[Trainer-Talk] Bringing Back the Classic Outlook

[Curtis Chong]

Greetings:
 
Here is the resolution on the New Outlook that was adopted at the 2026 convention of the National Federation of the Blind.
 
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RESOLUTION 2026-10 Regarding Deficiencies with Microsoft’s New Outlook Software
WHEREAS, in a variety of public articles and blog posts, it has been made abundantly clear that Microsoft is planning to end support for its Classic Outlook program sometime in 2029 and that this year it will start to release its Microsoft 365 product, replacing the Classic Outlook with what it calls the New Outlook; and
WHEREAS, in recent months, it has been reported by blind people who have installed Microsoft 365 on brand-new computers that it is no longer possible to revert to the Classic Outlook without assistance from the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk or someone with the appropriate technical skills; and
WHEREAS, blind people involved in the testing of the New Outlook have reported that while they are willing to test out the new features of the software, they revert to the Classic Outlook while performing the everyday tasks that need to be accomplished in order to be truly productive; and
WHEREAS, examination of the New Outlook software by blind people using screen-reading software such as JAWS for Windows and NVDA reveals significant accessibility issues with the New Outlook software that reduce the effective performance of nonvisual users—particularly, people in employment situations where productivity is critical and time is at a premium; and
WHEREAS, examples of the problems faced by blind users of the New Outlook include but are by no means limited to the following:
1.	The Classic Outlook makes it possible for keyboard users to attach files to and detach files from email messages using the standard copy and paste keyboard commands while the New Outlook only supports attaching files to a message;
2.	When spellchecking or grammar-checking an email, it is almost impossible for the screen-reader user to learn exactly what word has been misspelled or what grammar error has been made;
3.	There are many instances in the New Outlook where the screen reader loses focus, thus forcing the user to tab several times to return to work in progress, if tabbing is indeed possible;
4.	Pressing Escape to close a message window too often results in the New Outlook disappearing from the system with no nonvisually-accessible indication;
5.	Accepting a meeting invitation in the New Outlook requires the keyboard user to tab several times to respond to the meeting request while the Classic Outlook provides a much more efficient method to accept an invitation; and
6.	The New Outlook does not currently support copying emails into older archive files into which longtime users of the Classic Outlook may have stored decades of email messages; and
WHEREAS, for decades, the Classic Outlook has become an essential tool for the blind to send and receive emails efficiently, and training programs for the blind have invested considerable resources to train their students to use this software; and
WHEREAS, transitioning from the Classic Outlook to the New Outlook presents a significant need for additional training for blind users which stresses a service delivery system that is already overburdened; and
WHEREAS, much of the success and productivity that blind people have enjoyed with the Classic Outlook could not have been achieved without the interaction between Outlook and JAWS for Windows; and
WHEREAS, in recent months, the National Federation of the Blind and Microsoft have been working together to begin the process of identifying and addressing the issues with the New Outlook for the blind: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in convention assembled this seventh day of July, 2026, in the city of Austin, Texas, that this organization express our disappointment with Microsoft for creating a situation where the blind are driven to use the New Outlook despite its negative impact on their productivity and for failing to provide the Classic Outlook as an integral part of new Microsoft 365 installations; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization strongly urge Microsoft to offer the Classic Outlook software to everyone until the New Outlook is proven to be as good as or better than the Classic Outlook; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization call upon Microsoft, Vispero, and NV Access to continue working together to ensure that the interaction among the New Outlook, JAWS for Windows, and NVDA and makes it possible for the blind to use the New Outlook with productivity and efficiency that is equivalent to that experienced by blind users of the Classic Outlook.
 
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Cordially,
 
Curtis Chong