Updated: 2009-04-09

As part of your Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 deployment, you can define Send/Receive groups for users' Microsoft Exchange Server accounts and folders and specify tasks that are performed on each group during a Send/Receive action in Outlook.

NoteNote:

This topic is for Outlook administrators. To configure Outlook send/receive settings on your computer, see Using send/receive groups.

You configure these settings in the Office Customization Tool (OCT). You cannot configure the settings by using Group Policy.

To create and configure Send/Receive groups for Exchange accounts and folders

  1. In the OCT, in the Outlook area, on the Specify Send/Receive Groups (Exchange Only) page, click New.

  2. In the New Group Name box, enter a name for the group and click OK.

  3. Click Modify.

  4. In the Modify Group dialog box, select options for the group, such as synchronizing forms during a Send/Receive action.

  5. In the Change folder options section, select a folder and select Include this folder in Send/Receive.

  6. Choose download options for the folder. This option is only relevant for folders that have the concept of headers, such as Inbox, Outbox, Deleted Items, Sent Items, and Drafts:

    Download only headers

    Download complete item including attachments

    Download only headers for items larger than n KB

  7. Enter a size limit in kilobytes (KB). This setting only applies for accounts set up to use Exchange Server 2003, or later versions of Exchange Server.

  8. Click another folder to include the folder in this Send/Receive group, and choose a download option.

  9. Add all the folders that you want to include in this group, then click OK.

  10. Click a group in the Group Name list.

  11. Select the options available in this dialog box to specify Send/Receive behaviors for the group.

  12. In the Exchange Address Book section, select Download offline address book to synchronize the Offline Address Book (OAB) when this Send/Receive group is synchronized. This setting is configured for each Send/Receive group.

  13. Click Address Book Settings.

  14. Select options in Modify Address Book Settings dialog box. These settings apply to all Send/Receive groups in this profile.

  15. Click OK.

More about configuring send/receive settings

Send/Receive groups contain one or more user e-mail accounts or folders in Microsoft Outlook. The Send/Receive group All Accounts is preconfigured and is included with Outlook by default. Users can specify different behaviors for each group, such as the frequency with which Outlook connects to the server to send and receive messages for the server, or how messages are processed when Outlook is online or offline.

You can configure and deploy Send/Receive settings for users' Exchange accounts. For example, you can specify the types of synchronization that will be performed on specific folders or the OAB when a Send/Receive operation is executed. You can also specify when a Send/Receive action for each Send/Receive group will normally be performed and when the action will be performed when users are offline. For example, a Send/Receive group can be configured to synchronize every 10 minutes normally and every 30 minutes when users are offline.

You can also configure download options for the OAB, such as whether to only download updates to the OAB since the last OAB download.

Defining custom Send/Receive groups

You can define one or more custom Send/Receive groups for your organization that include the accounts and folders you want Outlook to synchronize for users under different circumstances.

For example, you might define a new Send/Receive group to deploy to your users for offline synchronization and you might modify the default All Accounts group not to be scheduled for automatic synchronization when users are offline. The new offline Send/Receive group would include a subset of users' accounts and folders configured to automatically update at specific intervals when users work offline.

By configuring only critical accounts and folders to update when users work remotely, users can still access current data that is important to their work but they will spend less time waiting for large downloads over slow dial-up lines.

NoteNote:

Using Cached Exchange Mode in Outlook improves the user experience when users work remotely over a low-bandwidth connection. For more information about planning deployments when you use this feature, see Plan a Cached Exchange Mode deployment in Outlook 2007.

Configuring Send/Receive settings for a Send/Receive group

After you create a custom Send/Receive group, you might want to specify Send/Receive behavior for the group—for example, to execute a Send/Receive action for this group every 10 minutes. You can also specify separate settings for how Send/Receive works when users are offline.

Configuring Offline Address Book download options

In addition to configuring Send/Receive behavior for each Send/Receive group, you can also specify whether or not to download the OAB for each group. For example, if the Send/Receive group is designed for users who work offline and the group connects periodically over slow connections, you might choose to configure the OAB not to download.

NoteNote:

The Offline Address Book options (the Full Details or No Details OABs and synchronization choices) apply to a specific profile. They cannot be specified differently for different Send/Receive Groups.

Consider the following factors when you decide whether to download the Full Details OAB or a No Details OAB:

  • A Full Details OAB is required if you plan to deploy Cached Exchange Mode. If a No Details OAB is already on a user's computer, the No Details OAB is overwritten when Outlook creates a Full Details OAB for Cached Exchange Mode. For more information, see Setting Up Outlook 2003 Cached Exchange Mode Accounts.

  • You cannot configure the information that is included in a No Details OAB.

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