I’m still a fan of email. My acceptance doesn’t mean I’m always happy with it or the “best practices” of some users or automated replies. Lately, I find myself changing the Subject: lines of received emails in Microsoft Outlook. What surprised me was how many people didn’t realize you could change this email property.

Yes, I was being a bit sarcastic when I mentioned email best practices as I referring to email annoyances. I have some colleagues, who instead of creating an email and filling in a relevant Subject: line, reuse old emails without deleting the previous content or Subject: line.

I also find myself changing the subject lines of other emails such as automated notifications. As example, I have an online form system that sends me an email with a serialized attachment. If I just look at the Subject: line, I can’t tell one response from another. In these cases, I have to open the email attachment.

Most times, the issue isn’t a result of someone being lazy. The screen snap below shows one example of an Outlook email to me with the Subject: Recipe. The title is relevant, but not as specific as I might like. In other words, the likelihood of me remembering what type of recipe several months from now isn’t great.

Instead, I open the email and edit the Subject: line to something more descriptive. If I later look at this email in a list, I have a much better idea of the email’s contents.

How to Change a Received Email’s Subject: line in Outlook

1. Open the email you wish to change.

2. Place your cursor on the Subject: line and edit.

3. Click the Close box in the top right corner.

4.Click Yes on the dialog that asks if you wish to save changes to this message. (You can also click the Disk icon.)

This simple email editing process work well for me. There are times when I’ve hit a snag. As example, if I need to review the email while on the phone with someone and they offer the original email Subject: line. I’ll have the email listed differently, but can usually find it or ask for the date it was sent.