6 Ways to Fix Microsoft Outlook Not Showing Email Content on Windows

Pankil is a Civil Engineer turned freelance writer. Since his arrival at Guiding Tech in 2021, he delves into the world of how-tos, and troubleshooting guides for Android, iOS, and Windows. Besides his new-found love for mechanical keyboards, he’s a disciplined footfall fan and loves international travel with his wife.

Fix 1: Disable Offline Mode

Your first step is to ensure that Outlook is not in offline mode. If it is, your email content won’t appear correctly.

To disable offline mode in Outlook, switch to theSend / Receivetab and click theWork Offlinebutton. After that, wait for Outlook to sync your emails and try to load them again.

Fix 2: Change the Font Color in Outlook

Another thing you need to do is check the set font color for email messages. If you have inadvertently changed the font color to white, you won’t be able to read the email content.

Step 1:Open the Outlook app and click theFilemenu at the top-left corner.

Step 2:SelectOptionsfrom the left pane.

Step 3:Switch to theMailtab and click theStationery and Fontsbutton.

Step 4:Under New mail messages, click theFontbutton.

Step 5:Use the drop-down menu under Font color to selectAutomatic. Then, clickOK.

Fix 3: Enable Automatic Picture Downloads for Email Messages

IfOutlook is only failing to load imagesin your emails, you may have prevented it from downloading pictures automatically. Here’s how to change that.

Step 1:Open the Outlook app and go toFile > Options.

Step 2:Navigate to theTrust Centertab and click theTrust Center Settingsbutton.

Step 3:In theAutomatic Downloadtab, clear theDon’t download pictures automatically in standard HTML email messages or RSS itemsandDon’t download pictures in encrypted or signed HTML email messagescheckboxes. Then, clickOK.

Fix 4: Run Outlook in Safe Mode

Starting Microsoft Outlook in safe mode allows you to run the program without any third-party add-ins. If Outlook is not displaying email content due to one of your add-ins, opening it in safe mode will help you determine that.

To launch Outlook in Safe Mode, hold down theCtrlkey and double-click the Outlook shortcut. SelectYeswhen the confirmation prompt appears.

If Outlook loads email content as expected while in safe mode, it’s likely that one of the third-party add-ins is causing the problem. To identify it, you will need to disable all Outlook add-ins and re-enable them one at a time.

Step 1:In the Outlook app, head toFile > Options.

Step 2:In the Outlook Options window, switch to theAdd-instab. Use the drop-down menu next to Manage and selectCOM Add-ins. Then, click theGobutton.

Step 3:Uncheck all the boxes to disable add-ins and clickOK.

Restart Outlook in normal mode and enable your add-ins one by one until the issue occurs again. After that, remove the problematic add-in.

Fix 5: Clear the RoamCache Folder

It’s possible that Microsoft Outlook cache files on your PC have become corrupted, which is why the email contents are not appearing correctly. If that’s the case, clearing Outlook’s cache files should help fix the problem.

Step 1:Press theWindows + Rkeyboard shortcut to open the Run dialog box. Paste the following path in the text field and pressEnter.

Step 2:Select all the files inside the folder and click thetrash iconat the top to delete them.

Fix 6: Repair Outlook Data Files

Such issues with the Outlook app can also occur if the existing data files are damaged. The good news is that Outlook offers a tool that can automatically fix anyproblems with the data files. Here’s how to run it.

Step 1:Press theWindows key + Eto open File Explorer and navigate to the following folder.

Step 2:Double-click theSCANPST.EXEfile.

Step 3:ClickStartto initiate the scan.

Step 4:Wait for the tool to scan your files. If it finds any issues, click theRepairbutton.

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Last updated on 16 May, 2024

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