Outlook for Windows is Microsoft's desktop mail, calendar, contacts, and task client that unifies work, school, and personal accounts in one app, with Copilot-assisted drafting, Teams scheduling, and enterprise security controls built in.
Outlook for Windows is Microsoft's desktop client for email, calendar, contacts, and tasks, bringing work, school, and personal mailboxes together in a single window. It runs on the same service foundation as Outlook on the web, so messages, events, categories, and settings stay in sync across devices, while the desktop shell adds multiple windows, system notifications, dark mode, themes, and offline access to recent items. Everyday use follows a short loop: triage the message list with Sweep, Snooze, pin, and swipe actions, file mail into colour-coded folders or categories, then reply, schedule a meeting, or hand the item to To Do. One search box covers mail, files, calendar entries, and online archive results.
Account coverage is broad: Microsoft 365 and Entra ID work or school mailboxes, Outlook.com and Hotmail, Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo, plus generic IMAP and POP, with on-premises Exchange reachable through IMAP where protocol limits allow. Shared mailboxes can be added as resources or as full accounts, and online archives, favourites, public folders, and search folders remain available with varying depth. Extensibility has shifted from COM add-ins, custom forms, and VBA macros to web add-ins, which install once and follow the account. IT teams commonly run the app beside classic Outlook during migrations, and the same admins who track mailbox availability often watch network health with a tool like EMCO Ping Monitor. Copilot features require a qualifying subscription.
The clearest benefit is consolidation: one inbox, one calendar view, and one contact list across several providers, which removes the habit of checking three separate apps or browser tabs. Because the client mirrors the cloud service, feature updates arrive continuously rather than through major version jumps, and anything changed on the desktop appears in the mobile and web apps. Scheduling improves noticeably, since Teams meetings, in-person events, work hours and location, room finding, and conflict warnings are handled natively without a separate add-in. Triage tools such as Sweep, Snooze, undo send, schedule send, and pinned messages cut the manual effort of keeping an inbox current. For organisations, Outlook for Windows supports sensitivity labels, Purview Message Encryption, S/MIME, DLP policies, phishing reporting, and continuous access evaluation, so compliance requirements are met inside the same client users already know. Copilot adds thread summaries, drafting, and coaching for subscribers who want faster turnaround on long conversations.
Add Microsoft 365, Outlook.com, Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo, IMAP, and POP accounts, then read them in separate folder trees or a combined view. Shared mailboxes can be attached as resources or signed in as accounts, and favourites pin the folders, categories, people, and groups you touch most.
With a qualifying subscription, Copilot summarises long threads, drafts replies from short prompts, suggests tone and clarity coaching before you send, prepares meeting briefs, and can build a meeting invitation from an email discussion. It reduces reading time on threads that have grown past a dozen messages.
Teams is built into the client, so no add-in is needed to create an online meeting. Presence indicators appear next to senders and recipients, you can reply to a message by chat, share an email into a Teams channel, and open meeting chat directly from the calendar item.
Sweep clears or auto-deletes bulk mail from a sender, Snooze hides a message until a chosen time, pinning keeps important items at the top of the list, and configurable swipe gestures archive, delete, or flag in one motion. Focused Inbox separates priority mail from newsletters.
Day, 3-day, week, and month views support colour categories, group calendars, delegate access, drafts of meeting invites, and shortened meeting defaults. Work hours and location sharing tells colleagues when you are in the office, while follow-meeting and recap options keep you informed about sessions you cannot attend.
A single search box queries mail, calendar events, people, and files, returning top results plus a dedicated file tab. Refiners narrow by sender, date, attachment, and folder scope, and results include items stored in the online archive rather than only the primary mailbox.
Sensitivity labels, mandatory labelling, Microsoft Purview Message Encryption, S/MIME, data loss prevention policies, print and screen-capture restrictions, sender blocking, and one-click phishing or junk reporting are supported, giving regulated teams the handling controls they need without leaving Outlook for Windows.
Web add-ins from AppSource or your organisation install once and follow the account across desktop, web, and mobile. Server-side rules, Quick Steps, Quick Parts, signatures, templates, and conditional formatting automate repetitive handling, though some classic rule and mail-merge scenarios are still only partially covered.
The new app shares its foundation with Outlook on the web and adds features classic never had, such as Sweep, Snooze, pinned messages, undo send, folder colours, and work hours and location. Classic still leads on COM add-ins, VBA macros, custom forms, voting buttons, full .pst handling, and multiple mail profiles.
Yes. Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo, Outlook.com, Microsoft 365 work or school accounts, and generic IMAP or POP mailboxes are all supported. Note that web add-ins do not run inside third-party accounts, so add-in functionality is limited to Microsoft and Entra ID mailboxes.
Offline support is partial. Recent mail, calendar items, and contacts are cached so you can read, search within the cached window, and compose messages that queue in the Outbox until you reconnect. Deep archive access and some folder operations still require connectivity.
No. COM add-ins, the Outlook Object Model, MAPI, and VBA macros are not supported in the new client; the extensibility model is web add-ins instead. Vendors often publish a web add-in equivalent, and Microsoft documents a migration path from COM to web add-ins.
Yes. A toggle lets you move between the two experiences, and administrators can also install both side by side so users keep classic for features that have not reached parity. Settings and add-ins can be imported when you first switch over.
Copilot capabilities such as thread summarisation, Draft with Copilot, coaching, and meeting preparation depend on a qualifying Microsoft 365 subscription or Copilot licence. Core mail, calendar, contacts, and task functions work without one, and some advanced actions require higher Copilot tiers.
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