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Outlook email messages appear to have increased margin/blank white space space appearance

Gina 0 Reputation points
2026-06-04T20:54:39.14+00:00

When creating a new email message, emails have an increased, larger than normal, margin and/or blank white space on left side. I have not been successful finding what view/format/setting that would have changed my usual view/settings or what would create a larger "margin" all of a sudden (not related to ad space either). I already selected the Wide column width selected in Immersive Reader, but that did not successfully fix the problem. I also completed a Microsoft 365 Repair (quick repair).

This is occurring in both my desktop and web Outlook versions. Additionally, I've already been having issues with my Outlook freezing/crashing/slowness in general (work computer), in which IT is looking into further. Not sure if the two problems are related, or I'm just that lucky.

Outlook | Windows | New Outlook for Windows | For business
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  1. Ryan-N 13,495 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-06-04T21:23:32.1366667+00:00

    Hi @Gina,

    Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

    To better assist you, could you please share a screenshot of the issue?

    Additionally, you can try the following steps and check whether the issue is resolved:

    1/ Please try signing out and signing back in.

    2/ You can clear the Outlook cache.

    Step 1: Completely close Outlook.

    Step 2: Press Windows + R, then enter the following command:

    olk.exe --devtools

    Step 3: Go to Application > under Local Storage and Cookie > right-click outlook.office.com > select Clear.

    User's image

    Step 4: Restart Outlook.

    For Outlook Web, you can press Ctrl + Shift + Delete > select Clear.

    3/ Please try signing in on another device and check whether the issue still occurs.

    I hope this information is helpful. Please follow these steps and let me know if it works for you. If not, we can work together to resolve this.   

    Thank you for your patience and your understanding. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments on this post so I can continue to support you.

    I look forward to continuing the conversation.

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it.

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

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  2. AI answer

    2026-06-04T20:54:52.88+00:00

    In Outlook, what looks like a suddenly larger left “margin” or extra white space when composing or viewing messages is typically caused by layout/spacing or HTML rendering behavior rather than a single “margin” setting.

    For Outlook (classic desktop and new Outlook) and Outlook on the web, the following behaviors from the context are relevant:

    1. Tighter vs. relaxed spacing in message list and compose fields
      Recent Outlook UX updates increased padding for a cleaner look. This affects the message list and the areas around To/Cc/Bcc/Subject and can make the whole compose window feel like it has more white space.
      To reduce this extra space:
      • If using the Simplified Ribbon: go to View > Use Tighter Spacing.
      • If using the Classic Ribbon: go to View and in the Layout group select Use Tighter Spacing.
      This setting applies to the message list and the header fields of new messages and can help reduce the perceived “margin” and blank space.
    2. HTML rendering differences and padding/margins inside the body
      Outlook (Classic) uses a Word-based HTML engine with limited CSS support. Custom HTML or certain CSS margin/padding rules can render inconsistently and create unexpected spacing on one side of the message body. When custom HTML is used or when styles are modified, Outlook may:
      • Ignore some CSS margins/padding.
      • Render padding differently than web clients.
      The recommended pattern for reliable spacing is to use table-based layout and apply padding to td elements rather than relying on CSS margins. If any custom signatures, templates, or add-ins inject HTML, they can cause the body content to appear shifted or with extra white space.
    3. Printing vs. on-screen layout
      If the issue is also visible when printing, page setup can exaggerate the effect (e.g., large margins or scaling). In that case, check:
      • Print dialog scaling (set to Shrink to fit or 100%).
      • Page Setup margins and paper size.
      However, the described symptom sounds primarily like on-screen layout rather than print.
    4. Crashes/slowness and add-ins
      Freezing or slowness can be related to add-ins or background processing that also manipulate message content (for example, inlining styles or scanning messages). These can change how HTML is rendered and may affect spacing. Disabling non-essential add-ins temporarily and testing in that state can help isolate whether an add-in is contributing to the layout change.

    Given the behavior is the same in desktop and web:

    • First, enable Use Tighter Spacing under View to reduce the general white space in the UI.
    • Next, review any custom signature or template HTML and simplify it to table-based layout with padding on td elements, avoiding complex CSS margin rules.
    • If IT is already investigating crashes/slowness, include the observation that message layout changed at the same time so they can also review add-ins and any HTML post-processing that might be running.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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