New Outlook for Windows to Add Offline Mode with Performance Improvements

Outlook – 5

Key Takeaways:

  • The new Offline mode in Outlook for Windows will allow users to view emails, calendar events, and contacts without an internet connection.
  • The new feature should improve performance and enable actions such as composing, flagging, moving, and deleting emails offline.
  • IT administrators have the ability to control the Offline mode by disabling it through the settings.

Microsoft is getting ready to roll out new offline capabilities for the new Outlook for Windows client later this month. This new Offline mode was first announced in November 2023, and it will allow users to access emails, calendar events, and contacts without needing an internet connection.

With Offline mode, the new Outlook for Windows app will store emails, calendar events, and contacts locally on the user’s device. Users will be able to perform key actions such as flagging, moving, and deleting emails, and composing new messages even when not connected to the internet.

“After a user connects to the internet, actions performed on emails while offline will synchronize back to the server and emails sent while offline will complete sending, moving from the Outbox to Sent Items,” Microsoft explained. “By saving items on the user’s device, the performance of the new Outlook will be improved, because interacting with items saved on the device is faster than interacting with items loaded via a network connection.”

Microsoft mentioned that the new Outlook for Windows client will require additional storage on the user’s device because items are stored locally. The storage impact will vary based on the selected folders, the number of items saved, and the size of each item.

Additionally, users will be able to choose which folders to save and set how long they want to keep emails and calendar events. The new Outlook for Windows app allows saving folders such as Inbox, Sent Items, Drafts, Archive, Deleted Items, Snoozed, and Favorites. Users will also be able to store emails for up to 7 days and calendar events for up to 30 days.

New Outlook for Windows to Add Offline Mode with Performance Improvements
Default offline settings (Image Credits: Microsoft)

New Outlook for Windows to get additional Offline capabilities in late 2024

This feature will be enabled by default for all Outlook users, but IT admins can disable it by going to Settings > General > Offline. Once disabled, the new Outlook for Windows app won’t store any items on the PC, and users will not experience the performance improvements. Additionally, all previously stored items will be removed when the feature is turned off.

Microsoft plans to roll out the first set of Offline capabilities to all commercial customers in late July. The company also intends to add more Offline features to the new Outlook for Windows client later this year.