Question

How can I address performance issues with Outlook on Windows and Macintosh computers?

Answer

• Microsoft has developed a tool called Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant (SaRA) to replace the OffCAT tool providing advanced diagnostics to analyze the Office configuration on a client machine and report issues Outlook may be having. This tool will analyze the Outlook application and provide a report of potential problems with configuration, patch level, and data corruption. The Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant (SaRA) can be downloaded here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=36852
  
  
• Outlook add-ins can be the cause of significant performance degradation. For example, the iCloud add-on for Outlook 2013 has had many issues since its release and should be disabled if it is not needed. Try disabling as many of the Outlook Add-ons as you feel comfortable disabling. You can do this within the Outlook 2013 client by going to File -> Options -> Add-Ins.
  
  
• Outlook 2013 uses graphics acceleration to improve performance. However, this feature is not compatible with all graphics cards and can actually degrade performance, cause blurry text, and cause Outlook to hang. Graphics acceleration can be disabled by going to File -> Options -> Advanced and checking the Disable Graphics Acceleration box.
  
  
• Limiting the number of calendars in the “My Calendars” folder will improve Outlook performance. These calendars are synchronized regularly while Outlook is running. If a shared calendar is not heavily used by a user, it should be moved (you can drag and drop it in Outlook) to the “Shared Calendars” folder.
  
  
• For any Outlook client, limiting the number of item in the Inbox root folder, the Deleted Items folder, and the Sent Items folder to under 5,000 will improve client performance. This is particularly true for Macintosh and other Exchange Web Services clients.
  
  
• Ensure that Anti-Virus is not running during the day. Microsoft also recommends disabling scanning of Outlook files as outlined here: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn769141(v=office.15).aspx 
  
  
• Check the connection status for Outlook (Windows):
  
  
  1. Hold Ctrl and right-clicking the Outlook quick-launch icon in the system tray near the clock.
     
     
     
  2. Select connection status.
     
     
     
  3. Here you will see the number of persistent connections utilized by Outlook. Connection latency can be spot checked by clicking the reconnect button and observing the connection time. If a user has numerous calendars in their “My Calendars” folder, you will see those additional connections listed here.