If you want to know how to pop out an email in Outlook, double-click it in the message list. Replies, forwards and new messages can also open in their own window by default, but only if you switch that setting on. One thing Outlook does not do is pop out every incoming email by itself.
Quick Answer: Double-click a message in the list to open it in its own window. To make new messages, replies and forwards always pop out, go to Settings > Mail > Compose and reply > Pop-out settings in new Outlook, or File > Options > Mail > Replies and forwards in classic Outlook. There is no setting that pops out incoming mail automatically.
Pop out an email you are reading
This works the same way in classic Outlook and in new Outlook for Windows. Not sure which one you have? My post on how to know if you have new Outlook or classic Outlook takes a minute.
- Double-click the message in the message list. It opens in its own window and the reading pane stays as it was.
- In new Outlook you can also select the message, then More actions > View > Open in new window, near the top right of the reading pane.
- If you are in the middle of a reply, click the Pop Out icon in the top right corner of Outlook. The draft moves to its own window with what you typed.
Single click only shows the message in the reading pane. If a single click opens a window instead, check that the reading pane is switched on.
How do I stop Outlook from opening emails in a new window?
Go the other way: set the compose option back to Write inline (new Outlook) or untick Open replies and forwards in a new window (classic), and single-click messages instead of double-clicking them.
Make new messages, replies and forwards pop out by default
This is the setting to use if you want to make email pop out in Outlook every time you write or reply, and it only covers messages you write. It is the same in Outlook with a Microsoft 365 subscription (people still call it Outlook 365) as in the free new Outlook. Outlook calls the two choices “Write inline” and “Pop-out to a new window”.
New Outlook for Windows
- Click the gear icon at the top right to open Settings.
- Go to Mail > Compose and reply.
- Under Pop-out settings, select Pop-out to a new window, then click Save.
It applies to new messages, replies and forwards. If you use more than one account, check each one, as the setting can differ per account. Outlook on the web has the same Pop-out settings in the same place. Microsoft’s own pop-out page does not give web steps, so if the label looks different in your tenant, search the settings for “pop”.
If your Outlook runs as a web app, my post on what Outlook PWA is explains how that differs from the desktop client.
Classic Outlook for Windows
- Click File > Options > Mail.
- Under Replies and forwards, tick Open replies and forwards in a new window.
- Click OK.
This applies to future replies and forwards, not to a draft you already have open. A brand new message in classic Outlook already opens in its own window, so there is no option for that. If you want to edit an unsent message the same way, see how to edit a draft in Outlook.
How do I set Outlook to automatically pop out new emails?
No. I could not find a setting for it in classic Outlook, new Outlook or Outlook on the web, and a Microsoft Q&A answer says it is not possible, because every incoming message lands in the message list first. The older version of this post described a reading-pane setting for it. That path does not exist, and “Use AutoPreview” is a different thing, it only controls the preview text in the list.
What you can do is reduce the clicks:
- Turn on Pop-out to a new window (above), so anything you write opens in its own window.
- Double-click the messages you want to keep open while you work on something else.
- In classic Outlook, a rule can show a desktop alert for the senders you care about. It tells you a message arrived, it does not open it.
The pop-out setting does not stick or the window opens small
If the Pop-out setting goes back to Write inline after a restart, a Microsoft Q&A answer from August 2026 suggests this. Save the setting again, close all Outlook windows and check in Task Manager that Outlook (new) is not still running, then open it and test before you reboot. If Outlook on the web keeps the setting but the app does not, the problem is local to the app, so repair new Outlook from Settings > Apps > Installed apps > Outlook (new) > Advanced options > Repair.
Pop-out windows in new Outlook do not remember their size, and a Microsoft moderator says saving the maximized state is not supported at the moment. You have to maximize each window yourself. In classic Outlook, maximizing one message window is reported to carry over to the next ones.
Arrange the windows once they are open
With a few messages open, Windows does the rest. Alt+Tab switches between them, hovering over the Outlook icon on the taskbar shows each window, and Snap layouts (hover over the maximize button) put two messages side by side. Windows 11 users can use Win+Z for the same.
Not seeing these options at all? You may be on the other Outlook. How to switch back to classic Outlook from new Outlook shows the toggle, and how to reply with attachments in Outlook lists the client differences for replies. The same pop-out steps apply when you open messages from a shared mailbox, and who has access to a shared mailbox shows how to check the permissions behind it.
