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How do Outlook and Outlook Express relate?

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Summary: Even though they share similar names and do similar things, Outlook and Outlook Express are actually not related to each other at all.

I see I have Outlook Express on my machine for email. But I also see references here and elsewhere to just "Outlook". Is that just another name for the same thing? If not, how do "Outlook" and "Outlook Express" relate to each other?

The short answer: they don't. They essentially have only two things in common. They're both primarily mail programs, and they both have the word "Outlook" in their names.

And that's where the similiarity ends.

It's unfortunate too, because lots of people infer from the names that Outlook Express is some kind of "Outlook Lite" and that's not the case at all. It's a completely separate program.

Outlook Express is:

  • free - it's included on most Windows installations, and comes with the free Internet Explorer download.
  • an Internet Mail Reader - POP3, IMAP or Hotmail accounts.
  • an Internet News Reader - NNTP, as used on Usenet and other internet news servers.
  • a contact list manager - though aimed primarily as a way of managing contacts for mail and news.
"Under the hood, the most major difference is that they share almost no code..."

Outlook, on the other hand, is:

  • not free - it's included in the Microsoft Office product.
  • an Internet Mail Reader - POP3, IMAP or Hotmail accounts.
  • an Exchange Server Mail Reader and support all Exchange Server features.
  • a full-featured Personal Information Manager (PIM) with address book, calendar, todo-list and more.
  • extensible - Outlook can be extended via add-ins and macros.

There are many more differences of course, but those are the major ones that are visible. Under the hood, the most major difference is that they share almost no code. They've come from completely different backgrounds to evolve into what they are today.

In general, Outlook Express is targetted at the home user, and many people feel that it is both simple and meets their needs quite nicely. Outlook, on the other hand, is targetted more at the business environment or those simply needing the additional features it brings.

For what it's worth, I use Outlook extensively to manage not only my email, but my address book, my calendar, and my to-do list. I also use Outlook Express, but only to read Internet newsgroups.

You can read more about Outlook versus Outlook Express in the Microsoft support article: Differences Between Outlook and Outlook Express.

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Recent Comments

Nope.

Posted by: Leo Notenboom at January 9, 2007 03:33 PM

I get this error when I tried to enter a calendar appoitment

the form required to view this message cannot be displayed contact your administrator

Can you help

John Rimel

Posted by: John Rimel at February 5, 2007 11:33 AM

I have migrated from Outlook Express to Outlook 2002. What I do not see when I open a message containing attachments (.jpeg etc) is a plain old picture like I had in Outlook Express. Is there some sort of setting I need to redo on my outlook 2002??

Posted by: Lanny Miller at February 18, 2007 10:09 AM

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No. Outlook does not automatically display attachments. You must open
them separately. This article has more:
http://ask-leo.com/why_do_pictures_in_email_sometimes_show_up_inline_and_sometimes_as_attachments.html

Leo
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Posted by: Leo Notenboom at February 18, 2007 12:22 PM

If I copy the files in the store folder on Outlook Express:

"On the old machine, the easiest way to locate Outlook Express' email store is to ask Outlook Express. Fire it up, and then in Tools, Options, on the Maintenance tab there's a button labeled Store Folder. Click that, and it will tell you the folder containing your email folder.

Copy the entire contents of that directory to a floppy, CD-ROM or share on your network."

Can these be opened in Outlook (not Outlook Express)?

Thanks!

Posted by: Paul Henderson at April 5, 2007 02:42 AM

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No. You must first have them in an instance of Outlook Express. Then you can
import them into Outlook.

Leo
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Posted by: Leo Notenboom at April 5, 2007 07:33 PM

I have Outlook and Outlook Express on my PC. I wish to change over to Outlook, how do I do this?

Posted by: andrew at December 20, 2007 06:35 PM

I have Outlook and Outlook Express on my PC. I wish to change over to Outlook, how do I do this? I just used this question because I would also like to transfer my info to Outlook as well.

Posted by: Kristy at January 4, 2008 10:28 AM

My suggestion is to switch to using Mozilla Thunderbird. It is designed to be a simple email program or expand with the use of addons to be as powerful as Outlook. I use it to manage my email, contacts with phone numbers and addresses and notes, and my calendar. I can also sync it with my Pocket PC running Windows Mobile 5 using a third party application called Birdie Sync.

Posted by: Floyd Morrissette at March 29, 2008 04:38 AM

Can I save Windows Mail in a format that can read in Outlook or Outlook Express

Posted by: Kay at May 8, 2008 07:36 PM

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