ThreadTrimEvery reply in Outlook carries the whole conversation underneath it: a “From / Sent / To / Subject” header, then the previous email, then the one before that. On a long thread your one-line answer ends up on top of pages of history. Here’s how to reply without it, in each version of Outlook.
Classic Outlook for Windows: turn it off in Options
The desktop Outlook that comes with Microsoft 365 and Office has a real setting for this.
- Click File, then Options.
- Choose Mail and scroll to Replies and forwards.
- Set When replying to a message to Do not include original message, then click OK.
From now on your replies start clean. The same section has a separate setting for forwards. Leave that one including the original message, because the person you forward to usually needs it.
If you only want this now and then, leave the setting alone and delete the history by hand in the reply instead: everything from the line above From: down.
Outlook on the web and the new Outlook: delete the history
Outlook.com, Outlook on the web for Microsoft 365, and the new Outlook for Windows hide the earlier messages behind a ••• button labelled Show message history. There’s no setting to leave them out, so remove them in the reply:
- Click Reply and write your message.
- Click ••• (Show message history) at the bottom of the reply. The previous emails appear.
- Click into the history, select everything from the first From: line down, and press Delete. Then send.
Add ThreadTrim, it’s free
ThreadTrim expands the history and removes it the moment you click Reply, in Outlook on the web and Gmail. Turn on Outlook from the ThreadTrim popup. One-click Undo.
Outlook on iPhone and Android
The Outlook mobile apps include the previous message under your reply as well. There’s no setting to stop it, so delete the quoted part in the reply before sending if you don’t want it.
Will this break the conversation?
No. Outlook, Gmail and other email apps group messages into conversations using hidden headers, not the quoted text in the body. A reply without the history still lands in the same conversation for everyone, and everybody on it already has the earlier emails.
Using Gmail too?
Gmail has the same habit, hidden behind three dots called “trimmed content”. See How to Stop Gmail Including Previous Emails in Your Reply and What Is Trimmed Content in Gmail?
Frequently asked questions
How do I reply without the original message in Outlook?
In classic Outlook for Windows, set File › Options › Mail › Replies and forwards › When replying to a message to “Do not include original message”. In Outlook on the web and the new Outlook, delete the message history from the reply before sending.
Why does Outlook include the whole email chain in my reply?
Outlook quotes the message you’re replying to, and that message already contains the replies before it. Each reply adds another layer, so long conversations carry the whole chain.
Is there a setting in Outlook on the web to exclude message history?
No. Outlook on the web and the new Outlook collapse the history behind “Show message history” but still send it. You need to delete it in each reply, or use an extension like ThreadTrim.
Does removing the history from a reply break the thread?
No. Conversations are grouped by hidden message headers, so your reply stays in the same thread.
Stop sending the whole thread.
ThreadTrim removes the old quoted emails from your Gmail replies before you hit Send. Free for 100 replies a month.
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