Special thanks to our member for creating this content: John Korduba
Contents
Creating an Outlook User profile
“Manual setup or additional server types” option
Launching Outlook from the desktop
Re-creating the Outlook Profile
Repairing a Corrupt Profile file
Uninstall/Reinstall a Faulty Outlook app
Introduction
Most Help desk customer calls concern Outlook. So, it’s important to know this app thoroughly.
Here we will talk about setting up the desktop Outlook application and setting up your email service.
We will also talk about how to sync the desktop Outlook with the cloud or Exchange server. Most companies are moving to the cloud, but you may be in a work environment where the desktop app is still being used.
Creating an Outlook User profile.
After Outlook is installed, a user profile must be set up.
Access Control Panel.
(“All Control Panel Items” displays)
Change View by: to “Category”.
(“Category” view displays).
Change View by: to “Small icons”.
(“Small icons” view displays).
Click Mail.
(“Mail Setup – Outlook” dialog box displays)
Click Show Profiles.
(“Mail” dialog box displays).
If “Prompt for a profile to be used” is selected, then, when Outlook starts, a prompt displays asking the user which profile to use.
If “Always use this profile” is selected, then the selected profile will load a default.
In this exercise, “Prompt for a profile to be used” is selected.
Click Add.
(“New Profile” dialog box displays).
Enter a Profile Name (e.g., “Test1”).
Click OK.
(“Add Account” screen displays).
There are two options here: “E-mail Account” and “Manual setup or additional server types”.
“E-mail Account” option
With E-mail Account selected, delete the existing name (“Louis Smith”).
(Additional fields display).
For the JSS class, add the email address that was provided to you by the instructor.
Enter the user’s E-mail Address.
Type and retype the Password.
Note: In this class, use the same password for all devices.
Click Next.
(Your credentials will synch with your 365 account).
(Confirmation screen displays)
Click Finish.
“Manual setup or additional server types” option
This option is suitable if your environment works with an Exchange server. The sysadmin would provide the information needed to fill out this option.
Click Manual setup or additional server types.
Click Next.
(“Choose Service” screen dialog box displays).
Click POP or IMAP.
Click Next.
(“POP and IMAP Account Settings” dialog box displays)
The sysadmin would provide you with the details needed here.
Launching Outlook from the desktop
For this exercise, we will load the “test” profile. (this was previously created).
From the desktop, launch Outlook.
(The “Choose Profile” dialog box displays)
Click the Profile Name drop-down.
(menu displays)
Click Test
Click OK.
(The “Test” profile is loaded; Outlook launches).
Notice in the status line , it says “This folder is up to date” and “Connected to Microsoft Exchange”. “Connected to Microsoft Exchange” means that we are connected to the server and everything looks good.
If connectivity was failing with either the cloud or the server, you might see a message like “Trying to connect”.
You could click the Send/Receive All Folders button in the upper left of the screen to re- connect with the server. (In this case, the “Send/Receive All Folders” button has been added to the QAT).
Q&A
Question: If a user says that they are not receiving emails to their desktop Outlook, how to troubleshoot this?
Answer: see following.
- Have user check Outlook on the cloud. If the email is receiving there, then the problem is with the desktop. If the email is not arriving on the cloud either, then there are many possible causes: internet connectivity problem, or the email went to junk folder, etc.
Check available space by going to File menu/ Mailbox Cleanup.
Here you would check to see if user has run out of space for new emails.
Cleanup Tools
Click Cleanup Tools
(menu displays)
Click Mailbox Cleanup.
Archive
This feature allows you to back up emails up to a specified date.
If necessary, click File/ Info.
(“Account Information” screen displays)
Click Cleanup Tools
(menu displays).
Click Archive.
(“Archive” dialog box displays)
Select the folder(s) you want to archive, set an “archive items older than “date, a location for the “Archive file, and click OK.
Once archiving has been done, Archive folders will display in in Outlook’s left navigation bar. You can also double-click the saved Archive file itself.
Re-creating the Outlook Profile
Sometimes problems with Outlook are caused by a corrupt Profile file. The following steps explain how to create a new profile.
Open Control Panel.
Click Mail
(“Mail Setup – Outlook” dialog box displays)
Click Data Files
(“Account Settings/ Data Files” tab displays)
Select the profile “.ost” file.
Click Open File Location.
(Data file location displays)
Select the actual profile file.
(In this case, our profile file is called “….Test”
Note: If you tried to follow the displayed path (see below) to the profile file, it would be difficult, since “AppdData” is a hidden folder.
Again, select the actual profile file.
Right-click and rename it.
Now, we will re-start Outlook. Outlook will look for the profile, and upon not finding it, will create a new profile. The new profile will re-connect to the servers and data files. Any corruption or synching issues that existed before should be repaired.
(Outlook is restarted)
Notice the “Preparing Outlook for first use” message. Since Outlook could not find the profile, it is re-creating it.
Once complete, you can check to see that the profile has been re-created.
Removing Troublesome Add -ins.
Sometimes Outlook is integrated with other apps, and this integration causes Outlook to hang. Removing the Add in is explained in this section.
Click File/ Options
(“Options” dialog box displays)
Click Add-Ins
(“Add-In Options” screen displays)
Ensure that the Manage drop-down has “Com Add-Ins” selected and click Go.
(“COM Add-Ins” dialog box displays).
Uncheck any add-in that you think might be causing an issue. You might want to uncheck each one at a time, to see which, if any, is causing problems.
Removing all Add-Ins at once
To remove all add-ins at once, follow these steps.
Right-click the Start button and click RUN.
(“Run” dialog box displays).
Enter “Outlook /safe”
Click OK.
(Outlook will start in safe mode, without integrating with any Add-Ins.
Notice “Safe Mode” displays in the title bar.)
Repairing a Corrupt Profile file
Sometimes you need to open a corrupt Profile file, since it may contain important data that needs to be stored elsewhere. Follow these steps to open a Repair utility:
Go to C: Program files/ Microsoft Office/ Office 16.
Double-click “SCANPST” file.
(“..Repair…” dialog box opens.
It should automatically detect the profile you want to scan.)
Click Start to run the utility.
Uninstall/Reinstall a Faulty Outlook app
Go to Control Panel.
Click Programs and Features.
(“Programs and Features” screen displays list of installed apps).
Right click on Microsoft Office
(menu displays).
Click Change.
(“User Account Control” dialog box displays).
Enter Admin credentials.
Click Yes.
(“Change your installation….” screen displays.
Select Repair – this will scan and repair any faults it discovers in the Office suite.
Click Continue.
(Repair utility runs).
As a last resort, you can right-click and uninstall the Office suite.
After uninstalling, you would re-install the Office suite. Hopefully, a fresh install would fix any issues.
Special thanks to our member for creating this content: John Korduba
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