I was looking for a simple way to reset Outlook view to default because my Inbox layout suddenly changed. The columns were different, the reading pane had moved, and some folders no longer looked the way they normally do.

I first tried the View > Reset View option. This seems like the easiest approach when only one folder, such as the Inbox, has a messed-up layout. You can open the Inbox, go to the View tab, select Reset View, and confirm the change.

But what if several Outlook folders have customized views? In that case, I found the `outlook.exe /cleanviews` method useful. Close Outlook, press Windows + R, type `outlook.exe /cleanviews`, and press Enter. This removes the custom Outlook views and restores the folders to their default layouts. Just keep in mind that your customized views will be deleted.

If resetting the view doesn't solve the problem and Outlook is showing blank or distorted folders, the issue may be related to a damaged PST rather than the view itself. DRS Softech PST Recovery Tool can recover data from ANSI and Unicode PST files and lets you preview recoverable mailbox items before saving them.

Has anyone tried `/cleanviews` to reset Outlook view to default? Did it solve the issue, or did you have to repair the PST?