Merge Outlook Accounts! (How To Create Unified Inbox View?) [3 Excellent Methods]

The unified inbox is a feature that comes with the latest version of outlook, which allows you to view multiple outlook items from the same page.

The unified inbox is not something that came from outlook and is a feature that already existed prior to the release of outlook 2016. The unified inbox was originally called the “Focused inbox” and was a feature of outlook 2007.

Microsoft Outlook platform always brings a combination of emails (IMAP/POP) in one place, Outlook manages all their email accounts and all folder with sub-folders, sent items, delete items, etc. in the navigation pane separately, which is an excellent feature of Outlook.

But sometimes you spend hours clicking through them all, trying to find that one message you need. Outlook 365 combined inbox which unified all email messages in one place.

In this article, you will get step by step method “How to merge outlook accounts into one inbox“. There are three methods to combine all emails of different addresses, which we will discuss one by one.

What Does Outlook Unified Inbox Mean?

Outlook has been consistently updated and improved over the years, and one of the most recent updates is to the Unified Inbox feature.

The Unified Inbox, which made its debut with the Windows 10 Outlook app, looks to streamline your email experience.

Instead of having your messages broken up into different folders, the Unified Inbox allows you to view all your email messages from a single screen.

You will get an email notification if a new message arrives, and you can view that message right in the Unified Inbox.

How to Merge Outlook accounts into one [Using Search Method]?

Some users operating multiple accounts encountered difficulties in mange or even finding out specific email messages.

Here is the step-by-step process to combine multiple inboxes of different email accounts into one folder.

Outlook consists of multiple methods and patterns to execute your requirement; all you must know is how to use it.

• Lunch Outlook
• Select any one inbox (in case you are using multiple email accounts).

In multiple email accounts, you need to select inbox to inbox to inbox, which really shocks you.

• The next step is to enter (folder: inbox into the search bar), the result is similar, you can get all the inbox emails, because of the current folder.
• Change the current folder to All mailbox [Ref: Snapshot].

• The result is a noticeably clear search method to merge all Outlook accounts into one.

• Apart from that, you can filter the list of all email account inboxes with specific categories like (date, from, subject, size, and many more).

Also Read: How to Search Emails in Outlook?

Here is your inbox view which combines all your inbox emails. Coming back to normal just click the cross sign right side of the search bar to close all the search results.

Once you set up any search query, it is available for future search with just a simple click.

• Click to search bar, Search Tab appears >> click recent searches.

Once you click the topmost recent search, it simply runs the query.

Merge Outlook Accounts [Using Rule Function]

Setting up an Outlook unified inbox folder using the rule function is simple, you can combine all email inboxes in a specific inbox.

Rule function begins with, creating a folder & setting up a rule which keeps a copy of all the incoming emails of all the email accounts. Let’s begin ~

• Open Outlook
• Create a folder under the name “Unified Inbox Folder”.

1. Click to Folder Tab >> New Folder
2. Create New Folder Dialog Box appears, Name your folder “Unified Inbox Folder”.
3. Click OK

This ends with the first stage, now it’s time to create the rule, where things start becoming more complicated, don’t worry, follow the step-by-step process:

• Lunch Microsoft Outlook
• Go to Home >> Click Rule >> Manage Rules and Alerts

• Rules & Alert dialog box appears >> Click New rule >> which Open the Rules Wizard.
• Click Apply rule on the message I received: (you need to consider all the emails received in your inbox to comply in a folder). >> Click Next

• The next step is very crucial (which condition do you want to check).

1. Select, through the specific account, &
2. on this computer only

Under a specific account, you must select any one email address (you can’t select multiple email accounts at a time) and hit OK and click Next.

• Further, what do want to do with the messages? (it’s clear you want to keep a copy of all incoming emails in that folder that you have created above).
• Select and move a copy to a specific folder. After clicking Specific & select “Unified Inbox Folder”. 

• Everything is no board; the Next step is an exemption (select in the case-specific email which you don’t want to move) or hit next.
• The final summarised page appears (Finish rule setup), which includes three steps:

1. Name your rule.
2. Select the check box “Run this rule now on messages already in Inbox”. (This step is important to clubbing all the existing emails in your inbox).
3. The last step is to review the Rule (you can also edit it if required).

• Click Finish

This process Combines Microsoft Accounts and you can check all the emails of all accounts in one place. You can easily delete (clicking the right mouse button) the folder anytime you want without disturbing any inflow. The folder is temporarily created and washed out after your required data.

The next Method comes with a slight technical approach (macros).

How does Outlook combine inbox using visual basic code (Macros)?

Macros in Outlook is technical coding that you can manually create and inject to get your results. First, you’ll need to enable macros or turn on notifications for digitally signed ones: Here follow the steps:

• Click to file menu >> Options >> Trust center >> Trust center setting

The next step walks you through some more options, Click on Macro settings, by default “Notification for digitally signed macros, all other macros disabled” is selected, and change the option to “Notification for all macros“.

• Click OK twice, now you are back in your inbox.

Then you need to restart Outlook, further, you need to insert specific code into the VBA editor. Open a new project in the VBA editor and the code that will pull mail into a unified inbox. Hit the Keyboard shortcut key (Alt + F11).

That will open the VBA editor page.

Sub UnifiedInbox() Dim myOlApp As New Outlook.Application txtSearch = “folder:Inbox received: (this week)” myOlApp.ActiveExplorer.Search txtSearch, olSearchScopeAllFolders Set myOlApp = Nothing End Sub

The red portion in the code could be adjustable according to your requirement. Once you paste the code click the saves button or simply click Ctrl + S to save the code and close the window.

This step ends up with the insert VBA Code which shows your results from Outlook combined inbox.

• Go to the search bar and type “Macros” >> Select Run Macros from the dropdown list >> select your macro (which was saved in macros).

• As soon as you click on it, it runs the query and the results are on your screen, at the same time you can see the content in the search bar which is the same as when you used the search bar directly.

Running macro is quite difficult for users, not familiar with the system, it is recommended to use the search bar directly.

Under this article, all three methods are user-friendly and easy to apply and get your results, the best part of all these methods is, that they will not affect any of your original setup and inflow, after analyzing your data and result, you can simply delete the folder and macro just like that.

Final Words

In summary, you created a Unified Inbox view for your Microsoft Outlook, allowing you to view multiple email addresses in a single view.

You can also send, reply to, and forward emails from multiple accounts simultaneously.

By creating a Unified Inbox in Outlook, you maintained a single email address while keeping separate identities.

Any mail sent to your main email address is now also delivered to your secondary email addresses.

Also Read:

• Why is Outlook Working Offline? [How to Switch Offline to Online?]
• How To Create & Share Electronic Business Card (vCard) In Microsoft Outlook?
• How To Find Old Emails in Outlook 365?
• How To Create & Add Unread Email Folder To Favorites In Outlook 365?
• How to backdate an email in Outlook?