If you can’t see the From field in Outlook, this post will help you. As reported by several Outlook users, the From field disappears or goes missing when composing a new email. This problem is most likely to be caused if your Outlook profile has only one email account.
Now, this problem could be caused due to different reasons. In many cases, the problem is triggered because of incorrect view settings in Outlook. However, there can also be other reasons for the same issue. It could be caused due to incorrect account settings, corrupted add-ins, an outdated Outlook version, or a corrupted Outlook profile. In any case, you can follow the working fixes that we have mentioned in this post and get rid of the issue. However, before using these fixes, make sure that you have full permissions and access to your email account.
From Field is missing in Outlook
If the From field is missing in your Outlook application, you can use the below solutions to fix the issue:
- Manually add the From field.
- Change the default email account.
- Add another email account.
- Run Outlook in Safe mode.
- Make sure Outlook is up-to-date.
- Create a new Outlook profile.
1] Manually add the From field
You can try adding the From field in your emails manually. It might be the case that you have hidden the From field in emails in your View settings knowingly or unknowingly. So, you can modify the View settings and manually show From field in emails. To do that, you can follow the below steps:
- First, open Outlook and create a new email using the respective option.
- Now, go to the Options tab present on the ribbon.
- Next, choose the From option from the Show Fields group.
You should now be able to view the From field in your emails.
If the problem persists, you can use the next method to fix the issue.
2] Change the default email account
It could also be caused due to a glitch with your email account to account settings. If your current email account is not set as default, you can change your settings and then check if the problem is resolved. Here are the steps to set the currently active email account as default in Outlook:
- First, open Outlook and click on the File menu from the ribbon.
- Now, in the Info tab, click on the Account Settings drop-down menu button.
- Next, select the Account Settings option.
- After that, under the Email tab, choose the account that you want to configure as the default one.
- Finally, press the Set as Default button and close the settings window.
You can also make sure that you are using the default account while sending the messages. For that, click on the File > Options > Mail option. Next, under Send Messages, select the Always use the default account when composing new messages checkbox and press the OK button.
See if the missing From field problem is now resolved or not. If not, there are some other fixes that you can apply to resolve it; so move on to the next solution.
Read: Outlook error: We are unable to connect right now
3] Add another email account
You can try adding a new email account and see if the problem is gone. This fix is mentioned on the official support forum of Microsoft. So, you can try this fix and check if it helps. Here’s how you can do that:
- First, Launch Outlook and click on the File menu.
- Now, from the Info tab, tap on the Add account button.
- Next, enter your email address and press the Connect button.
- After that, follow the onscreen instructions like entering the password, etc., and click on OK.
- Once done adding a new email account, you can check if the From field is showing or not.
4] Run Outlook in Safe mode
The next thing you can do is run the Outlook application in safe mode. In safe mode, Outlook will start without external add-ins and customizations. So, if there is any third-party add-in that is interfering with the regular working of the app and causing this issue, this method will fix the issue. Here are the steps to do that:
- First, press Win+R to open the Run command box.
- Now, type the following command in the Open field:
outlook.exe /safe
- Lastly, press the Enter button and the Outlook app will start in safe mode.
If the From field is showing in safe mode, there must be a problematic add-in that is causing the issue. You can try disabling to removing such add-ins from Outlook to permanently resolve the problem. Here’s how:
- First, launch the Outlook app and click on File > Options.
- After that, move to the Add-ins tab from the left pane and press the Go button which is present next to the Manage option.
- Now, you can disable the suspected add-ins by deselecting the respective checkbox. Or, if you want to uninstall the add-in completely, click on it and tap on the Remove button.
- Once done, exit the window and relaunch Outlook to check if the problem is resolved or not.
See: Fix Microsoft Office Outlook Exchange Error 80090016.
5] Make sure Outlook is up-to-date
Your Outlook app needs to be up-to-date to avoid such issues. This problem might be a result of using an outdated version of MS Outlook. Hence, if the scenario applies, you can update Outlook to its latest version. To do that, you can follow the below steps:
- First, open the Outlook app and click on the File menu.
- Now, click on the Office Account option from the left pane.
- After that, tap on the Update Options drop-down button and then choose the Update Now option.
- When done downloading and installing pending updates, relaunch the Outlook app and check if the problem is resolved or not.
Read: Outlook Attachment error – The attempted operation failed.
6] Create a new Outlook profile
If none of the above solutions worked for you, make a new Outlook profile to fix the problem. This issue could very well be facilitated due to a damaged or corrupted Outlook profile. Hence, if the scenario is applicable, creating a fresh new Outlook profile should help you fix the issue. Here is the step-by-step procedure to do that:
- First, launch Outlook and click on the File menu.
- Next, tap on the Account Settings button and then select the Manage Profiles option.
- After that, move to the Show Profiles option and then click on the Add button.
- Now, type the new name for your Outlook profile and click on the OK button.
Hopefully, you won’t face the From field missing problem in Outlook now. However, if the problem persists, it is recommended to uninstall and then reinstall the Microsoft Office package as the problem might be caused due to a corrupted or faulty installation of a module.
How do I fix All settings not showing in Outlook?
If the View settings option is missing in Outlook, you can click on the View menu on the ribbon. And then, press the Change View button and right-click on a view. After that, choose the View Settings option and then configure the settings as per your requirements.
How do I fix the toolbar in Outlook?
To fix your toolbar in Outlook, right-click on the empty part on your ribbon and then select the Customize the Ribbon option from the appeared context menu. After that, under the Customization section, you can tap on the Reset > Reset all customizations option. This will reset your toolbar or ribbon in Outlook to its default. So, if there is any issue with your toolbar, this will fix it.
Now read: How to fix Outlook Error 0X800408FC on Windows 11/10?