Microsoft offered its first personal email system by introducing Microsoft Outlook in 1997. Outlook was included in the Microsoft Office package for their wide number of users. Outlook eased the difficulty that many businesses and organizations faced.

Usually Outlook is used for its email application, but it includes other useful components. A calendar, web browsing, task manager, notes, journal writing, and even a contact manager. Microsoft also facilitates with applications for iOS, Android, and of course Windows phones since 2015 with Office 365. The interface of Outlook is user friendly and easy for anybody to use however, its skill level for its latest version of 2016 has upgraded to intermediate and demands basic tips, strategies, and techniques for organizing emails. Many common tasks are automated so that you can cut down on the time and energy needed, giving a more efficient emailing system.

Which version are you using?

Outlook 97

This was the first released on January 16, 1997. It was included in the Microsoft Office 97 package and sold together with Exchange Server 5.5

Outlook 98

After version 8.0; Outlook version 8.5 was introduced on June 21, 1998. It was distributed with an easy to understand guide as people were unaware of the new internet standards that included HTML. Outlook 98 even included Internet Explorer 4.

“I can’t figure out Outlook Express. I’m the worst person in the world answering e-mails, and my phone is probably the oldest, most battered phone you can find. So I just talk to people”. – Bruce Dickinson

Outlook 2000

Outlook 2000 was introduced with an updated version 9.0 on June 27, 1999. Included with Office 2000 was Exchange 2000 server.

Outlook 2002

Version 10 was released by Microsoft on May 31, 2001 which included Office XP adding advanced features such as printing, the use of task panel, and more.

Outlook 2003

Outlook 2003, version 11 was made on November 20, 2003. It included the Standard Edition for Teachers and Students which was used widely for education purposes in schools and institutes everywhere. Outlook 2003 was sold along with Exchange Server 2003.

Outlook 2007

Version 12 was released on January 27, 2007. It was included in Office 2007 excluding the student edition. It was said that Outlook 2007 was surrounded with an issue that failed to download the offline address book. If you are using this version and stuck with the same problem click the following link.

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc411331(v=exchg.80).aspx

Outlook 2010

This version 14 was introduced on July 15, 2010. Included in Office 2010 was a better and upgraded version for Business, Standard and Professional work. The main issue that occurs here is that Outlook 10 keeps crashing. If this is happening to you, you can try running it in Safe Mode.

Outlook 2011 For Mac

Version 14 of Outlook was introduced on October 26, 2010 with Office 2013, Home, and Business in order to provide improved, and quick working for Mac users.

Outlook 2013

The version 15 was introduced on January 29, 2013 in Office 2013 minus the Home and Student edition.

Outlook For Mac

Version 15.3 was made for Mac users in 2014 with limited editions. It does cause some issues with importing Outlook 2011 identity. You can go to Microsoft Support  to solve this issue.

Outlook For Phones And Tablets

This version 1.3 was recently released in 2015 which included Office 365. Also, it allows the user to use applications on their easy to carry devices.

Outlook 2016

Version 16 was released in September of 2015 widely being a medium of communication in both Professional and the Standard world.

What Is Exchange Server?

Most people don’t have Exchange Server at their homes, even I didn’t know about it until I studied and researched on the internet. But you don’t have to worry, your Outlook features will work fine without it on your PC, and won’t affect your quality of work in any way.

Basically Exchange Server is an email product for you. It is Microsoft’s internal mail server. The customer purchases it as a service from Microsoft with a monthly subscription fee. In return you receive access to their mail and calendaring server. It is helpful for users who face issues with their email solutions that may have an ineffective communication system.

A Complete Guide For You

People face issues in Outlook mainly because they haven’t completely explored all the options. Here is a complete guide for beginners on how to use Outlook to the most of their ability.

Common Outlook Errors And How To Fix Them

‘’Cannot open your default email folders. The information store could not be opened.’’

Drive C stores all kinds of Programs and Software files. So the first thing you have to do is locate Outlook.exe which can be found in the Microsoft Office Folder in your Program Files. You also can perform a simple search for it in your search bar. Open the drop down menu of the exe file by left clicking the mouse button and select Properties. On the Compatibility tab, uncheck the ‘Run this program in compatibility mode’ option. Click OK to save your settings and try restarting Outlook.

‘’Your Microsoft Exchange Server is unavailable’’

I told you guys above that not having an Exchange Server setup won’t cause you trouble. But not having a setting will surely show you an error. There can be other causes if you have this setup installed. There could be a No data connection – You should check your internet connection and try enabling the connection again. Microsoft also provides a guide for this problem you can catch it here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb123686.aspx

Your outlook files might be locked – Read only files cannot be altered or we are not able to change their properties especially .ost and .pst files. Make sure these files are not set to read only or you might not be able to access your outlook files the easy way. Navigate C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook for .pst files and C:\Program Files\ Microsoft Office 12 for .ost files.

Personal Folders Can Not Be Open Or Do Not Show Up In Outlook

This is the most common problem faced by all outlook users. It often leads to many other problems related to outlook. Microsoft lets you scan for the errors in the structure of your .ost and .pst files. The Inbox Repair Tool, and Scanpst.exe helps you to do that, and if any error is not identified this too will reset the file structures, and rebuild proper headers. If you want to open your Exchange Server files this tool will not perform this action, it only works on the files that are saved on your computer or Mac. The solution is the same for any ‘’Cannot open your default email folder’’ error.

‘’Cannot Start Microsoft Outlook. Cannot Open The Outlook Window. The Set Of Folders Cannot Be Opened’’

Microsoft Outlook lets you connect with partner applications and services for example PayPal, Uber, Evernote, and Skype which can cause issues. The first thing you want to do is reconnect your applications that are connected with Outlook.

If this doesn’t work you might want to follow the steps below to see if it helps:

• Open Control Panel from your Start menu.
• Select User Accounts and Family Safety
• Click Mail
• Click Show Profiles located as the third option.
• Remove the existing Outlook Profile.
• Create a new Outlook Profile.
• Restart Outlook.

There is another option you can try which is to run your Outlook in Compatibility Mode.

Compatibility mode will run your program more easily if you have an older operating system or Windows. Turning off compatibility mode if it is already running, may also fix the issue as well.

-Search Outlook.exe file from Program Files in your Microsoft Office Folder located in Drive C.

-Open the drop down menu my clicking left mouse button over Outlook.exe and choose Properties then click the Compatibility tab.

-Check or uncheck the compatibility option then click Apply or Ok to save your settings.

-Restart Outlook.

Tips For Troubleshooting Outlook Problems

These were the most common issues every Outlook user has faced at least once. For unidentified issues here are some useful tips to help you get a quick recovery from minor and major issues.

Scan PST files. Backup your data, scan for errors and repair. Keep in mind this can take some time as the storage device can be large. Its location will depend upon the version of Windows you are using.

Rename OST.You can thank me later for this because just renaming. Ost files can resolve plenty of issues. You can search for the file in your search box.

Disable Add-ons. The more plugins and addons that are connected to outlook, the more it will be slow. Try removing the Add-ons to make your Outlook run as normal as possible. You might want to run Outlook in Safe Mode before doing that.

Adjust Calendar permissions. Open the calendar in Outlook, right-click the calendar, go to properties, select the permissions tab, then adjust the permissions that will allow or disallow users to do anything which might cause trouble.

Why Outlook Over Gmail?

Outlook offers features that makes it better than Gmail mostly for Business and Professional use. You can schedule meeting rooms and projectors by adding them as a source to your meeting.

Outlook allows wide contact information which makes for quick communication between workers and colleagues. It also offers a Flag option to mark your important emails that you don’t want to miss. This concludes why you should chose Outlook over Gmail..

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