Outlook Classic | Disable the What's New dialog

Classic Outlook for Windows will receive revised icons, spacing, and alignments in November 2026: The "What's New" dialog is returning.

The visual adjustments will first affect classic Outlook in the Current Channel. According to the Message Center, the rollout will begin in early November 2026 and is expected to complete by the end of November. Individual improvements will reach users at different times, so you cannot assume that all devices will display the same interface simultaneously. Workflows remain unchanged; Microsoft states that it will not modify any navigation or processes.

The dialog appears at most once a month in the Production channel of Current Channel. Users can close it at any time and reopen it via the "What's New" button in the ribbon. Additional adjustments are announced for Outlook on the web, the new Outlook for Windows, and Outlook for macOS. Microsoft intends to provide advance notice before making major changes to navigation or workflows.

Admins can disable the automatic dialog and hide the button in the ribbon. The Learn page for classic Outlook (as of November 3, 2026) lists a single registry value for this:

This setting only controls the What's New experience and does not disable visual updates. If you cannot influence the appearance, you can only prevent users from seeing a monthly pop-up.

For central distribution, Microsoft refers to the ADMX and ADML files for Office, which you place in the Central Store or the PolicyDefinitions folder. In Group Policy Management, you then configure the setting instead of modifying the registry on each device.

The Learn page does not specify the name of the policy. The page also does not describe configuration via the Cloud Policy Service or Intune, so I cannot provide any information on that.

Microsoft does not require any admin action. The message recommends informing the helpdesk because the appearance of some controls may change, and users should be directed to the feedback options in Outlook. The dialog itself generates follow-up questions because it appears unannounced. A brief internal notice before the end of November will save you these tickets.

Also decide in advance whether the monthly dialog should appear in your environment. In cases where you guide users with your own training materials, you can disable the display via the registry and communicate the changes yourself.

MC1506730 is a small update with direct helpdesk relevance. The classic Outlook interface will change gradually in November, the What's New dialog will appear at most once a month, and can be disabled via the registry value DontShowWhatsNew.

You cannot prevent the visual changes themselves. Plan a brief notice to the helpdesk before the updates reach your Current Channel.