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There are two main ways that people use their Office 365 email. These ways are Outlook
and Outlook Web App. How do you know which one to use? Here are some of the general
differences between the two ways:
To compare specific features between Outlook Desktop, Outlook Web App , and Outlook for Mobile, you can look below, where the features are grouped together to make them easier to locate.
Access to Data
Feature | Outlook Desktop | Outlook Web App | Outlook for Mobile |
Access from almost any web browser | NA | Yes | Yes* |
Low band-width sync | Yes | No | Yes |
Access multiple Exchange email accounts | Yes | Yes* | No |
Use favorites folder | Yes | Yes | No |
*If you have full access to another mailbox in the shared address book, such as a resource mailbox, you can open it. To access other accounts, you must sign in with the other account credentials. You can also add another person's mailbox to your folder list.
Manage Mobile Devices
Feature | Outlook Desktop | Outlook Web App | Outlook for Mobile |
View and delete devices connected to mailbox | No | Yes | No |
Initiate remote wipe of phone | No | Yes | No |
Send calendar rule notification to device | Yes | No | No |
Search
Feature | Outlook Desktop | Outlook Web App | Outlook for Mobile |
Built-in search folders | Yes | No | No |
Can search calendar | Yes | No | No |
Scope a search | Yes | Yes* | Yes* |
Tab for setting search context | Yes | No | No |
Search as you type | Yes | No | No |
Highlight search terms | Yes | Yes** | Yes |
Customize search results | Yes | No | No |
Advanced searches | Yes | Yes*** | Yes*** |
*Common search scopes are available
**Highlighting includes navigating between search results in a conversation
***Advanced searches require use of query terms such as From:name
Security
Feature | Outlook Desktop | Outlook Web App | Outlook for Mobile |
Change user account password | No | Yes | No |
Require passcode | No | No | Yes* |
Add to safe/blocked senders list | Yes | Yes | No |
Block external content | Yes | No | No |
Secure Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions | Yes | Yes | No |
Anti-phishing and anti-spam technology | Yes | Yes** | Yes** |
Certificate management | Yes | No | No |
Receive data loss protection policy tips | Yes*** | No | No |
*For some devices (iPhone, iPad), your organization's administrator may require that you set a passcode
**Server only
***Available with some Office 365 Enterprise plans
Reading and Sending Messages
Feature | Outlook Desktop | Outlook Web App | Outlook for Mobile |
Message editing tools | Yes | Partial | Limited |
Use inline images | Yes | Yes | No |
Paste objects | Yes | No | No |
Specify reply to address | Yes | Yes* | Yes* |
Set message format | Yes | Yes | No |
Play sound when message arrives | Yes | Yes | No |
Warn when missing attachment | Yes** | Yes | No |
Turn on/off preview of message | Yes | Yes | No |
Show and control how reading pane is used | Yes | Yes | No |
Check spelling | Yes | Yes*** | No |
Quick steps | Yes | No | No |
Create delivery receipt request and read request | Yes | Yes | No |
Control response to read request | Yes | Yes | No |
Delivery reports | Yes | Yes | No |
Reply with a meeting request | Yes | No | No |
Mail Tips | Yes | Yes | No |
Delay or schedule message deliver | Yes | No | No |
Approve a moderated message | Yes | Yes | No |
*By using "From"
**By using a free app
***Spell checking is provided by the browser and is available in Internet Explorer 10, Internet Explorer 11, Google Chrome, and Firefox
Organizing Email
Feature | Outlook Desktop | Outlook Web App | Outlook for Mobile |
Ignore a conversation | Yes | Yes | No |
Conversation cleanup | Yes | No | No |
Message archiving | Yes | Yes | No |
Customizable views | Yes | Yes* | No |
Create subfolders | Yes | Yes | No |
Manage folder permissions | Yes | Yes | No |
*Limited customizable views
Contacts and Address Book
Feature | Outlook Desktop | Outlook Web App | Outlook for Mobile |
Add contact photo | Yes | No | No |
Sync contacts with device address list | No | No | Yes |
Offline Address Book | Yes | Yes* | Yes |
Hierarchical address book | Yes | No | No |
Global Address Book sync and update | Yes | No | No |
Color categories | Yes | No | No |
Mark as private | Yes | No | No |
Contact cards/electronic business cards | Yes | No | No |
Manage rights on contacts | Yes | No | No |
Share contacts | Yes | No | No |
Import contacts | Yes | No | No |
Export contacts | Yes | No | No |
Outlook quick contacts | Yes | No | No |
Add/edit personal groups | Yes | Yes | No |
Create customized contact views | Yes | No | No |
Use Outlook Social Connector | Yes | No | No |
Sync contacts with Facebook | No | Yes | No |
*Limited
Meetings and Appointments
Feature | Outlook Desktop | Outlook Web App | Outlook for Mobile |
Propose new time for meetings | Yes | No | No |
Calendar preview in invitations | Yes | No | No* |
Paste objects | Yes | Yes | No |
*User gets a list of conflict meetings in the invite
Calendar
Feature | Outlook Desktop | Outlook Web App | Outlook for Mobile |
Week view | Yes | Yes | iPad only |
Tasks by day view | Yes | No | No |
Schedule view | Yes | No | No |
Preview months in left pane | Yes, 9 months | Yes, 7 months | Yes, 1 months |
Print calendar | Yes | Yes* | No |
Automatic formatting of calendar items | Yes | No | No |
Secondary time zone in calendar view | Yes | No | No |
Cached shared calendar | Yes | No | No |
Share calendar (external/internal) | Yes | Yes | iPad only |
Set sharing level: free/busy details | Yes | Yes | iPad only |
Side-by-side free/busy info | Yes | Yes | No |
Import/export calendar | Yes | No | No |
Zoom slider for calendar | Yes | No | No |
Team calendar | Yes | No | No |
Specify color for calendar | Yes | Yes | iPad only |
Subscribe to calendar | Yes | Yes | iPad only |
Calendar snapshot | Yes | No | No |
Sync calendar with device | Yes | No | Yes |
*Can't print the month view
Tasks
Feature | Outlook Desktop | Outlook Web App | Outlook for Mobile |
Edit, view, filter, search, and categorize tasks | Yes | Yes | No |
Assign a task to another person | Yes | No | No |
Flag mail as task | Yes | Yes | No |
Notes
Feature | Outlook Desktop | Outlook Web App | Outlook for Mobile |
Create notes and notes folders | Yes | No | No |
Move or categorize notes | Yes | Yes | No |
Search notes | Yes | No | No |
Faxes
Feature | Outlook Desktop | Outlook Web App | Outlook for Mobile |
Send faxes | Yes | No | No |
Journaling and Voting
Feature | Outlook Desktop | Outlook Web App | Outlook for Mobile |
Create journal | Yes | View Only | No |
Voting buttons | Yes | No | No |
Sharing Data
Feature | Outlook Desktop | Outlook Web App | Outlook for Mobile |
Access public or shared folders | Yes | Yes | No |
Access site mailboxes | Yes | No* | No |
Delegate control | Yes | No** | No |
Outlook Social Connector | Yes | No | No |
*Available through SharePoint site
**Available through plug-in only
Instant Messaging
Feature | Outlook Desktop | Outlook Web App | Outlook for Mobile |
Integrated chat | Yes* | Yes | No |
Integrated presence indicators | Yes | Yes | No |
Reply with text message | Yes | Yes | No |
*Requires use of third party services
Voicemail
Feature | Outlook Desktop | Outlook Web App | Outlook for Mobile |
Change voice mail options | Yes | Yes | No |
Data Management
Feature | Outlook Desktop | Outlook Web App | Outlook for Mobile |
.pst file support | Yes | No | No |
Import data from other data sources | Yes | No | No |
Export data | Yes | No | No |
Send to Office OneNote | Yes | No | No |
Add, share, export, import RSS feed | Yes | No | No |
Mailbox Management
Feature | Outlook Desktop | Outlook Web App | Outlook for Mobile |
Access to POP3 and IMAP email accounts | Yes | Yes | No |
View mailbox quota | Yes | Yes | No |
Language settings | Yes | Yes | No |
Manage Inbox rules | Yes | Yes | No |
Always categorize or move messages | Yes | No | No |
Manage retention policies | Yes | Yes | No |
User Customizations
Feature | Outlook Desktop | Outlook Web App | Outlook for Mobile |
Manage Outlook plug-ins | Yes | No | No |
Customize UI buttons | Yes | Yes | No |
Custom forms | Yes | No | No |
Customize navigation pane | Yes | No | No |
Customizable views | Yes | No | No |
Set message options | Yes | Yes | No |
Multiple email signatures | Yes | No | Yes |
Message tracking options | Yes | Yes | No |
Deleted item handling | Yes | Yes | No |
Junk email options (trusted vs. untrusted sources) | Yes | Yes | No |
Meeting request processing | Yes | Yes | No |
Voice mail settings | Yes | Yes | No |
Custom dictionary | Yes | Yes** | No |
Infopath integration | Yes | No | No |
Macros/VBA | Yes | No | No |
*You can have a mobile and a non-mobile signature
**Depends on the local browser
Admin Customizations
Feature | Outlook Desktop | Outlook Web App | Outlook for Mobile |
Admins can enable/disable email features | No | Yes | Yes |
This information was found on the Microsoft website. If you want to see the full details, visit their page here.