Postponing the New Outlook

January 28, 2025

The New Outlook does not support COM addins.  Microsoft is basically killing all the addins for Outlook that people use.  You have no idea how pissed I am about this.  In the 30 years I’ve worked for this company, I’ve used 3 COM add-ins for Outlook in my day-to-day work:

  • Simply File – Uses AI to file messages into folders for archival/reference in a single click
  • Send Individually – Uses Outlook to email merge messages to contacts by simply putting all of their email addresses/contacts into the To: line of an message & hitting “Send Individually”
  • FileMinimizer – Auto-compresses Office documents – particularly PowerPoint files – by resizing graphics, removing large OLE objects, etc.

These apps are critically important to how I work and when I’m forced to go to New Outlook, I will no longer have these add-ins available and the manufacturers do not have replacements & likely will NEVER have replacements because the programming model is so radically different.

There’s a links to provide FEEDBACK to the Outlook group to stop the mandatory switch to New Outlook & enable customers to remain on Classic Outlook.  Here’s the feedback entries to “vote up”:

The New Outlook’s lack of extensibility is simply horrible.  I don’t understand how the Outlook Product Group can be so completely blind. Unless I’m missing something, the New Outlook cripples users by having:

  • No integration with any of the Outlook productivity add ins people have relied on for DECADES
  • No integration with ERP, CRM, Legal & Financials solutions that have been built for DECADES
  • No compatibility with customer VBA scripts people have used to run their businesses – esp small businesses

I’ve heard the excuse is “SECURITYSECURITYSECURITY” and my answer to that is MAKE YOUR CODE MORE SECURE THEN.  Don’t kill everyone’s Outlook business work patterns just because you in the Outlook product group can’t get your stuff together.

I’m slightly passionate about this issue as you can tell. If you’ve switched to the New Outlook & want to switch back to Classic Outlook but you discover that the toggle is missing in the Outlook UI, read the following instructions & apply the referenced Registry Key:


This won’t allow you to keep Classic Outlook forever I’m afraid. There is a Microsoft 365 Message Center entry here that discusses the future of Classic/New Outlook:

The message outlines what will happen to users. The timeline for the mandatory rollout of the New Outlook is outlined in the above Microsoft 365 Message Center message starting with the Opt-Out phase of new Outlook’s rollout beginning in April 2026.

In April 2026, you’ll be switched to the New Outlook however you’ll have the option to switch back. The question that is unclear right now is, “And then what? How long can I remain on Classic Outlook? When is Microsoft going to force me to go to New Outlook if I switch back to Classic Outlook after April 2026?”

For example, if Microsoft provides access to Classic Outlook for 12 months after this, then April 2027 would be the drop dead date. We unfortunately will not know until more is revealed – supposedly in the same Message Center message. I’ve copy/pasted the Message Center message verbatim below: (Warning: The Microsoft 365 product group says that they’ll update this message as they have more to report so check the OFFICIAL message center message to ensure you’re reading the most recent message content)

MC949965 – Toggle to New Outlook

We’re making some changes to the migration from classic Outlook to new Outlook for Windows.

We aim to give more than 12 months of notice to help our customers prepare. Starting April 2026, users with Microsoft 365 for Enterprise licenses will be toggled from classic Outlook for Windows to new Outlook for Windows. Users will be toggled into new Outlook once with this roll-out, with potential to be toggled again in the future. Users will maintain the ability to go back to and use classic Outlook.

Our goal with this change is to give users an opportunity to try new Outlook as millions of users already have. New Outlook gives users the most modern experience with Copilot features, theming, and a wave of valuable time-saving features like Pinning and Snoozing mails. Users are also welcome to give us feedback on new Outlook using Feedback in the Help ribbon, so we can tailor the best email and calendar experience.

When this will happen:

General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out April 2026.

How this will affect your organization:

You are receiving this message because our reporting indicates one or more users in your organization are using Microsoft 365 Enterprise licenses.

Users will have notice in the application prior to being toggled and will have the option to opt out of the experience in Outlook Options > General. Users who are toggled into new Outlook can toggle back to classic Outlook if they choose to.

Users will not be toggled if one or more of the following is true:

User-facing article: Switch to new Outlook for Windows – Microsoft Support. We will continue to update this article as we get closer to April 2026.

What you need to do to prepare:

This rollout will happen automatically with no admin action required starting April 2026. You may want to notify your users about this change and update any relevant documentation as appropriate. When this change takes effect, if you choose to exclude users from the experience, you can use the following Admin policy to manage new Outlook migration: Admin-Controlled Migration to New Outlook

Later, this policy will also be available via Group Policy Objects (GPO), Cloud Policy, and Intune.

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Posted by kurtsh