Working Offline with Outlook and Exchange Server Using Offline Folders

Although you don't have to use offline folders when you work with Exchange Server over a remote connection, you do need a set of offline folders to work offline. If you haven't set up offline folders and can't connect to the remote server, Outlook can't start. One of your first tasks after you create your dial-up connection and configure your Exchange Server account should be to configure a set of offline folders. Note, however, that you don't have to accomplish this step if you configure Outlook to use Cached Exchange Mode for your Exchange Server account-when you enable Cached Exchange Mode, Outlook automatically creates an offline store for you.

Note The OST file does not appear as a separate set of folders in Outlook. In effect, Outlook uses it transparently when your computer is offline.

You can associate one set of offline folders with the Exchange Server account in your profile. The offline file has an OST file extension and stores a copy of all the folders and items in your Exchange Server mailbox. Outlook synchronizes the data between the two. For example, suppose that you create an e-mail message and a new contact item while working offline. The message goes in the Outbox folder of the offline store, and the new contact item goes in the Contacts folder of the offline store. When you next connect to the server and perform a synchronization, Outlook moves the message in the local Outbox to the Outbox folder on your Exchange Server, and the message then gets delivered. Outlook also copies the new contact item in your local Contacts folder to the Contacts folder stored on the Exchange Server. Any additional changes, including those at the server (such as new e-mail messages waiting to be delivered), are copied to your local offline folders.

An OST file, like a personal folders (PST) file, contains Outlook folders and items. One difference, however, is that you can have only one OST file, but you can have multiple PST files. Also, Outlook synchronizes the offline store with your Exchange Server automatically but does not provide automatic synchronization for PST files.

Follow these steps to configure offline storage with an OST file:

1. If Outlook is running, choose Tools, E-Mail Accounts. Otherwise, right-click the Outlook icon on the Start menu, choose Properties, and then click E-Mail Settings.
2. Select View Or Change Existing E-Mail Accounts and click Next.
3. Select the Exchange Server account and click Change.
4. Click More Settings and then click the Advanced tab.
5. Click Offline Folder File Settings to open the dialog box shown below





6. In the File box, specify a path and name for the OST file.
7. Select an encryption setting and click OK.
8. On the Advanced tab, verify that the Enable Offline Use option is selected and click OK.
9. Click Next and then click Finish.

Synchronizing with the Exchange Server Mailbox

After you add an OST file to your profile, you need to synchronize the file with your Exchange Server mailbox at least once before you can work offline. Follow these steps to synchronize your offline folders:

1. Connect to the remote network where your Exchange Server is located using the Internet, a dial-up connection to a remote access server on the remote LAN, or other means (such as ISDN, cable modem, or DSL). A LAN connection will give you the best performance for the initial synchronization.
2. Open Outlook.
3. Choose Tools, Send/Receive, Microsoft Exchange Server. Outlook then synchronizes with the Exchange Server.

Note If you specified a name for the account other than the default Microsoft Exchange Server, select that account name on the Send/Receive menu. You'll find the account name on the General tab of the account's Properties dialog box. Using an Offline Address Book Whether you're composing messages offline or creating tasks to assign to others, chances are good that you want access to your Exchange Server address book so that you can address messages to other users in your organization. To download the address book manually whenever you want an update, follow these steps:

1. Choose Tools, Send/Receive, Download Address Book to open the Offline Address Book dialog box (see figure below).
2. Select options as needed from the following:

• Download Changes Since Last Send/Receive Download only changes made since the last time you performed a send/receive operation. Clear this check box to download the entire address list.
• Full Details Download all address information, including phone, fax, and office location. You must select this option if you want to send encrypted messages, because you need the users' digital signatures.
• No Details Download only e-mail addresses and no additional address book details.

Click OK to download the address book. In addition to performing manual offline address book updates, you also can configure a send/receive group to download the address book. Follow these steps to do so:

1. In Outlook, choose Tools, Send/Receive, Send/Receive Settings, Define Send/Receive Groups.
2. Select the send/receive group in which you want to configure the address book download, and then click Edit.
3. On the Accounts bar, select your Exchange Server account (see figure below).





4. Select the Download Offline Address Book check box, and then click Address Book Settings to open the Offline Address Book dialog box.
5. Configure settings as necessary in the Offline Address Book dialog box (discussed in the preceding set of steps) and then click OK.
6. Click OK to close the Send/Receive Settings dialog box. Each time you synchronize folders using the send/receive group, Outlook downloads the offline address book according to the settings you specified. You probably won't want to configure this option for the default All Accounts send/receive group unless you have a fast connection to the server and your offline address book changes frequently. One option is to create a send/receive group that downloads only the offline address book and does not process any other folders. However, this is essentially the same as choosing Tools, Send/Receive, Download Address Book. Consider how often you need to download the address book and work that task into your send/receive groups as you see fit.