Sometimes, it becomes difficult to access certain settings in Microsoft Outlook since they remain hidden under a complex menu of options or coexist with other similar settings. At times, you need to fix Outlook when it is not working properly. A simple tool exhibiting dexterity in this task can offer easy access to some of Outlook’s advanced settings and maintenance tools – and that is OutlookTools!
OutlookTools for Microsoft Outlook
OutlookTools is a free tool that allows you to customize and configure different options related to the attachment security settings, the appearance of the ‘New Mail Alert’ and more. It can also help you in troubleshooting Microsoft Outlook problems. The application is small (658 KB) and features five tabs, each covering specific settings.
Once you download OutlookTools, you will find it as OutlookTools.exe in your ‘Downloads’ folder. My antivirus analysis showed that the download was clean and thus, there was no risk of malware infection.
Once you open Outlook Tools, you will see several tabs.
The ‘General Screen’ section displays information related to Outlook installation. For example, Outlook Build Number, Outlook Installation type, Office Bitness level, etc.
The second tab, i.e., Folder Path offers quick access to various important folders which Outlook intends to use.
The Startup Switches tab enables you to quickly open or launch Outlook application with a command line switch. To find what functions are carried out by the commands listed, simply hover on any command to find a detailed description of it. For instance, when I moved the mouse cursor over ‘CLEANCONVOGOINGACTIONS’ command, the application informed me that it would delete the conversation action table, a.k.a. CAT. See the screenshot below.
Clear MRU lets you delete the Most Recently Used entries. While the last tab ‘Blocked Attachments’ displays the list of files types blocked by secure default. You can unblock them anytime by simply checking the box against the option.
Features in a nutshell:
- Easy access to Outlook settings and Data folders.
- Easy access to Outlook Troubleshooting tools.
- Displays installation information of your Outlook version.
- Start Outlook with a startup switch.
- Clear the Most Recently Used lists.
- Make the New Mail Alert stay up for longer than 30 seconds.
- Unblock email attachments.
OutlookTools is free for use. However, users can make a voluntary contribution via donation. Also, the latest version of the software is compatible with PCs running Windows 10, 32-bit
Please note that if you are using Windows 10, you could get a download warning from SmartScreen, that this file isn’t commonly downloaded and could harm your computer. However, It is safe to run OutlookTools as it does not contain any malware. You can download it from its home page.