Which version of Outlook is the one with no local data file?

[HCHTech]

I ran into this yesterday - I think I remember reading somewhere here about a version of Outlook that was basically a browser, not keeping a local data file. This was a data transfer job, so I didn't have time to poke around much - for a bit, I thought the user had somehow chosen a non-standard location - haha. Anyway, wondering how to recognize this upfront...

 

[Markverhyden]

Been a while since I looked at it but seem to remember the Online Apps kind of look like the desktop apps.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

New Outlook for Windows - What you need to know — LazyAdmin

You can now try out the new Outlook for Windows app. What are the new features and which are still missing in this preview release.

lazyadmin.nl

Article updated yesterday so it's current.
No support of PST...which for 365 users...not an issue.

 

[britechguy]

Article updated yesterday so it's current.
No support of PST...which for 365 users...not an issue.

Not arguing, at all, about the article being current. But one thing the author says, if Outlook for Windows doesn't split into a "business version" versus a "free home version" is ridiculous: "Microsoft is working on a new Outlook for Windows app, that will replace the built-in Mail app in Windows 10 and 11, and replace the Outlook desktop app." [Italic emphasis mine.]

I've got the Outlook for Windows preview on my machine along with Outlook 365, and the amount of functionality stripped out of the version intended to replace the Mail, People, and Calendar apps is immense. There's no rule creation, for starters, and that's a show-stopper for a huge number of people I know, and many of them are home users of the Outlook desktop app, not just business users.

I think we'll have a unified basic UI for Outlook, but the feature set (and corresponding ribbons/menus to access it) is going to have to be far more extensive on any version that would be used by business.

Outlook for Windows Pre(view) is every bit as lacking as Outlook Preview was for the desktop app for users of the desktop app. No amount of "not all features are available yet" is going to make this appealing to a great many among the target demographics Microsoft has to be hoping will enthusiastically adopt it.

 

[callthatgirl]

New Outlook, most likely will come with all new computers. I'm going to have a wild 2024 lol.

You can revert if you install the Office apps.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Not arguing, at all, about the article being current. But one thing the author says, if Outlook for Windows doesn't split into a "business version" versus a "free home version" is ridiculous: "Microsoft is working on a new Outlook for Windows app, that will replace the built-in Mail app in Windows 10 and 11, and replace the Outlook desktop app." [Italic emphasis mine.]

I've got the Outlook for Windows preview on my machine along with Outlook 365, and the amount of functionality stripped out of the version intended to replace the Mail, People, and Calendar apps is immense. There's no rule creation, for starters, and that's a show-stopper for a huge number of people I know, and many of them are home users of the Outlook desktop app, not just business users.

I agree. It's not been 100% clear. At one point I'll find an article that states one thing, and...some time later, find another article that states another thing. Last spring or whenever we had a thread about this, I was pretty sure there were going to be two totally separate ones....one for business (365), the other for built in Windows....for residential mail, etc.

I'm wondering if...it will basically be the same program ....but when attached to a 365 biz account...it will "unlock features" to give the end user more functionality. Similar to how OneDrive or Defender AV is....for a consumer account...it's basic...but once connected to a 365 biz account...that same executable gets many more features "unlocked" and available.

I think time will tell. I've played with the PRE version on and off for a while...since end of last winter or spring....yet I keep going back to classic Outlook. The "only" thing I like about the newer version is the dynamic columns in calendar view.

 

[britechguy]

@YeOldeStonecat

Regardless of exactly how they do it, there's going to have to be the rough equivalent of the current Outlook desktop app available (even if by purchase) for those outside the M365 ecosystem. Far too many users of Outlook exist who use IMAP, and have for years, who use Rules (which is always my go-to example of "can't be done without," but there are others) who simply cannot give them up. If Microsoft were to force this, they will lose a massive part of the Outlook user base. It may not be the majority, these days, but it's certainly no niche.

As you say, time will tell. The mixed messaging is just so frustrating, though, because it makes any kind of real planning impossible.

Outlook for Windows is a vast improvement, in multiple ways, over the Mail, People, and Calendar Apps as they currently exist. At the same time, it's a "so weak as to be unacceptable to most, I'd think" replacement for what is now the Outlook Desktop App. Something's gotta give!