Configure Navigation Pane options in Outlook 2007

Updated: April 9, 2009

Applies To: Office Resource Kit

This Office product will reach end of support on October 10, 2017. To stay supported, you will need to upgrade. For more information, see , Resources to help you upgrade your Office 2007 servers and clients.

 

Topic Last Modified: 2016-11-14

You can configure the modules in the Navigation Pane in Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 (such as Calendar, Mail, and so on) to appear in a specific order for users, or to display only certain modules; there are other options as well.

You use the Office Customization Tool (OCT) to distribute registry keys that specify how modules are displayed. The Navigation Pane options cannot be locked down by using Group Policy.

Note

This topic is for Outlook administrators. To configure Navigation Pane options on your computer, see Configure Navigation Pane options.

To set Navigation Pane options by using the Office Customization Tool

  1. In the OCT, click Add/Modify Registry Entry.

  2. In the dialog box, enter the information for each Navigation Pane registry entry that you want to configure. For example, to display four large buttons on the Navigation Pane for users, enter the following information:

    Root: HKEY_CURRENT_USER

    Data type: REG_SZ

    Key: Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Outlook\Preferences

    Value name: NumBigModules

    Value data: 4

  3. Click OK.

  4. When you have finished making all of your 2007 Microsoft Office system customizations in the OCT, select Save As... in the File menu.

  5. Specify a unique name for the file (with an .msp file extension) and save it in the folder of the network installation point.

  6. Click Save.

For more information about customizing Office by using the OCT and deploying customized Office with customized settings, see Customize the 2007 Office system and Deploying the 2007 Office system.

Options you can configure for Navigation Pane modules

The following table lists the registry settings you can configure for your custom installation. You add these value entries in the following subkey:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Outlook\Preferences

Value name Value data (Data type) Default value Description

NumBigModules

REG_SZ

3

Controls how many large buttons (each representing a Navigation Pane module) appear on the Navigation Pane. The maximum number you can specify to be displayed is 8.

ModuleOrder

REG_SZ

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8

Determines the order in which the modules are displayed on the Navigation Pane. The data is an ordered list of indexes, where each position represents a Navigation Pane module, and the number in that position determines where the matching module appears. The index positions match this list: Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, Notes, Folder List, Shortcuts, Journal. For example, if the user switches Mail to be the third module showing, and Contacts to be the first, the registry value has this data: 3,2,1,4,5,6,7,8

ModuleVisible

REG_SZ

1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0

Determines whether a module is visible on the Navigation Pane. (This does not affect the order of items listed in the Go menu.) The values match the positions used in the module ordering list. For example, the first position determines whether Mail is shown. By default, the Journal is not shown in the Navigation Pane. You can choose to not display other modules as well. For example, to not display Contacts, Tasks, Notes, or Shortcuts, set this data: 1,1,0,0,0,1,0,0

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