Working with Outlook while offline

R

Robert McN

After years of using Outlook, several months ago I began working at an
organization that uses an Outlooks 2007 on an exchange server. I now find
that if I am not connected to the internet, I cannot access my Outlook Data.
I am not talking about what is referred to as Outlook Windows Access (OWA),
the version of Outlook stored remotely on the web. In the past, my Outlook
data was stored in a .pst file. From what I understand my Outlook data is no
longer in a .pst file. Are my calendar, contacts, emails, etc. stored on my
computer? If so, is there some way to access them when I'm not connected to
the internet?
Secondly, if I were to leave this organization, does that mean I would lose
all my Outlook data? Since this data is all important to me, how can I ensure
that I don't lose it?
Thank you for any information you can give?
 
N

neo [mvp outlook]

Using Microsoft Outlook offline really depends on the configuration. If you
e-mail account type is Microsoft Exchange, then hopefully your setup is
using cached mode. Think of cached mode like the traditional setup setting
up offline folders (.ost) but take it one more step that you are always
running against the OST stored on the hard drive whether or not you connect
to the Exchange server.

Generally no. You should be able to start the computer/outlook without a
network connection and be able to access whatever is stored in the OST.
There is a caveat though, the OST is tied to the Outlook profile. So if you
think you can delete/recreate the mail profile or move the OST to another
machine, it doesn't work.

If you know that you are leaving a company, export the contents of the OST
to a personal folders (PST) file. This way you can move the PST file
between any machine that runs Microsoft Outlook.
 
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