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When a new email is received, Outlook shows an envelope in the Windows taskbar to alert the user of the new email. If for some reason, the alert is turned off, the following steps will help you bring it back on. The new email alert in the taskbar is quite useful for those of you who want to stay on top of emails.

There are two types of alerts the user gets when a new email arrives. The first one is a desktop alert which shows who the email is from and a short excerpt of the message. Clicking on this popup alert opens the email message.

The second one is a yellow envelope in the taskbar which simply alerts the user of a new email which is waiting to be read. Clicking on this icon doesn’t open the new email.

How to Turn On/Off the Desktop Alert New Email Notification

If you want to turn off the popup email notification for any reason, perhaps to keep your messages confidential when you are sharing the screen with others, here are the steps to follow:

• Open Outlook. Click on File > Options
• Click on Mail
• Scroll down to Message Arrival section
• To turn off the alerts, uncheck the Display a Desktop Alert checkbox. To turn on the alerts, simply check the option.

How to Turn On/Off Envelope New Email Icon in Taskbar

If for any reason you want to turn off the little yellow envelope icon that shows up in your taskbar when new emails arrive, here are the steps:

• Open Outlook. Click on File > Options
• Click on Mail
• Scroll down to Message Arrival section
• To turn the icon on, check the option for Show an envelope icon in the taskbar. To turn off, uncheck this checkbox.