By default, Outlooks AutoPreview is set to No Preview. This will give the Inbox the stereotypical look where the sender, subject, and date are shown. I much prefer setting AutoPreview to the Preview Unread Items setting. I like that I can easily scan my Inbox and get a better feel if an email needs my immediate attention. A side effect of using this setting is that your unread items will standout from the rest and will be easier to focus on (which is why I don’t set AutoPreview to Preview all items, then they would all look the same once again).
1. Go to your Inbox and right-click on an empty spot in the Messages area. This will bring up the context menu. Select Customize Current View.
2. Click the Other Settings button.
3. In the AutoPreview section, select the Preview unread items radio button.
4. Click OK.
5. Click OK again to close the Customize View box.
Now your Inbox will look something like this:
