Using Microsoft Outlook with Gmail

When the firm switched to Gmail several years ago, many lamented the loss of an actual mail client on your computer.  Gmail offers the ability to access mail via a web interface through most Internet Browsers (Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.).  No software is needed.  That remains the recommended way to access your mail.

People using Apple or Android phones or tablets can access mail through those browsers, although the preferred method is to use the Gmail App, or the app that comes with the device.

There are some benefits to using an actual mail program on your Windows computer.  It reduces problems clicking on "mailto" links or opening certain types of files, such as EML, MSG, or PST.  These are all various formats used to store emails from other systems.  Having a program like Outlook on your computer also means your mail is available offline.  It also give you the option to organize, filter, and sort your mail in different ways.

Personally, I am not a big fan of mail clients.  It creates an extra point of failure.  Many find the clients more frustrating, cluttered, and confusing than the simple web interface.  If you frequently check mail away from your computer, you will end up being frustrated by a feature that exists in Outlook but not on the web, or one that is available on the web but not Outlook.  Sometimes, mail programs might also not sync properly, which could mean you thought you sent an email, only to find it sitting in your outbox days later having never been sent.  That can never happen with a web interface.

That said, many still prefer to use a program like Outlook.  Perhaps you use Outlook at home, or have used it with a previous employer.  While I am not recommending or encouraging its use, we will accommodate its use for those who wish to use it.

If you already have MS Office on your computer, you probably have Outlook already installed.  On some very old computers, we may not have installed Outlook because it interfered with the GroupWise client.  But since we got rid of GroupWise we have been installing all of MS Office, which includes Outlook.

To sync your Gmail account with Outlook, Google has created a simple sync file, which is a free download from here:

https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gappssync

If you download and run this program, you will be asked to enter your email address and password. You will also be asked to authorize Gmail to grant permission to Oulook to access your mail and other online data.  Once complete, the first time you open Outlook, it will sync with your online data.  If you have many gigabytes of data in Gmail, this process may take hours to complete.  You can work while it is syncing. Subsequent use will result in a much shorter update sync.

Google Apps sync will only work with business accounts.  If you want to use this with your personal free Gmail account, you are out of luck.  There are ways to manually sync an email client to Gmail, but the easy sync program is a feature for business users only.