Hi,
What type of email account are you using? Exchange, IMAP or POP3?
>>but the "indexing options" button is faded
Do you mean the 'Indexing Options' button under File > Options > Search? What if we go to Control Panel, find and click Indexing Options?
Instead of repairing Outlook program, we may also consider to repair your Outlook data file (.pst or .ost) and then see if this issue continues. For your convenience:
https://support.office.com/en-gb/article/Repair-Outlook-Data-Files-pst-and-ost-25663bc3-11ec-4412-86c4-60458afc5253
Regards,
Steve Fan
Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they helped.
If you have feedback for TechNet Subscriber Support, contact
tnmff@microsoft.com.