Solution to the Disappearing Bullet Points in Microsoft Outlook
When composing emails in Microsoft Outlook, you may notice that second-level or multi-level bullet points or numbered lists appear correctly while drafting, but then disappear or lose indentation after the email is sent.
This issue is commonly seen when viewing the message in the Sent Items folder. This guide explains why it happens and how to fix it.
Most of the time, this is caused by an Outlook editor setting and can be fixed in a few minutes.
What happens to bullet points after sending an email
Why this happens in Microsoft Outlook
This issue occurs because Microsoft Outlook handles list formatting differently depending on how the email is rendered.
Common contributing factors include:
• Differences between HTML, Rich Text, and Plain Text email formats
• Outlook’s internal handling of multi-level list styles
• Content copied from other applications or documents
• Outlook editor settings that affect how lists are displayed after sending
How to fix the issue in Microsoft Outlook
In most cases, this issue is caused by how Outlook applies list styles after an email is sent. You can usually resolve it by enabling a specific editor setting that helps Outlook preserve nested list formatting.
-
- Open Microsoft Outlook and click the File tab
- Select Options
- In the Outlook Options window, choose Mail
- Click Editor Options
- In the Editor Options window, select Advanced
- Ensure Use Normal style for bulleted or numbered lists is enabled
- Click OK to save your changes
Once this option is enabled, Outlook is more likely to preserve second-level and multi-level bullet formatting after emails are sent.
Additional notes and limitations
Even with the correct settings, list formatting may still be influenced by factors such as the email format used, the recipient’s email client, and content pasted from other sources. Simplifying list structures can sometimes help mitigate these issues.
When to seek help
If this issue occurs frequently, affects shared templates, or causes confusion in business-critical emails, it may be worth reviewing Outlook configuration more broadly.