| Microsoft Outlook | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.svg){kind=icon} Microsoft Outlook app icon | |||||||||||
 An email inbox in Outlook (New UI, 365/Office 2024), running onWindows 11 | |||||||||||
| Developer | Microsoft Corporation | ||||||||||
| Initial release | January 16, 1997; 28 years ago (1997-01-16) | ||||||||||
| Stable release(s) | |||||||||||
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| Operating system | Windows,macOS,Android,iOS | ||||||||||
| Type | Personal information manager | ||||||||||
| License | Trialware | ||||||||||
| Website | outlook | ||||||||||
Microsoft Outlook is apersonal information manager software system fromMicrosoft, available as a part of theMicrosoft 365 software suite. Primarily popular as anemail client for businesses, Outlook also includes functions such ascalendaring,task managing,contact managing,note-taking,journal logging,web browsing, andRSSnews aggregation.
Individuals can use Outlook as astand-alone application; organizations can deploy it asmulti-user software (throughMicrosoft Exchange Server orSharePoint) for shared functions such asmailboxes,calendars,folders,data aggregation (i.e., SharePoint lists), and asappointment schedulingapps.
Other than the paid software onWindows andMac desktops described by this article, the Outlook name also covers several other current software:
Outlook replaced Microsoft's previousscheduling andemail clients, Schedule+ andExchange Client.
Outlook 98 andOutlook 2000 offer two configurations:
Perpetual versions of Microsoft Outlook include:
| Name | Version number[i] | Release date[4] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outlook 97 | 8.0 | January 16, 1997 | Included inOffice 97 and bundled withExchange Server 5.0 and 5.5. This was a renamed and slightly upgraded version of the Microsoft Exchange client. |
| Outlook 98 | 8.5 | June 21, 1998 | Freely distributed with books and magazines to cope with the newest Internet standards such asHTML email.[5] Outlook 98 setup was based onActive Setup which also installedInternet Explorer 4.[6] |
| Outlook 2000 | 9.0 | June 27, 1999 | Included inOffice 2000 and bundled with Exchange 2000 Server |
| Outlook 2002 | 10 | May 31, 2001 | Included inOffice XP |
| Outlook 2003 | 11 | November 20, 2003 | Included inOffice 2003 (incl. Standard Edition for Students and Teachers) and bundled with Exchange Server 2003 |
| Outlook 2007 | 12 | January 27, 2007 | Included inOffice 2007, except Office Home and Student edition |
| Outlook 2010 | 14 | July 15, 2010 | Included inOffice 2010 Home and Business, Standard, Professional and Professional Plus |
| Outlook 2011 for Mac | 14 | October 26, 2010 | Included inOffice for Mac 2011 Home and Business |
| Outlook 2013 | 15 | January 29, 2013 | Included inOffice 2013, except Home & Student edition |
| Outlook for Mac | 15.3 | October 31, 2014 | Included inOffice 365, except some[which?] commercial editions |
| Outlook 2016 | 16 | September 22, 2015 | Included inOffice 2016 and Office 365 |
| Outlook 2016 for Mac | 15.12 | September 25, 2015 | Included in Office 2016 and Office 365 |
| Outlook 2019 | 16 | September 24, 2018 | Included inOffice 2019 and Office 365 |
| Outlook 2019 for Mac | 16.17 | September 24, 2018 | Included in Office 2019 and Office 365 |
| Outlook for Phones & Tablets | 1.3 | 2015 | Included in Office 365, except some[which?] commercial editions |
Microsoft Outlook is an email and personal information manager software primarily used in professional settings. As part of theMicrosoft Office suite, it offers email management, contact storage, calendar scheduling, and task tracking. Outlook can function independently or as part of a larger Microsoft ecosystem, including integration withSharePoint for file sharing. While it stores email data locally for offline access, newer versions restrict link opening to Microsoft's own browsers.[7][5]
 | This sectioncontains alist of miscellaneous information. Please helpimprove it byrelocating relevant information into other sections or articles.(May 2019) |
Privacy is severely degraded in the latest versions, as the new Outlook sends passwords, mails and other data to Microsoft.[8][9]
Outlook 2002 introduced these new features:[10]
Outlook 2003 introduced these new features:[15]
Features that debuted in Outlook 2007 include:[19]
Features that debuted in Outlook 2010 include:[25]
Features that debuted in Outlook 2013, which was released on January 29, 2013, include:
Features that debuted in Outlook 2016 include:[26]
Features that debuted in Outlook 2019 include:[27]
Microsoft made several versions of Outlook for older Mac computers, but only for email accounts on specific company servers (Exchange). It was not included as part of the regular Microsoft Office package for Mac.
Microsoft Entourage was Microsoft's email app for Mac. It was similar to Outlook but didn't work well with Exchange email at first. Over time, it got better at handling Exchange, but it was always a different program than Outlook.
Entourage was replaced by Outlook for Mac 2011, which features greater compatibility and parity with Outlook for Windows than Entourage offered. It is the first native version of Outlook formacOS.
Outlook 2011 initially supported Mac OS X'sSync Services only for contacts, not events, tasks or notes. It also does not have a Project Manager equivalent to that in Entourage.[28] WithService Pack 1 (v 14.1.0), published on April 12, 2011, Outlook can now sync calendar, notes and tasks with Exchange 2007 and Exchange 2010.
On October 31, 2014,Microsoft released Outlook for Mac (v15.3 build 141024) withOffice 365 (asoftware as a service licensing program that makes Office programs available as soon as they are developed). Outlook for Mac 15.3 improves upon its predecessors with:[29]
The"New Outlook for Mac" client, included with version 16.42 and above, became available for "Early Insider" testers in the fall of 2019, with a public "Insider" debut in October 2020.[30][31] It requires macOS 10.14 or greater and introduces a redesigned interface with significantly changed internals, including native search within the client that no longer depends on macOSSpotlight.[32] Some Outlook features are still missing from the New Outlook client as it continues in development.[33]
To date, the Macintosh client has never had the capability of syncing Contact Groups/Personal Distribution Lists from Exchange, Microsoft 365 or Outlook.com accounts, something that the Windows and web clients have always supported.[34] A UserVoice post created in December 2019 suggesting that the missing functionality be added has shown a "Planned" tag since October 2020.[35]
In March 2023, Microsoft announced that Outlook for Mac will be available for free. This means that users no longer need a Microsoft 365 subscription or an Office licence to use the program.[36]
First released in April 2014 by theventure capital-backedstartupAcompli, the company was acquired byMicrosoft in December 2014. On January 29, 2015, Acompli was re-branded as Outlook Mobile—sharing its name with the Microsoft Outlook desktoppersonal information manager andOutlook.com email service.[37] In January 2015,Microsoft released Outlook for phones and for tablets (v1.3 build) withOffice 365.[38] This was the first Outlook for these platforms with email, calendar, and contacts.
On February 4, 2015, Microsoft acquiredSunrise Calendar;[39] on September 13, 2016, Sunrise ceased to operate, and an update was released to Outlook Mobile that contained enhancements to its calendar functions.[40][41]
Similar to its desktop counterpart, Outlook mobile offers an aggregation of attachments and files stored oncloud storage platforms; a "focused inbox" highlights messages from frequent contacts, and calendar events, files, and locations can be embedded in messages without switching apps. The app supports a number of email platforms and services, includingOutlook.com,Microsoft Exchange andGoogle Workspace (formerly G Suite) among others.
Outlook mobile is designed to consolidate functionality that would normally be found in separate apps on mobile devices, similar topersonal information managers onpersonal computers. It is designed around four "hubs" for different tasks: "Mail", "Calendar," "Files" and "People". The "People" hub lists frequently and recently used contacts and aggregates recent communications with them, and the "Files" hub aggregates recent attachments from messages, and can also integrate with other online storage services such asDropbox,Google Drive, andOneDrive.[42][43][44][45][46] To facilitate indexing of content for search and other features, emails and other information are stored on external servers.[47]
Outlook mobile supports a large number of different e-mail services and platforms, includingExchange,iCloud,Gmail,Google Workspace (formerly G Suite),Outlook.com, andYahoo! Mail.[48][49] The app supports multiple email accounts at once.[50]
Emails are divided into two inboxes: the "Focused" inbox displays messages of high importance, and those from frequent contacts. All other messages are displayed within an "Other" section.[47][51] Files, locations, and calendar events can be embedded into email messages. Swiping gestures can be used for deleting messages.[44][52][53][54]
Like the desktop Outlook, Outlook mobile allows users to see appointment details, respond to Exchange meeting invites, and schedule meetings. It also incorporates the three-day view and "Interesting Calendars" features from Sunrise.[55]
Files in the Files tab are not stored offline; they require Internet access to view.
 | This section'sfactual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. The reason given is: Data is secured with TLS version 1.2 over HTTPS connections end-to-end, between Microsoft 365 or Office 365 and the app, as perhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/clients-and-mobile-in-exchange-online/outlook-for-ios-and-android/outlook-for-ios-and-android. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(October 2022) |
Outlook mobile temporarily stores and indexes user data (including email, attachments, calendar information, and contacts), along with login credentials,[56] in a "secure" form onMicrosoft Azure servers located in the United States.[57] On Exchange accounts, these servers identify as a singleExchange ActiveSync user in order to fetch e-mail. Additionally, the app does not supportmobile device management, nor allows administrators to control how third-partycloud storage services are used with the app to interact with their users. Concerns surrounding these security issues have prompted some firms, including theEuropean Parliament, to block the app on their Exchange servers.[58][59][60] Microsoft maintains a separate, pre-existingOutlook Web Access app for Android and iOS.[60]
Outlook Groups was a mobile application forWindows Phone,Windows 10 Mobile,Android andiOS that could be used with an Office 365 domain Microsoft Account, e.g. a work or school account. It is designed to take existing email threads and turn them into a group-style conversation. The app lets users create groups, mention their contacts, share Office documents via OneDrive and work on them together, and participate in an email conversation. The app also allows the finding and joining of other Outlook Groups. It was tested internally at Microsoft and launched September 18, 2015, for Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows 10 Mobile users.[61]
After its initial launch on Microsoft's own platforms the application was released forAndroid andiOS on September 23, 2015.[62]
Outlook Groups was updated on September 30, 2015 to introduce a deep linking feature as well as fix a bug that blocked the "send" button from working.[citation needed] In March 2016 Microsoft added the ability to attach multiple images and the most recently used document to group messages, as well as the option to delete conversations within the application program.[63]
Outlook Groups was retired by Microsoft on May 1, 2018.[64] The functionality was replaced by adding the "Groups node" to the folder list within the Outlook mobile app.[65]
Outlook 2007 was the first Outlook to switch from theInternet Explorer rendering engine toMicrosoft Word 2007's. This meant thatHTML andCascading Style Sheets (CSS) items not handled by Word were no longer supported. On the other hand, HTML messages composed in Word look as they appeared to the author.[66] This affects publishing newsletters and reports, because they frequently use intricate HTML and CSS to form their layout. For example, forms can no longer be embedded in an Outlook email.
Outlook for Windows has very limited CSS support compared to various other e-mail clients. NeitherCSS1 (1996) norCSS2 (1998) specifications are fully implemented and many CSS properties can only to be used with certain HTML elements for the desired effect.[67] Some HTML attributes help achieve proper rendering of e-mails in Outlook, but most of these attributes are already deprecated in theHTML 4.0 specifications (1997).[68] In order to achieve the best compatibility with Outlook, most HTML e-mails are created using multiple boxed tables, as the table element and its sub-elements support the width and height property in Outlook. No improvements have been made towards a more standards-compliant email client since the release of Outlook 2007.[69]
Outlook and Exchange Server internally handle messages, appointments, and items as objects in a data model which is derived from the old proprietaryMicrosoft Mail system, theRich Text Format fromMicrosoft Word and the complexOLE general data model.[70] When these programs interface with other protocols such as the various Internet andX.400 protocols, they try to map this internal model onto those protocols in a way that can be reversed if the ultimate recipient is also running Outlook or Exchange.[71]
This focus on the possibility that emails and other items will ultimately be converted back to Microsoft Mail format is so extreme that if Outlook/Exchange cannot figure out a way to encode the complete data in the standard format, it simply encodes the entire message/item in a proprietary binary format calledTransport Neutral Encapsulation Format (TNEF) and sends this as an attached file (usually named "winmail.dat") to an otherwise incomplete rendering of the mail/item. If the recipient is Outlook/Exchange it can simply discard the incomplete outer message and use the encapsulated data directly, but if the recipient is any other program, the message received will be incomplete because the data in the TNEF attachment will be of little use without the Microsoft software for which it was created.[71] As a workaround, numerous tools for partially decoding TNEF files exist.
Outlook does not fully support data and syncing specifications for calendaring and contacts, such asiCalendar,CalDAV,SyncML, andvCard 3.0. Outlook 2007 claims to be fully iCalendar compliant; however, it does not support all core objects, such as VTODO or VJOURNAL.[72] Also, Outlook supports vCard 2.1 and does not support multiple contacts in the vCard format as a single file. Outlook has also been criticized for having proprietary "Outlook extensions" to these Internet standards.
Outlook (both the web version and recent non-web versions) promotes the usage of a proprietary.msg format[73] to save individual emails, instead of the standard.eml format. Messages use.msg by default when saved to disk or forwarded as attachments. Compatibility with past or future Outlook versions is not documented nor guaranteed;[74] the format saw over 10 versions released since version 1 in 2008.[73]
The standard.eml format replicates the format of emails as used for transmission and is therefore compatible with any email client which uses the normal protocols. Standard-compliant email clients, likeMozilla Thunderbird, use additional headers to store software-specific information related e.g. to the local storage of the email, while keeping the file plain-text, so that it can be read in anytext editor and searched or indexed like any document by any other software.
As part of itsTrustworthy Computing initiative, Microsoft took corrective steps to fix Outlook's reputation for a lack of security in Office Outlook 2003. Among the most publicized security features are that Office Outlook 2003 does not automatically load images in HTML emails or permit opening executable attachments by default, and includes a built-in Junk Mail filter.[75] Service Pack 2 has augmented these features and adds an anti-phishing filter.[76]
Outlookadd-ins are small additional programs for the Microsoft Outlook application, mainly purposed to add new functional capabilities into Outlook and automate various routine operations. The term also refers to programs where the main function is to work on Outlook files, such assynchronization orbackup utilities. Outlook add-ins may be developed inMicrosoft Visual Studio[77] or third-party tools such as Add-in Express. Outlook add-ins are not supported inOutlook Web App.
From Outlook 97 on, Exchange Client Extensions are supported in Outlook. Outlook 2000 and later support specificCOM components called Outlook Add-Ins. The exact supported features (such as.NET components) for later generations were extended with each release.
In March 2016,Salesforce announced that its relationship intelligence platform,SalesforceIQ, would be able to seamlessly integrate with Outlook.[78]SalesforceIQ works from inside the Outlook inbox providing data fromCRM, email, and customer social profiles. It also provides recommendations within the inbox on various aspects likeappointment scheduling, contacts, responses, etc.
Microsoft Outlook Hotmail Connector (formerlyMicrosoft Office Outlook Connector), is a discontinued and defunct free add-in for Microsoft Outlook 2003, 2007 and 2010, intended to integrateOutlook.com (formerly Hotmail) into Microsoft Outlook. It uses DeltaSync, a proprietary Microsoft communications protocol that was formerly used by Hotmail.[79]
In version 12, access to tasks and notes and online synchronization withMSN Calendar is only available to MSN subscribers of paid premium accounts. Version 12.1, released in December 2008 as an optional upgrade, usesWindows Live Calendar instead of the formerMSN Calendar. This meant that calendar features became free for all users, except for task synchronization which became unavailable. In April 2008, version 12.1 became a required upgrade to continue using the service as part of a migration fromMSN Calendar toWindows Live Calendar.[80]
Microsoft Outlook 2013 and its newer versions have intrinsic support for accessing Outlook.com and its calendar over theExchange ActiveSync (EAS) protocol,[81] while older versions of Microsoft Outlook can read and synchronize Outlook.com emails over theIMAP protocol.[82]
Outlook Social Connector was a free add-in for Microsoft Outlook 2003 and 2007 by Microsoft that allowed integration of social networks such asFacebook,LinkedIn andWindows Live Messenger into Microsoft Outlook.[83] It was first introduced on November 18, 2009.[84] Starting with Microsoft Office 2010, Outlook Social Connector is an integral part of Outlook.[85]
Since Microsoft Outlook does not supportCalDAV andCardDAV protocol along the way, various third-party software vendors developed Outlook add-ins to enable users synchronizing withCalDAV andCardDAV servers.Nextcloud recommends the Open Source Caldavsynchronizer.[86] CalConnect[87] listed software that enables users to synchronize their calendars with CalDAV servers/contacts with CardDAV servers, but most of them are outdated.
Traditionally, Outlook supported importing messages fromOutlook Express andLotus Notes. In addition, Microsoft Outlook supportsPOP3 andIMAP protocols, enabling users to import emails from servers that support these protocols. Microsoft Hotmail Connector add-in (described above) helps importing emails fromHotmail accounts. Outlook 2013 later integrated the functionality of this add-in and added the ability to import email (as well as a calendar) throughExchange ActiveSync protocol.[81]
There are multiple methods to get the emails fromThunderbird. The first is to use a tool[88] that can convert a Thunderbird folder to a format that can be imported from Outlook Express. This method must be processed folder by folder. The other method is to use some free tools that keep the original folder structure.[89] If Exchange is available, an easier method is to connect the old mail client (Thunderbird) to Exchange using IMAP, and upload the original mail from the client to the Exchange account.[90]
In May 2022, Microsoft announced a preview release of new Outlook for Windows, available initially to Office Insiders. The new version of Outlook is aprogressive web app based on Outlook.com and offers several new features.[91]
The new Outlook for Windows preview later became available to all existing Outlook for Windows users and also users of the freeMail and Calendar app, which was retired in favor of the new app on December 31, 2024.[92][93][94]
The new Outlook has been criticized for having worse performance compared to the previous native versions as well as lack of offline support and missing a unified inbox.[95] Privacy concerns have also been raised around the decision to synchronise non-Microsoft email accounts with the Microsoft cloud, rather than downloading emails to the local device as previous versions have done.[96]
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