Microsoft KB Archive/185237

= OL98: (CW) Outlook Speed Enhancement to Calendar Folder Access =

Article ID: 185237

Article Last Modified on 7/29/1999

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Outlook 98 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q185237



NOTE: These procedures only apply if you have installed Outlook with the Corporate Workgroup/Other option. This option allows you to use Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI) services. To determine your installation type, on the Help Menu click About Microsoft Outlook. In About Microsoft Outlook you should see "Corporate" if you have the Corporate Workgroup installation.



SUMMARY
Microsoft Outlook uses background synchronization to improve performance for those who work primarily while connected to a Microsoft Exchange Server. Outlook automatically configures the Calendar to work from a local, synchronized folder and synchronizes the local folder with the Microsoft Exchange Server periodically. This enhancement improves performance by providing local access to the Calendar and it decreases the load on Microsoft Exchange Server so performance and scalability also improve.



MORE INFORMATION
When you start Outlook or select the Calendar folder, the Calendar information can display more quickly by working in a mode called "Primarily Offline." This allows you the speed benefit of working offline on a local copy of the Calendar information, while being in sync with the current information on the Microsoft Exchange Server mailbox store. Outlook handles this by running calendar folder synchronization in a background process that is transparent to you.

The background synchronization process synchronizes the server based Calendar information with a local Offline Folder (.OST file). If your profile is already configured for offline use, the Primarily Offline Calendar feature will use the existing .OST file to access and synchronize Calendar information. If your Outlook profile is not configured for offline use, an .OST file will be created specifically for the primarily offline Calendar.

For Windows 95/98 users, this .OST file is created in:

\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook

For Windows NT users, this .OST file is created in:

\profiles\user\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook

When working in Primarily Offline mode, if you make a change to your Calendar (local .OST file), a background synchronization thread starts after 10 seconds, making both the local and server-based calendars identical. If a delegate or other user with proper permissions makes a change to your server-based calendar, Microsoft Exchange Server notifies Outlook, which starts a background process to sync the local calendar with the server calendar.

NOTE: This feature works with all versions of Microsoft Exchange Server.

