Outook Next Release Wish List - BWS1

[bill_bright]

Outlook Mail - Folder List - I wish outlook would display the number of "unread" emails listed in collapsed subfolders. It must be dynamic; as more of the Folder tree is collapsed, the responsibility to display the number of all unread emails in all subfolders moves up to the highest displayed folder. Conversely, as a Folder is expanded, the count display is distributed to the subfolders as applicable.

I have many folders, some with many subfolders. My folder list is longer than my screen. I use many rules to automatically move mail to specific folders. If a parent folder is collapsed, and my rule dumps mail into a child or subfolder, I might miss it until the next time I expand that folder. For example, I have a folder called Friends. Under Friends is Jim, Bob, Connie, Jill, and several others. If my rule sends Bob's email to folder Bob, and my Friends folder is collapsed, I will not see any numbers to the right of the folder indicating I have X number of unread emails below somewhere. I have to expand Friends and then I will see that I have a new email from Bob.

This is something I have been wanting forever and requested several times since plain old Outlook - the one before the one that came in Office 95 - if I remember right. I have seen it requested many times so I know I am not the only one wanting it. I don't know why MS won't make it happen.

Instead MS, in Out 2003, offers an "Unread Mail" folder under a "Search Folder" in their folder list - I hate it - I don't use it - and all it does is make my Folder List even longer!

Are there any clean add-ins or Woody tricks that can help?
Does anyone else want this feature?
How can we get MS to listen?
Woody or Peter, can you help?

-bill

[Karen]

Your wish has been answered Bill Outlook 2003 does exactly this - it has an unread folder in the favourites list which appears at the top of the navigator panel. This folder has shortcuts to all your unread mail.

Maybe someone was listening after all <img src=/S/smile.gif border=0 alt=smile width=15 height=15>

Sorry just read the rest of your post - I thought the unread mail feature in 2003 is great. I too have long folder lists for my email but am generally working on one or two important things at a time, I put a shortcut for these folders in my favourites

[JoeCool]

This is still a limitation in Outlook 2007.
I have also been waiting for this functionality for years (and years). Back in the 90's, I used Netscape Mail which had this feature and I loved it.

I don't understand Microsoft's resistance to this request.

[bill_bright]

Wow, I bet this is a near record for the oldest thread to be pulled up from the depths. One month shy of 4 years!

But anyway, that, excuse me, sucks that it still is not fixed, all these versions later. I can only guess it is not a common complaint.

[JoeP517]

If the Unread Mail folder does not work for you, try setting up a few custom search folders. You can always delete them if you don't like what they do.

Joe