Prevent Outlook from Displaying Duplicate Gmail Tasks

Use filters to avoid an annoying problem

If your Gmail email account is set up in Outlook to use IMAP and you flag emails in Outlook or star emails in Gmail, you might wind up with duplicate items in your Outlook Tasks list. These duplicates occur because Gmail displays the task in several folders such as All Mail and the Inbox. Outlook doesn't recognize these emails as being the same and shows multiple instances of the same task. Here's how to avoid duplicate tasks.

Instructions in this article apply to Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010; and Outlook for Microsoft 365.

Make Sure the To-Do Bar Is Visible in Outlook

Here's how to enable the To-Do Bar in Outlook before fixing the duplicate tasks.

  1. Go to the View tab and select To-Do Bar > Tasks.

    The Outlook app with 'Tasks' highlighted
  2. In the Tasks pane, select Arrange by > View Settings.

    The Outlook app with the 'View Settings' option highlighted
  3. In the Advanced View Settings: To-Do List dialog box, select Filter.

    The Outlook app with the 'Filter' option highlighted in Advanced View Settings
  4. In the Filter dialog box, select the Advanced tab.

    The Outlook app Filter window with the Advanced tab highlighted
  5. In the Define more criteria section, select Field > All Mail fields > In Folder.

    The 'efine more criteria section' of Outlook, with Field > All Mail fields > In Folder highlighted
  6. In the Value text box, enter All Mail, then select Add to List.

    The Outlook app value text box with All Mail and Add to List highlighted.
  7. The new filter appears in the Find items that match these criteria section. Select OK.

    The Outlook app Filter window with the OK button highlighted
  8. In the Advanced View Settings dialog box, select OK.

  9. Duplicate tasks are removed from the Task pane.

    Filtered results in Tasks in Outlook.
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