The way the inbox works is not quite right. I understand you should be able to collapse folders. However, there have been multiple times someone has approached me to ask if I got their message and found that my inbox had been collapsed. Why didn't the designers propagate unread mail to show in the collapsed parent folder? I would also be happy if the inbox could not be collapsed period. If I collapse it, it's always done by accid

Hi,

Are you using a IMAP account?

In general, Outlook should remember the collapse/expand status of each folder when you close and restart Outlook, unless you are using an IMAP account.

If you want the Inbox to keep expanded, we can set the default startup folder of your Outlook to the Inbox folder to achieve the goal. To do this, go to File > Options > Advanced, under "Outlook start and exit" heading, change the "Start Outlook in this folder" option to Inbox.

If I've misunderstood something, please feel free to let me know.

Regards,

Steve Fan
TechNet Community Support