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In this series of
articles, I want to start by talking about issues that Outlook users run
into when they work offline. There are things to think about that you
normally don't run into if you stay connected all the time.
Dial-up/slow
connection users
When running Outlook
offline, users need to periodically synchronize with the Exchange server
to send and receive message. If the user has any offline folders, they
will need to be synchronized as well. This is Microsoft's recommended
method over the "stay-connected" method if you're using Outlook
over a slow connection. This is due to the fact that connection time is
much shorter when used for synchronizing only. Data is stored locally
for fast access, but synchronization is needed frequently to stay updated.
If you prefer to
stay connected even with a slow connection, you may notice Outlook to
be unavailable when you're downloading a large message and degradation
of speed is dramatic when message gets larger. However, the advantage
is that you can send immediately after composing a new message.
So what's the catch?
If you will only download selective messages, then the stay connected
method will work for you as only messages you open will be saved onto
your hard drive. If you generally read all your new mail and like fast
and continuous response from Outlook, then it is better to go into offline
mode and use synchronizing instead. In the meanwhile, get a cup of coffee!
Automatic
Synchronization
You can set your
Outlook to synchronize automatically at a given time. There are times
when that doesn't quite work so smoothly: When you're at the office with
a fast connection, you set the auto sync feature and expect that when
you go to a slow connection, it will work as expected, but it doesn't.
This is due to Outlook detecting that you are now on a slow connection
and doesn't want to auto-sync for you until you tell it to. In this case,
you'll have to do a manual synchronization. It's not your Outlook malfunctioning,
it's just a default behavior.
Offline
web pages
If you have web pages
made available offline when you were online, but are now unavailable when
you're actually offline. Make sure you have Internet Explorer (IE) installed.
These offline web pages saved in Outlook are saved in a format designed
for IE only.
Please
check back next month for part 2 of the "Tips for Offline Users"
series. Happy computing!
Did
you find this article useful? Do you want to see more of this kind or
something else? I would really appreciate your comments, feel free to
email me!
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