Outlook’s new client for Windows 11 (and Windows 10) is built on top of outlook.com, and there are challenges associated with making it work offline for all tasks. Unlike Outlook classic, which stores everything locally, new Outlook works in sync with the web version and doesn’t work offline just yet.
Microsoft’s new Outlook might not have the best adoption rate like the company expected but it’s not giving up. While imposing the new app wasn’t their greatest idea, it is trying to fix many shortcomings that’ll make the new Outlook comparable, if not better than the legacy one.
Joining the list is an upcoming feature that will let you access and save attachments in offline mode.
Windows lastest spotted this upcoming feature on the official Microsoft 365 roadmap website. The feature ID 472026 mentions a new feature for the desktop version of Outlook. Once introduced, you can access all the attachments received in emails offline. What’s even better is the ability to save the attachments after previewing them.
For this feature to work, Outlook will have to save a lot of stuff locally, but there’s no description of how the feature will work. Microsoft plans to release this feature next month, January 2025. So, you can now use the app offline and do more than basic email previewing.
But there are many more features debuting in the new Outlook in January 2025.
January is jam-packed with small improvements
Firstly, you’ll get the feature to move email between multiple accounts. You can also set a custom description for each account so it’s easy to identify.
Another missing feature will join the new Outlook. We’re talking about the S/MIME signing and encryption that wasn’t there when the new Outlook arrived.
There’s also a small change to the recipient separator. You can separate two names by either a comma or semicolon, but for names that have a first and last name, a comma can be useful. So, you can free up the comma from the recipient separator duty and use a semicolon instead.
There’s even a name pronunciation setting shipping in January using which you can spell out how your name should be pronounced. It’s available in Slack and other productivity apps and is a nice addition if you work with a global team.
Lastly, there are multiple Copilot-related features like sharing the custom Copilot prompts with other team members and generating summaries of past meetings to get an overview and prepare for the next one.
Outlook has a lot of good stuff coming, and we wouldn’t be surprised if the new Outlook reaches feature parity with Outlook Classic sooner than expected.
Also, remember that Mail & Calendar apps will stop working on December 31, and you need to get used to the new Outlook. You can still use the classic Outlook version.