In new outlook the options for "Reply" "Reply all" and "Forward" are grayed out

Question

Hi,

I believe recently there was an update in new Outlook and now when I select an email, in the right hand panel I have the options to Reply, Reply all and Forward, but they are grayed out.

This is maddening - I have to open each email and then the options are available.

To make matters even more inconsistent, when I open in a new window, sometimes the options become available again in the original client window and sometimes not.

The only thing that I can imagine is causing this is that we are using SMIME and all the emails that behave like this are from colleagues that have SMIME signatures. I know that this feature is "new" to the new client (although existed for many many years in the old client, but why is the simplest feature of replying to an email broken because of SMIME as well...

If anyone has a solution or a workaround for this, I'm all years.

Lazar

Answer 1

This issue can occur for a few reasons. Here's a quick list...

1. Check Folder: Ensure you're not in the Junk or Deleted Items folder. These folders often restrict the "Reply," "Reply All," and "Forward" options.
2. Reading Pane: Go to the View tab, click on the Reading Pane dropdown, and select Off. Sometimes, enabling the Reading Pane can cause these options to gray out.

Multiple Selections: If you've selected multiple emails, the options might be grayed out. Try selecting just one email.

Permissions: Ensure you have the necessary permissions to reply or forward emails in the folder you're working in.

Answer 2

Hi @Lazar Ivanov

Welcome to our forum!

Does the issue occur recently on Outlook Desktop Client? Do you have any specific operation before the issue occurred? 

To further confirm if the issue is more related to Outlook desktop client, if possible, please log in to your web mail and do the same test to check if the issue persists. 

In addition, here are some steps you may want to take:

1. Check SMIME Settings: Ensure that your SMIME settings are correctly configured. Sometimes, incorrect settings can cause issues with email functionalities.
2. Open Replies and Forwards in a New Window: Ensure that the option to open replies and forwards in a new window is enabled. This can sometimes resolve the issue with grayed-out buttons.
3. Repair Office: You can try repairing your Office installation. Go to Control Panel>Programs and Features>select Microsoft Office>Change>Then select Repair.
4. Uninstall and Reinstall: If it doesn't work, it's suggested that you could try to uninstall and reinstall to check if there're any differences.

Hope it helps.

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