Faculty and staff campus e-mail operates in "cached" mode, a Microsoft best practice that copies each user's mailbox from the ECU mail server to his or her office computer hard drive. The Outlook software frequently checks for changes on the server and synchronizes both Outlook Inboxes. New items arriving in your Inbox and items you send out are immediately synchronized, so there is no significant delay in sending or receiving mail.
Benefits of Operating in Cached Mode
- Work offline if the network loses connectivity. New messages are held in the Outbox. Once network connectivity is restored, the new e-mails are automatically sent. Remember that you won't receive new messages if working offline.
- Desktop productivity tools, such as Windows Desktop Search, are faster and more useful because they search the mailbox copy stored on your local (office) computer.
Need Help?
You can review answers to frequently asked questions about Outlook Cached Mode below. If you experience any technical difficulties with Outlook Cached Mode, please contact the IT Help Desk at 252.328.9866 or submit a support request at http://help.ecu.edu.
Frequently Asked Questions [Print Version - PDF]
How can I tell if I'm working offline or connected to the mail server?
Your connection status is indicated in the bottom right corner of your Outlook window.
WORKING OFFLINE
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WORKING ONLINE
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If Outlook indicates you're working offline (left graphic, above), but there are no network connectivity problems, left-click on the “Offline” arrow indicator and uncheck “Work Offline.” Your Outlook client should then connect with the server automatically and will look like the graphic on the right, above.
I am no longer prompted for a username and passphrase when I open Outlook.
When Outlook was switched to “cached mode,” a local copy of your mailbox was created on your computer. Access to that copy is no different than accessing any other file housed on your computer; for example, if you double-click a Word document on your desktop, it opens without a password.
Won't people be able to access my e-mails if I step away from my computer?
Lock or log off your workstation when you step away to prevent unauthorized access to all of your files (not just e-mail).
You can set a screensaver password to automate this process. This password automatically requires a password to close the screensaver. Set this feature from the Display Properties dialog box.
I have a Cisco VOIP phone and voice messages are e-mailed to me. However, when I listen or delete the messages, the red message light on my phone continues to stay lit.
In cached mode, there is often a short delay between the time an action is completed in Outlook (such as listening to a voice message) and when the corresponding action is transmitted to the server.
If the Outlook client is working correctly, the red light should go off the next time Outlook synchronizes with the server; however if you prefer not to wait for the next scheduled synchronization, click the “Send/Receive” button on the top toolbar in Outlook to force a synchronization.
Since the change to cached mode, messages from ANNOUNCE, ECU OFFICIAL and other e-mails are routed to my Outlook Junk Mail folder.
In cached mode, it is possible for legitimate mail to be misinterpreted as SPAM and improperly routed. Since ITCS uses MailMarshall for junk mail handling, it is recommended that you turn off
Automatic Filtering of Junk Mail in Outlook to avoid this problem.
To disable this feature in Outlook, choose TOOLS, then OPTIONS, then JUNK MAIL and select “No Automatic Filtering.”
