Outlook 2003 offline caching changes

[Matthew Bell]

There has been a change in the default behavior of
Outlook from version 2000 to 2003 with regard to how the
offline cache responds when you have previously
synchronized the cache, and then reconnect online (in our
situation, it's particularly relevant when connecting
over a phone line rather than over a broadband or network
connection). We're wondering if there's a way to turn
back the clock..

In Outlook 2000, you would connect to the online mailbox,
and would view all the headers of all the messages in
your Inbox, Deleted Items, etc. (you still had to wait
for the headers to download, but that happened relatively
quickly). If you opened one of the messages, only the
content of that message would pass over the line. All
the other messages that you did not touch did not
synchronize to your offline cache until you triggered it
with a synchronization request of some sort. On the
negative side, it was possible to exit your connection on
your network, and only on the airplane discover that you
didn't actually have those messages synchronized in your
local cache.

In Outlook 2003, Microsoft seems to have tried to address
that concern so that when you connect to the online
mailbox with offline cache enabled, you always view the
offline cache. All messages start synchronizing to the
cache immediately upon making a live connection. We're
finding that is a blessing on a fast connection, but can
quickly be a curse on a slow connection. While Outlook
is synchronizing a particularly large message over a
phone line, for instance, you are unable to view any of
the headers of all the other messages received after the
one that is currently synchronizing.

There were times when the lack of automatic
synchronization in Outlook 2000 was a blessing in
disguise, because it meant that a large enclosure didn't
have to cripple your access to the mailbox when dialed
up. So my appeal is: Is there any way to use the
offline cache in Outlook 2003, but regain the ability to
view only the online headers when connected, and only
synchronize the whole mailbox upon demand instead of
automatically?

Thanks for any tips you might have.

 

[Ken Slovak - [MVP - Outlook]]

That depends on what version of Exchange you are using. If you are using 5.5
then you can only get full items when synching the store in cached mode. In
later versions of Exchange server you should be able to set your cached
connection by right-clicking at the bottom right of the status bar where it
shows your connection and to select a different type of connection, such as
headers first.