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Office 2016 for Mac will only prompt you to rebuild the database if it encounters a problem but this doesn’t always work anyway and you risk losing all of your mail if it doesn’t repair properly: The way round this is to create a new Profile in Office 2016 for Mac instead (previously called an “Identity” in Office 2011).
Summary
This article describes some useful tools for Microsoft Outlook for Mac.
More information
Outlook Search Repair
The Outlook Search Repair tool repairs search results within Outlook.
Important
Due to some changes in macOS Mojave, this tool no longer works in 10.14 and higher. If you are on macOS Mojave (10.14), you can follow the steps below to reindex Spotlight for Outlook for Mac.
- Choose Apple menu, then System Preferences, and then Spotlight.
- Select the Privacy tab.
- In Finder:
- On the Go menu, select Go to Folder...
- Copy and paste the following location into the 'Go to the folder:' dialog box and select Go:~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/Outlook/Outlook 15 Profiles/
- Drag the 'Main Profile' folder to the Privacy tab. Once added, remove the folder, and Spotlight will re-index the folder.You must perform this step for any additional profile folders you have.
See the following article from Apple to learn more: How to rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac.
When to use the tool
Use this tool if search results within Outlook show nothing or return older items only. For example, if you search for an email message that you already have open and that message isn't displayed in the search results.
How to use the tool
- Download and open the Outlook Search Repair tool.
- Follow the instructions.Note The tool searches for duplicate installations of Outlook. If no duplicates are detected, go to step 3. If duplicates are detected, remove the duplicate Outlook installations, and then restart the system. After your system is restarted, the Outlook Search Repair tool may reopen. If it does reopen, exit and restart the tool.
- Select Reindex.Note The Outlook Search Repair tool displays a 'Reindexing, please wait' message while it works. Wait for this process to finish. This may require an hour or more, depending on the size of your Outlook profile. Outlook doesn't have to be open when the repair occurs. A spotlight search will be slower and may not finish while the index is being repaired.
- Exit the Outlook Search Repair tool when you receive the following message after the repair is completed:Done! Reindexing has completed!
OutlookResetPreferences
The Outlook Reset Preferences tool resets all Outlook preferences to their default settings.
When to use the tool
Use this tool to reset any customizations that you've made to Outlook by using the Preferences option on the Outlook menu. This tool also stores the settings for the Outlook window size and position. This tool shouldn't be needed most of the time. But it can be useful.
Note The Outlook Preferences file doesn't contain all the preferences for the application. Also, resetting Outlook preferences doesn't remove email messages or account settings.
How to use the tool
- Download and open the Outlook Reset Preferences tool.
- Click the Reset Now! button. This closes Outlook if it's open, and then resets the preferences to their default settings.
- Exit the Outlook Reset Preferences tool.
SetDefaultMailApp
The Default Mail Application tool lets you easily make Outlook the default mail application.
When to use the tool
Use this tool if you want Outlook to open a new email message when you click a mailto: link in an email message or on a website. Selecting a mailto: link opens the default email application. Outlook isn't the default email application until you change that setting.
How to use the tool
- Download and open the Default Mail Application tool.
- In the Default Mail Application dialog box, select com.microsoft.outlook, and then click Make Default.
- Exit the Default Mail Application tool.
ResetRecentAddresses
The Reset Recent Addresses tool lets you reset recent addresses that Outlook stores. This tool deletes all recent addresses instead of you having to manually delete addresses one at a time.
When to use the tool
When you compose an email message and add people on the To, Cc, or Bcc line, Outlook suggests names as you type characters. The list of names that Outlook uses is a combination of stored contacts, the company directory, and recent contacts. Recent contacts have an 'X' character next to each name. Without this tool, you have to click the 'X' on each contact to remove that contact from the Recent Address List. The Reset Recent Addresses tool cleans out all recent addresses at the same time.
How to use the tool
- Download and open the ResetRecentAddresses tool.
- Click the Reset Now! button.
- Exit the Reset Outlook Recent Addresses tool.
Moving from your PC to your new Mac? Consider it done.
With macOS, you can move all the information from your old PC to your new Mac. Built-in Windows-to-Mac migration in macOS automatically transfers your documents, music, contacts, calendars, and email accounts (Outlook and Windows Live Mail), and puts them in the appropriate folders and applications on your new Mac. Just like that.
If you buy your Mac at an Apple Store, Personal Setup can help you get off to a great start.
Work with anyone.
Every Mac comes with Pages, Numbers, and Keynote — powerful productivity apps from Apple that help you create stunning documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. You can collaborate with one person or many people to create and edit Pages, Keynote, and Numbers files. And everyone can work on the same document at the same time — from across town or across the globe. You can also open, edit, and save Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files with these apps, so you can easily work with others, regardless of whether they’re on a Mac or PC.
Use Microsoft Office for Mac. Connect to Microsoft Exchange Server.
Fun fact: There’s a version of Microsoft Office written just for Mac. So you can use Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on a Mac just like on a PC.
macOS also provides built-in support for the latest version of Microsoft Exchange Server. So you can use all the apps you love on your Mac, and have access to your mail, contacts, and calendar from the office, all at the same time.
Access your files from anywhere with iCloud.
Your Mac comes with iCloud Drive, which lets you safely store all your presentations, spreadsheets, PDFs, images, and any other kinds of files in iCloud. Then you can access them from any device, including your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, or PC.1
Industry standard‑bearer.
Thanks to its support for industry standards, macOS works with virtually all email providers and websites. It also lets you view the most common file types, including Office documents, PDFs, images, text files, MP3s, videos, ZIP files, and more.
So if you’re moving files from a PC or if your friends and colleagues send you files, you can rest assured they’ll work beautifully on your Mac.
Relax. Your camera, printer, and mouse work, too.
Almost any device that connects to a computer via USB, audio cable, or Bluetooth will work with a Mac. That includes digital cameras, external hard drives, printers, keyboards, speakers, and even your right-click mouse. And with technologies like AirPrint and the array of class drivers included with macOS, you can start using these devices as soon as you plug them in — no need to manually download additional software.
A Mac can even run Windows.
Have a Windows application you need to use once in a while? No problem. Every new Mac lets you install and run Windows at native speeds, using a built-in utility called Boot Camp.
Setup is simple and safe for your Mac files. After you’ve completed the installation, you can boot up your Mac using either macOS or Windows. (That’s why it’s called Boot Camp.) Or if you want to run Windows and Mac applications at the same time — without rebooting — you can install Windows using VMware or Parallels software.2
Connect to PCs over a network.
The Finder not only lets you browse files on your Mac, it also makes it easy to find files on other computers — both Mac and PC — on your home network. Computers that allow file sharing automatically show up in the Shared section of the Finder sidebar, allowing you to browse files and folders you have permission to view.
Works on macOS
- Microsoft Office for Mac and Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents created on a Mac or PC
- Windows using Boot Camp or third-party software
- Access to Microsoft Exchange Server in Mail, Contacts, and Calendar
- Virtually all email services and providers
- Popular file types such as PDF, JPG, ZIP, MP3, PSD, and more
- Digital cameras, printers, hard drives, mice, and keyboards with USB connections
- Wi‑Fi hotspots and Windows networks
- Text messaging with Skype, Facebook, WeChat, LINE, and more