Outlook

Microsoft Outlook is a personal information manager software system from Microsoft, available as a part of the Microsoft Office suite.

Though primarily an email client, Outlook also includes such functions as calendaring, task managing, contact managing, note-taking, journal logging and web browsing.

Individuals can use Outlook as a stand-alone application; organizations can deploy it as multi-user software (through Microsoft Exchange Server or SharePoint) for such shared functions as mailboxes, calendars, folders, data aggregation (i.e., SharePoint lists), and appointment scheduling.

Microsoft has released apps for most mobile platforms, including iOS and Android.

In addition, Windows Phone devices can synchronize almost all Outlook data to Outlook Mobile.

Using Microsoft Visual Studio, developers can also build their own custom software that works with Outlook and Office components.

In March 2020, Microsoft announced the launch of a series of new features to appeal to business customers of its Teams platform, in addition to the features introduced the previous month.

The chat and collaboration module now includes more efficient and integrated way points, designed to simplify group work for organizations and to encourage such an organization to adopt the Microsoft platform to become the go-to company chat-platform.

Perpetual versions of Microsoft Outlook include:

Name	Version number	Release date	Notes
Outlook 97	8.0	January 16, 1997	Included in Office 97 and bundled with Exchange Server 5.0 and 5.5
Outlook 98	8.5	June 21, 1998	Freely distributed with books and magazines for coping with the newest Internet standard such as HTML email. Outlook 98 setup was based on Active Setup which also installed Internet Explorer 4.
Outlook 2000	9.0	June 27, 1999	Included in Office 2000 and bundled with Exchange 2000 Server.
Outlook 2002	10	May 31, 2001	Included in Office XP
Outlook 2003	11	November 20, 2003	Included in Office 2003 (incl. Standard Edition for Students and Teachers) and bundled with Exchange Server 2003
Outlook 2007	12	January 27, 2007	Included in Office 2007, except Office Home and Student edition
Outlook 2010	14	July 15, 2010	Included in Office 2010 Home and Business, Standard, Professional and Professional Plus
Outlook 2011 for Mac	14	October 26, 2010	Included in Office for Mac 2011 Home and Business
Outlook 2013	15	January 29, 2013	Included in Office 2013, except Home & Student edition
Outlook for Mac	15.3	October 31, 2014	Included in Office 365, except some commercial editions
Outlook 2016	16	September 22, 2015	Included in Office 2016 and Office 365
Outlook 2016 for Mac	15.12	September 25, 2015	Included in Office 2016 and Office 365
Outlook 2019	16	September 24, 2018	Included in Office 2019 and Office 365
Outlook 2019 for Mac	16.17	September 24, 2018	Included in Office 2019 and Office 365
Outlook for Phones & Tablets	1.3	2015	Included in Office 365, except some commercial editions Includes iOS and Android support

Microsoft Windows

Outlook 2002

Outlook 2002 introduced these new features:

• Autocomplete for email addresses
• Colored categories for calendar items
• Group schedules
• Hyperlink support in email subject lines
• Native support for Outlook.com (formerly Hotmail)
• Improved search functionality, including the ability to stop a search and resume it later
• Lunar calendar support
• MSN Messenger integration
• Performance improvements
• Preview pane improvements, including the ability to:
  • open hyperlinks;
  • respond to meeting requests; and
  • display email properties without opening a message
• Reminder window that consolidates all reminders for appointments and tasks in a single view
• Retention policies for documents and email
• Security improvements, including the automatic blocking of potentially unsafe attachments and of programmatic access to information in Outlook:
  • SP1 introduced the ability to view all non-digitally signed email or unencrypted email as plain text;
  • SP2 allows users to—through the Registry—prevent the addition of new email accounts or the creation of new Personal Storage Tables;
  • SP3 updates the object model guard security for applications that access messages and other items.
• Smart tags when Word is configured as the default email editor. This option was available only when the versions of Outlook and Word were the same, i.e. both were 2002.

Outlook 2003

Outlook 2003 introduced these new features:

• Autocomplete suggestions for a single character
• Cached Exchange mode
• Colored (quick) flags
• Desktop Alert
• Email filtering to combat spam
  • Images in HTML mail are blocked by default to prevent spammers from determining whether an email address is active via web beacon;
  • SP1 introduced the ability to block email based on country code top-level domains;
  • SP2 introduced anti-phishing functionality that automatically disables hyperlinks present in spam
• Expandable distribution lists
• Information rights management
• Intrinsic support for tablet PC functionality (e.g., handwriting recognition)
• Reading pane
• Search folders
• Unicode support

Outlook 2007

The main Outlook 2007 interface with its menus and toolbars. Outlook 2007 with options for text message composition. The left-hand side depicts a preview of how the message will appear on the recipient’s phone.

Features that debuted in Outlook 2007 include:

• Attachment preview, with which the contents of attachments can be previewed before opening
  • Supported file types include Excel, PowerPoint, Visio, and Word files. If Outlook 2007 is installed on Windows Vista, then audio and video files can be previewed. If a compatible PDF reader such as Adobe Acrobat is installed, PDF files can also be previewed.
• Auto Account Setup, which allows users to enter a username and password for an email account without entering a server name, port number, or other information
• Calendar sharing improvements including the ability to export a calendar as an HTML file—for viewing by users without Outlook—and the ability to publish calendars to an external service (e.g., Office Web Apps) with an online provider (e.g., Microsoft account)
• Colored categories with support for user roaming, which replace colored (quick) flags introduced in Outlook 2003.
• Improved email spam filtering and anti-phishing features
  • Postmark intends to reduce spam by making it difficult and time-consuming to send it
• Information rights management improvements with Windows Rights Management Services and managed policy compliance integration with Exchange Server 2007
• Japanese Yomi name support for contacts
• Multiple calendars can be overlaid with one another to assess details such as potential scheduling conflicts
• Ribbon (Office Fluent) interface
• Outlook Mobile Service support, which allowed multimedia and SMS text messages to be sent directly to mobile phones
• Instant search through Windows Search, an index-based desktop search platform
  • Instant search functionality is also available in Outlook 2002 and Outlook 2003 if these versions are installed alongside Windows Search
• Integrated RSS aggregation
• Support for Windows Sideshow with the introduction of a calendar gadget
• To-Do Bar that consolidates calendar information, flagged email, and tasks from OneNote 2007, Outlook 2007, Project 2007, and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 websites within a central location.
• The ability to export items as PDF or XPS files
• Unified messaging support with Exchange Server 2007, including features such as missed-call notifications, and voicemail with voicemail preview and Windows Media Player
• Word 2007 replaces Internet Explorer as the default viewer for HTML email, and becomes the default email editor in this and all subsequent versions.

Outlook 2010

Features that debuted in Outlook 2010 include:

• Additional command-line switches
• An improved conversation view that groups messages based on different criteria regardless of originating folders
• IMAP messages are sent to the Deleted Items folder, eliminating the need to mark messages for future deletion
• Notification when an email is about to be sent without a subject
• Quick Steps, individual collections of commands that allow users to perform multiple actions simultaneously
• Ribbon interface in all views
• Search Tools contextual tab on the ribbon that appears when performing searches and that includes basic or advanced criteria filters
• Social Connector to connect to various social networks and aggregate appointments, contacts, communication history, and file attachments
• Spell check-in additional areas of the user interface
• Support for multiple Exchange accounts in a single Outlook profile
• The ability to schedule a meeting with a contact by replying to an email message
• To-Do Bar enhancements including visual indicators for conflicts and unanswered meeting requests
• Voicemail transcripts for Unified Messaging communications
• Zooming user interface for calendar and mail views

Outlook 2013

Features that debuted in Outlook 2013, which was released on January 29, 2013, include:

• Attachment reminder
• Exchange ActiveSync (EAS)
• Add-in resiliency
• Cached Exchange mode improvements
• IMAP improvements
• Outlook data file (.ost) compression
• People hub
• Startup performance improvements

Outlook 2016

Features that debuted in Outlook 2016, include:

• Attachment link to cloud resource
• Groups redesign
• Search cloud
• Clutter folder
• Email Address Internationalization
• Scalable Vector Graphics

Outlook 2019

Features that debuted in Outlook 2019, include:

• Focused Inbox
• Add multiple time zones
• Listen to your emails
• Easier email sorting
• Automatic download of cloud attachments
• True Dark Mode (version 1907 onward)