14 DAY TRIAL // The next iteration of the Office System will deliver a superior user experience compared to its predecessor when it comes to it’s the email client component and the Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP). The promise from Microsoft is that Office Outlook 2010 will bring to the table the evolution of IMAP accounts, the second most prevalent Internet standard protocol for email retrieval in addition to Post Office Protocol (POP). According to Outlook Program Manager Andy Brauninger, Outlook 2010 introduces a range of improvements including automatic configuration, better deleting, full message download, and boosted performance.
“If you have an e-mail account that supports IMAP, your account can be automatically configured in Outlook 2010. All you need to set up your account in Outlook 2010 is your e-mail address and password. Outlook uses the Sent Items and Deleted Items folders on the e-mail server automatically so that you can view items in those folders from other computers and devices,” Brauninger stated.
In Outlook 2010, deleted IMAP messages will no longer continue to be listed with a strikethrough, namely an indication that the specific item was up for removal. While in the past a purge command had to be sent to the mail server, this is no longer valid for Outlook 2010. The next version of the office email client will transition deleted messages to the Deleted Items folder. In addition, as long as the server comes with support for UIDPLUS, the deleted message will be immediately purged from the source folder via UID EXPUNGE
“Instead of initially downloading only message headers, in Outlook 2010, full messages are downloaded by default. This enables you to work with all of your mail items, even when a connection to the mail server isn’t available. For performance reasons, headers are downloaded immediately, and full messages are downloaded every 30 minutes,” Brauninger added.
One of the main complaints of Outlook users related to the email client was the performance degradation they experienced on IMAP accounts. While some testers continue to criticize Microsoft for the speed associated with IMAP accounts even in Outlook 2010, the truth is that this is one aspect of the client that did improve. “We have heard loud and clear that you want a quicker, snappier IMAP experience in Outlook. We improved IMAP performance in Outlook 2010 in several ways. For example, if you click a message header, Outlook remains responsive while the full message is downloaded. We have also optimized scenarios like marking messages as read,” Brauninger explained.