ARCHIVED: In Microsoft Outlook for Windows, what are offline folders, and how do I enable and disable them?
Note: Microsoft Outlook 2010, 2007 and 2003 offer Cached Exchange Mode in addition to offline folders. University Information Technology Services (UITS) at Indiana University recommends that you use Cached Exchange Mode instead of offline folders.
In Outlook 2002 or 2000, an offline folder file (ending with the
extension .ost
) is a file located on your computer's hard
disk, by default in the C:\Windows
directory. The
contents are synchronized with the contents of your mailbox on the
Microsoft Exchange server when you connect to the server. You can
access offline folders even if the network or mail delivery service is
down. You can also compact them to save space on your computer; see
ARCHIVED: In Microsoft Outlook, what is AutoArchive, and how do I use
it?
Using offline folders is a good idea if you want to synchronize your mailbox on a laptop or home computer so you can work when you are not connected to a network. Be careful when deleting folders, because if you delete a folder on the server or in the offline folders, that folder will be deleted on both the server and the local computer during the synchronization.
Note: When you create a new folder in Outlook, check the properties of that folder, using the steps below, to ensure that it is available offline.
Enabling offline folders in Outlook 2002
- From the menu, select .
- Click , and then click .
- In the "Outlook processes e-mail for these accounts in the following order:" list, click .
- Click , and then click .
- Select the tab, and then click .
- In the "File:" field, type the path to the file you want to use as
the offline folder file. The default filename is
.ost
. If this filename already exists, you will be prompted for a new name.
Enabling offline folders in Outlook 2000
- From the menu, select .
- Select the tab, and then check the box.
- For each folder in your Folder List that you wish to synchronize with your Exchange mailbox, right-click the folder and select .
- Click the tab. Under "This folder is available", select . Click .
Disabling offline folders in Outlook 2002
- From the menu, select .
- Click , and then click .
- In the "Outlook processes e-mail for these accounts in the following order:" list, click . Click , and then click .
- Select the tab. Click , and then click .
Disabling offline folders in Outlook 2000
- From the menu, select .
- Select , and then click .
- Select the tab. Click .
- Click . Click three times.
Note: Deselecting the .ost
file.
You can get further information on offline folders from the
menu in Outlook, and also from article 195796 at the Microsoft Help and Support web site.
This is document afzh in the Knowledge Base.
Last modified on 2021-09-07 17:12:45.