Tip 825: Open multiple instances of Outlook

A user asked “In XP you can go to the Outlook property box, delete "/recycle" from the end of the target address and be able to open up multiple copies of Outlook so you can have instances of mail, calendar, contacts, etc., open simultaneously. How do you do this in Outlook 2010 on Windows 7?”

Outlook 2010’s shortcuts don’t use the /recycle switch so you can select any link to open a new Outlook window. Also, rather than use a shortcut, you can right click on any folder in Outlook and choose Open in New window (in any version).

If you use multiple windows all the time, always close Outlook using the File, Exit command and the next time you open it, it will open multiple windows. When you close windows using the X button, Outlook reopens in one window.

In addition to the methods above, you can use any of the following methods.

Click the Outlook shortcut on the Start, All Programs menu (pin Outlook to the start menu to make it easier to find).

Find Outlook.exe, right click on it and create a new shortcut (Windows will create it on the desktop). Or right click on the desktop and choose New, Shortcut and browse to Outlook.exe. Once you create the shortcut, you can copy it and add switches to the shortcut properties – you can open different folders with each shortcut.

To open different folders with a shortcut, use the /select foldername switch, where foldername is the name of the folder. (Include the folder’s path if opening a subfolder).
Examples:
Outlook /select outlook:calendar
outlook /select "outlook:Inbox\Old Messages"

Note that these methods work with all versions of Outlook, in all versions of Windows.
Windows7 and Vista users have another method: type outlook in the Start menu’s Search field and press Enter.

Published January 25, 2011. Last reviewed on June 17, 2011.