Configuring Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Outlook uses a mechanism called "autodiscover" to set up the Kopano Cloud account. This requires the user to know their Email address and password.

Tip

Outlook uses a Microsoft service to detect account settings during setup. If you recently switched email providers, this service may show outdated information from your old provider. If this happens, select Configure manually and then choose Exchange to correctly detect your Kopano Cloud settings.

To disable Microsoft's lookup service completely, import this reg file.

Supported versions

The supported versions of Microsoft Outlook are:

• Outlook 2016-2024
• Outlook for Microsoft 365

Warning

Microsoft Outlook for Mac is currently not supported

Create a new profile to use with Kopano Cloud

Note

We recommend creating a new Outlook profile for your Kopano Cloud account instead of adding it to an existing profile. This helps avoid configuration conflicts.

If you already have a profile, follow Microsoft's instructions to create an additional profile.

First enter the email address to your new Kopano Cloud account.

Then select Exchange as the account type.

Outlook will then launch another window, asking for you to enter your password.

Outlook will then automatically configure your account. If automatic configuration fails, see the tip at the top of this page.

Lastly, you can add any additional email accounts to the new profile.

After Outlook successfully starts, the account will be ready for use

Working with shared folders

Note

Previous limitations of cached shared folders no longer apply.

Advanced Outlook features

Kopano Cloud supports standard Outlook features through the Exchange protocol. For instructions on using these features, refer to Microsoft's official Outlook documentation:

• Out of Office/Automatic Replies
• Email Signatures
• Delegate Access (giving someone access to your mailbox)
• Shared Mailboxes
• Calendar Sharing
• Email Rules and Filters

These features work the same way with Kopano Cloud as they do with Microsoft Exchange Server.

Common Issues

Using special characters in passwords

By default, Microsoft Outlook and other Windows applications do not support UTF-8 for usernames or passwords. To enable UTF-8 support, follow these steps:

1. Open the Region Settings window by running intl.cpl in the Windows Run dialog (Win + R).
2. Navigate to the Administrative tab and click Change system locale.
3. In the dialog box, check the option labeled Beta: Use Unicode UTF-8 for worldwide language support.
4. Restart your computer to apply the changes.

Once the system has restarted, Outlook will be able to use passwords containing Unicode symbols.

Alternatively, you can enable Modern Hybrid authentication to address this issue without modifying system settings.

Cannot connect Outlook / Kopano Cloud account content not visible

If you cannot connect to Outlook or don't see the content of your Kopano Cloud account, check the connection status in Outlook to verify that you are actually connected to our service.

To check the connection status:

1. Ctrl + Right-click on the Outlook icon in the Windows system tray (notification area).
2. Select Connection Status from the menu.
3. Verify that the server name shows your Kopano Cloud server, not a Microsoft cloud server.

Outlook may have been redirected through autodiscover to connect to Microsoft's cloud instead of Kopano Cloud. In this case:

1. Remove the incorrectly configured account from Outlook.
2. Follow the instructions in the tip at the beginning of this document to disable Microsoft's lookup service using the registry file.
3. Create a new profile and manually select Exchange as the account type.

Search functionality not working properly

Outlook search problems can occur for several reasons, especially when using Cached Exchange Mode (offline mode).

Corrupted Windows Search Index

During offline usage, the Windows Search Index can become corrupted. This typically happens due to:

• Windows crashes
• Issues during hibernation or sleep mode
• System power failures

This problem also occurs occasionally with Microsoft Exchange and Office 365 accounts.

Solution: Rebuild the Windows Search Index by following Microsoft's instructions.

Index Rebuild Duration

Rebuilding the search index can take a very long time (10+ hours for larger mailboxes). During this time, search functionality will not work properly. An alternative is to switch your accounts to online mode for immediate search functionality.

Creating a new Outlook profile for reliable index rebuild

For the most reliable index rebuild, create a completely new Outlook profile:

1. Create a new Outlook profile.
2. Delete the old profile.
3. Important: Delete the OST files from the old profile. If you don't delete them, they will continue to be indexed, which can cause ongoing issues.

Tip

When creating the new profile, if you encounter autodiscover problems, use the registry entries mentioned in the manual configuration tip.

Adding multiple accounts to a profile

If you need to add multiple accounts to one profile:

1. Add only one account initially.
2. Restart Outlook completely.
3. Add the next account.
4. Repeat this process for each additional account.

Warning

While Outlook offers to add multiple accounts at once, this can lead to autodiscover problems. Always add accounts one at a time with a restart between each.