Supported E-Mail Programs and Features

The following figure shows some ways you can connect to your e-mail account.

The following list offers more information about each method of connecting.

• Web browser   Use Outlook Web App and the light version of Outlook Web App with browsers like Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Apple Safari.
  
• Internet e-mail programs   Use any program that supports IMAP4 or POP3, like Mozilla Thunderbird, Outlook Express or Windows Live Mail.
  
• Exchange account access using Outlook or Entourage   The programs that support Exchange account access include Outlook 2007, Outlook 2010, Outlook 2013, Outlook 2011 for Mac, and Entourage 2008 Web Services Edition.
  
• Exchange account access using Windows 8 Mail and Apple Mail   Windows 8 Mail supports Exchange account access using Exchange ActiveSync. Apple Mail 10.6 Snow Leopard and Apple Mail 10.7 Lion also support Exchange account access. Versions of Apple Mail 10.5 Leopard and earlier versions of Apple Mail use IMAP4 or POP3. Outlook 2003 is only supported if you use IMAP4 or POP3.
  
• Mobile phones with an Internet connection   You can connect using your Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, IPad, iPod Touch, Nokia (Symbian), Windows Phone, Windows Mobile, or other Internet-capable phones and tablets.
  
• Any phone   Use Outlook Voice Access with any phone to access your e-mail, calendar and contacts.
  

The following table summarises some differences you might want to consider before you choose the e-mail program that you will use to connect to your e-mail account.

You can access your e-mail account through several different Web browsers. You can use any computer that is connected to the Internet or to a local Intranet, whether you are at home, in the office or on the road. You can view and edit e-mail messages, appointments and meetings, contacts and tasks. You can also listen to your voice messages and read text messages. Some other things you can do with Outlook Web App include:

• Check your spelling
  
• Use a variety of fonts, colors and sizes in your e-mail messages
  
• Group your e-mail messages in a variety of ways
  
• Be reminded of upcoming events
  

The light version of Outlook Web App contains some of the same features as Outlook Web App. The light version provides a blind and low vision experience and will run with any Web browser. Several features are not available in the light version, including:

• Reminders
  
• Viewing your calendar one week at a time
  
• Changing your voice mail options
  
• Changing the color scheme
  

Browser versions to use with Outlook Web App

For information about supported browsers, see Supported Web Browsers.

If you're using Outlook 2007, Outlook 2010, or Outlook 2011 for Mac, you can set up a connection to your e-mail account through an Exchange server or by using IMAP4 or POP3. Connecting Outlook 2007, Outlook 2010, or Outlook 2011 for Mac through an Exchange account provides more features than IMAP4 or POP3, including:

• Access to your e-mail, contacts and calendar when you are not connected to the Internet.
  
• The ability to propose new times for meeting requests you receive.
  
• The ability to import, export and archive your contacts and other information stored in Outlook.
  

If your mailbox is in a cloud-based environment (for example, in Microsoft Office 365 for enterprises or Office 365 for professionals and small businesses), and you want to connect to your account with Outlook 2003, you must choose the POP3 or IMAP4 option when you set up your account. For more information about support for Outlook 2003, see the FAQ "Can I use Outlook 2003 to connect to my e-mail account?" in FAQs: E-Mail Programs.

You can connect Microsoft Entourage 2008 for Mac OS X to your account using Entourage 2008, Web Services Edition. To do this, you first need to install Entourage 2008, Web Services Edition. This version of Entourage is available as an update to Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac.

To download this update and learn more about the Web Services Edition, visit the Microsoft Entourage 2008 for Mac, Web Services Edition Web page.

Although you can also connect Entourage for Mac OS X to your account (either Entourage 2004 or Entourage 2008) using POP3 or IMAP4, doing this does not provide all the features that are available when you use an Exchange account to connect. For example, if you connect using Entourage 2008, Web Services Edition, you will be able to synchronise Notes, Tasks, Calendar items and Categories between Outlook Web App and Entourage 2008.

Outlook Voice Access can be used from any telephone and can be used to listen to your voice mail, access information about a personal contact and interact with your calendar. You can use your voice or the telephone keypad to navigate the Outlook Voice Access menus.

The Outlook Voice Access Quick Reference Guide includes information about all the menu options and how to move through the menus. To download a copy of the Quick Reference Guide, see the Microsoft Download Center.

Many mobile phones can be set up to access your e-mail account. If you have a mobile phone with Windows Mobile or an Apple iPhone, you can use Exchange ActiveSync to access e-mail messages, your calendar, contacts and tasks on your phone. Other mobile phones support both the IMAP4 and POP3 protocols, which let you send and receive e-mail messages on your phone.

If you have an e-mail program that supports IMAP4 or POP3, you can set it up to send and receive your e-mail. You can not use IMAP4 or POP3 to access your contacts, tasks or calendar. Some programs you can use to access your e-mail account with IMAP4 or POP3 include:

• Microsoft Outlook Express
  
• Windows Mail
  
• Microsoft Entourage
  
• Mozilla Thunderbird
  
• Mac Mail for Mac OS X
  

Note:
If you are running Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard, you do not connect to your e-mail account using IMAP or POP. Connecting to your account with Mail for Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard requires less manual configuration. For more information, see Set Up Mail for Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard Access to Your E-Mail Account.

What else do I need to know?

• Using Outlook Web App on a mobile phone is not supported.
  
• If you try to open Outlook Web App on a computer or Web browser that is not supported, the light version of Outlook Web App will open instead.
  

What if I want to know more?

• E-Mail Setup Help Wizard
  
• Mobile Phone Setup Wizard
  
• Set Up Your E-Mail Account on Your Mobile Phone
  
• Access Your Account Using IMAP or POP E-Mail Programs
  
• Using POP3 and IMAP4 E-Mail Programs