it did last week. Here is a [redacted] screenshot:


The Windows 11 computer, on the other hand, has had some kind of scrambling in the display of messages for Outlook. Here is the same window as above, as but displayed on the Win11 computer:


As of last week, the displays looked pretty much the same. Now, however, the fonts are different, there are very wide left and right margins, and double spacing on the Win11 computer. The settings in Outlook for Stationery and Fonts are identical between the two computers. No amount of tinkering with fonts in that setting seems to affect how messages are displayed. There is no "Theme" selected in Outlook, but I tried to select one to see if it would reset the fonts, and it did not. I even tried a complete uninstall of Office, cleanout of directories and a fresh reinstall - which did not change things one bit. I also tried changing the default windows theme to see if that affected anything - it did not. I checked to see if there was any last-minute updates to Office and none were found. I didn't try changing to the early-release channel, though.

Messages sent out look just fine on the recipients computer (although the computer I sent a few to is Windows 10, not 11, but also has the same office build), so I think this is purely a display issue with Outlook, but I'm not sure how to get around it and make things look more "normal". The client is having other Windows 11 acclamation issues, so this is not exactly making them any happier - haha.

Is this a bug in the latest update? Has anyone else run into this today? Anyone more clever than me have a suggestion?

 

[NETWizz]

Strange. Mine looks good. I am running Versions 2310 (Build 16924.20124 Click-to-Run) on Windows 11 23H2 (OS Build 22631.2506)








Looks good enough on the Mac too... but I like hte white background better.

 

[callthatgirl]

You have immersive reader turned on, it's in the View area far right.

 

[HCHTech]

Well- that's......disappointing. It had to have been accidentally enabled by the client, or update. There are no other accessibility features in use on the machine, hell it was only setup about 3 weeks ago new. That was a hard introduction lesson for a feature I barely knew existed - I'll remote in to confirm this morning.

 

[HCHTech]

Well, thanks @callthatgirl - that was definitely it. It's odd that it got enabled, because tryiing to do that on purpose wasn't exactly intuitive. There is an icon on the main ribbon of Outlook once you select the View menu, but that icon isn't clickable. To enable it, I had to open a new or existing email, but there was nothing on the various menus there either - however if you SEARCH for it in the search box at the top of the open email, it turns it on. I THOUGHT this was some type of screen-reader, but in fact it's ostensibly there to help folks who have dyslexia. Microsoft says this:

Microsoft's Immersive Reader is a free tool, built into Word, OneNote, Outlook, Office Lens, Microsoft Teams, Reading Progress, Forms, Flip, Minecraft Education and the Edge browser, that implements proven techniques to improve reading and writing for people regardless of their age or ability.

I looked briefly in Edge, but the functionality is similarly hidden. I read that F9 was a keyboard shortcut to enable it, but that didn't work in either Edge or Outlook, so who knows.

So, good for them (I guess, I've never seen an actual review of this feature), but why make it so convoluted to use the darned thing? Any why enable it automatically without some obvious way to turn it off? I'll end my rant here since I haven't heard anyone with the afflictions it is supposed to address either praise or damn it. I know what my vote is, though.

 

[fincoder]

I just checked my Outlook (365 Personal) and Immersive Reader is very easy to turn on via the View ribbon when using the reading pane, or the main Message ribbon when an email is opened in its own window. Then you get an Immersive Reader ribbon at the top with a big red Close Immersive Reader button, so very easy to turn off.

 

[britechguy]

Immersive reader in Outlook 365 can be entered using ALT + V, L
and exited using ALT + Y, C
for those who want to use keyoard shortcuts.

 

[HCHTech]

On my own computer where I've been testing, I can see the Immersive Reader icon on the View ribbon, but it isn't clickable. Nothing else seems to be "wrong" with Outlook, so I'm not going to try and fix that. It might have something to do with the eight email addresses I have coming into Outlook - haha. Hey - don't judge!

 

[Sky-Knight]

Immersive reader in Outlook 365 can be entered using ALT + V, L
and exited using ALT + Y, C
for those who want to use keyoard shortcuts.

Reflext that alt, and now you've got a user that pressed Control + V, and L is a very common letter. I think you've just found out how this setting gets turned on by accident, someone went to hit paste and continue typing and hit ALT instead!

 

[britechguy]

@Sky-Knight

There are only so many keys on a keyboard, and so many combinations that can be had that even kinda-sorta-sometimes make sense.

Those who rely on keyboard shortcuts (and I do to a very much greater extent than most sighted users do because I've become accustomed to them from working with blind and low vision clients) have "the holy trinity:" CTRL + X, CTRL + C, and CTRL + V, so deeply embedded in muscle memory that a "hit-o" for any one of those three almost never happens.

Practice quite literally makes near-perfect.

 

[callthatgirl]

@HCHTech first time I got a call from a client, I swear I spent 2 hours working this issue. I had no idea either, then boom.....found and will never forget lol.

 

[NETWizz]

You have immersive reader turned on, it's in the View area far right.

How in the world do you know that? If that happened to me, I would probably be doing repairs, uninstalls, deleting the %appdata%, deleting registry entries etc.

 

[britechguy]

It's pretty obvious, at least to me, if Immersive Reader is active. Here are three partial screenshots:







Note that in @HCHTech's original message, second screenshot, that blue Immersive Reader ribbon indicator is clearly present. This is only there if Immersive Reader is active, and is shown in a distinctive color as well, so as not to be confused with the fixed standard ribbons.

 

[britechguy]

Any why enable it automatically without some obvious way to turn it off?

I've never seen Immersive Reader come on "automatically." If you're a point and clicker, you have to go to the View Ribbon to enable it.

I'll go with @Sky-Knight's theory this one that someone hit ALT + V, followed by L, and did so VERY rapidly, to turn this on. And it had to be rapid to escape notice. Try it yourself . . .

Hit ALT + V, and virtually the moment your finger has hit that V, you will see this:



Follow that by an L, and you immediately see this:



And you can only get into Immersive Reader when you are actually reading a message, whether in the preview pane or its own window. Note in my first screenshot the option for Immersive Reader is stippled out and cannot be chosen at that moment because I do not have a message open. I had to open one first in order to complete the process and end up with the Immersive Reader Ribbon shown in partial screenshot 2.

It would be very, very difficult indeed to activate Immersive Reader unintentionally and have no notice of the intervening display changes if you were doing it via keyboard. And whether you do it via keyboard or the View Ribbon, the first thing that's presented to you is the Immersive Reader ribbon itself.

I get how you could have missed the Immersive Reader Ribbon indicator in the midst of a furious quest to figure out what's happening. We've all done something similar. But I fail to believe that anyone who has turned on Immersive Reader, whether by point and click or keyboard, could fail to notice that they've done so. Now, if the cat walked over the keyboard then walked away, that's another thing altogether . . .

But Immersive Reader is not enabled by default. Furthermore, if I enable it, but exit Outlook and fire it up again, it is automatically DEactivated upon relaunch.

 

[britechguy]

Furthermore, if I enable it, but exit Outlook and fire it up again, it is automatically DEactivated upon relaunch.

I retract this part, as I had not selected a message for reading immediately upon relaunch. When I do, Immersive Reader remains active with its blue ribbon indicator showing. But until you actually get a message where it is being read, that Immersive Reader ribbon does not show.

 

[DRPCNZ]

@HCHTech first time I got a call from a client, I swear I spent 2 hours working this issue. I had no idea either, then boom.....found and will never forget lol.

I Concur, my experience was the same as yours around 2 hours

 

[fincoder]

On my own computer where I've been testing, I can see the Immersive Reader icon on the View ribbon, but it isn't clickable.

It's disabled like that for me if there is no message selected. As soon as I select a message in my inbox it's clickable.

 

[britechguy]

It's disabled like that for me if there is no message selected. As soon as I select a message in my inbox it's clickable.

Yup. Because Immersive Reader is about reformatting actual messages for ease of reading. You're reinforcing what I said in message #14: . . . you can only get into Immersive Reader when you are actually reading a message, whether in the preview pane or its own window. Note in my first screenshot the option for Immersive Reader is stippled out and cannot be chosen at that moment because I do not have a message open. I had to open one first in order to complete the process and end up with the Immersive Reader Ribbon shown in partial screenshot 2.

 

[fincoder]

You're reinforcing what I said in message #14

Sorry, I missed that bit in your post. There was no need for my post.

 

[callthatgirl]

@NETWizz the nice part about what I do, is that I get all the weird requests and now put them in my research queue, schtuff I work on between jobs so I can learn for the next client. I do blogs still so that helps bring in views, which leads to work.

Things you said you'd do, I never do lol.

Honestly, on this request if a new client asked me to fix it, I'd tell them over and phone and have them donate to my Starbucks card. They usually give $25, helps me out when I'm out on the road.