What is Microsoft Outlook?

MS Outlook comes as a part of the widely used Microsoft Office Suite. It is a desktop email application that can be used to configure any of your mail accounts to sync your emails on the desktop. It provides its users with extra features like: calendar , contact manager and journal which help you to keep a track of your email interactions. It allows it users to send or receive emails through free POP#/IMAP and SMTP email server and also store contacts, journals , calendars, and notes, etc. In this article discover the concept of what is microsoft outlook, its features, versions, file extension and configure email account.

Why is it used?

It is basically an email program that is used to send or receive emails right through your desktop but it can also serve as a personal information management tool. It includes calendars , address books for storing contacts , storage area for typed notes , task reminders and a full journal.

Outlook can be used either on a single computer or it can be put up on an Exchange server for giving multiple users the access to its wide range of features.

MS Outlook Features

Microsoft Outlook has following features:-

Accelerated Email Processing- Allows to send and receive emails quickly without taking extra time. The emails can be accessed through MS Outlook even when offline.
Email attachment Alert- Reminds the user to add or insert an attachment to an email when the user fails to do so.
Diversified Contacts- The contacts are added to the address book of MS Outlook and their information can be altered anytime by simply clicking on the name of the contact.
Tracking Feature- Users can know that how many people have read the message sent by them. It is the best MS outlook features.
Social Integration- Using the "Social Connectors" in MS Outlook the user can always be updated with the current activities updated on Facebook , Twitter or Linkedin Profiles.

Versions of Microsoft Outlook

Name	Version Number
Outlook 97	8.0
Outlook 98	8.5
Outlook 2002	10
Office Outlook 2003	11
Office Outlook 2007	12
Outlook 2010	14
Outlook 2011 for Mac	14
Outlook 2013	15
Outlook 2016	16

File Extensions for MS Outlook

.OST	Outlook Offline Folder File
.MSG	Outlook Mail Message
.EML	Email Message
.VCF	vCard File
.ICS	Calendar File
.WAB	Windows Address Book

Configure Email Account

Email Account access through Outlook:

Open MS outlook. Click the Tools tab and select Add account.
Enter your email account information in the next window.
- Enter Your Name as you want it to appear.
- Next you need to enter your email address as username@example.com in the Email address field.
- Select POP3 or IMAP. We recommend IMAP.
- Enter mail.example.com in the Incoming mail (POP3, IMAP) server: field.
- Then enter mail.example.com in the following field: Outgoing mail(SMTP) server. Common authentication issues with Outlook can be avoided using port 465 for SMTP and SSL.
- In the User Name field, enter your full email address as entered above.
- Enter your email password in the Password: field.
Next,configure your Outgoing server settings. Click on the More Options... button. Then tp provide authentication, select "Use Incoming Server Info". Common authentication issues with Outlook can be avoided using port 465 for SMTP and SSL. Click OK to save your settings.
Click the Test Account Settings button. All items will be marked with a green check. Click the Close Button to close the test window.

Your email account has been setup. Click Finish to close the setup wizard.

FAQs

1. I face following error message : Unusual Sign-in activity in Outlook.com while signing in to Outlook. What shall I do?

The first step is to change your password so that your account gets unblocked. Choose a strong password that contains a mix of letters , special characters, and numbers.

After the password is changed, you can try to unblock your account online. You'll need to request a code that will be sent via a text message to your phone number. If you don't have a phone that is able to receive text messages, you'll need to contact support.

2. Yesterday, My MS Outlook was not working I sent messages from my email account to another account, but they show - not delivered - notification. So what can I do?

These types of errors should fix themselves in an interval of time. If the error message states that the receiver's email provider will keep trying to deliver your message, no further action needs to be taken in this situation. Otherwise, wait for a short time and then resend the message.

3. I get the following message whenever I try to send an email: Outlook.com won't let me send an email . What can I do ?

You need to increase your message limits by verifying your account.

Conclusion

This article has been focused to discuss the what is Microsoft outlook, MS outlook features, problems with Microsoft outlook etc. Microsoft outlook is an email program that is used to send or receive emails right through your desktop but it can also serve as a personal information management tool.