Configuring Outlook for Offline Use

Solution:

What is Offline use?

Offline folders are the quickest and easiest way to work offline with Exchange Server. Offline folders make it possible to work with the contents of an Exchange Server folder while you are not connected to the network (as an example when the server is down), and then when you are connected to the network, you can synchronize the Offline folders. Offline folders are only available in combination with Exchange Server.

When you are working offline, you work with the contents of an offline folder exactly as you do with a folder that is part of your mailbox on the Exchange 2003 Server. For example, you can change and move items in your offline Inbox and send messages that are placed in your offline Outbox. When you connect your computer to the network you can manually or automatically synchronize the offline folders. Your message in the offline Outbox will be transmitted to the exchange server.

Follow the steps below to setup offline mode in Outlook 2003:

1. Within Outlook, navigate to Tools | E-mail Accounts | View or change existing e-mail account

2. Click Next

3. Click Change Select the More Settings button Select the Advanced tab

4. Click the Use Cached Exchange Mode check box

5. Select the Offline Folder File Settings button

6. Outlook stores offline folder information in .ost files. By default it's named outlook.ost.

7. You can keep the default name and file location or change both.

8. Click OK. If you decide a different name and/or location of the offline folder information, Outlook will ask if you want to create this new file.

9. Click Yes.

Click OK, Next, and Finish until you return to the Outlook main screen