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Home Articles & Tutorials Exchange 2013 Articles Mobility & Client Access

by Nuno Mota [Published on 14 March 2013 / Last Updated on 28 March 2013]

In this article we will be looking at Outlook Web App on Mobile Devices and the new Offline Access feature.

If you would like to read the other parts in this article series please go to:

Improvements to Outlook Web App in Exchange 2013 (Part 1) (http://www.msexchange.org/articles-tutorials/exchange-server-2013/mobility-client-access/improvements-outlook-web-app-exchange-2013-part1.html)

Improvements to Outlook Web App in Exchange 2013 (Part 3) (http://www.msexchange.org/articles-tutorials/exchange-server-2013/mobility-client-access/improvements-outlook-web-app-exchange-2013-part3.html)

In the first part of this article series, we looked at the improvements made to the interface of Outlook Web App in Exchange 2013, Calendars and Contacts. In this second part, wewill be looking at Outlook Web App on Mobile Devices and the new Offline Access feature.

As I mentioned in the first part of this article, one the reasons behind the radical user interface [UI] change, is so that users get a streamlined interface across different platforms anddevices. Everyone who has tried to use Outlook Web App [OWA] on a mobile device knows exactly that it is not easy at all to use...

Finally the OWA interface has evolved to the point that it is now touch friendly, making it usable in tablets and mobile phones. As we know, desktops/laptops, tablets and mobilephones have different UI requirements. Ensuring a consistent experience across all these devices is no simple task, but Microsoft has honestly done it. The new OWA “adapts” tothe device the user is using to access the mailbox:

In desktops or laptops, OWA projects a UI optimized for mouse and keyboard input. This mode is known as Desktop;

In tablet size screens, OWA projects a UI optimized for touch input - mode known as touch-wide;

In mobile phones, OWA projects a narrower UI for touch - touch-narrow mode.

Because all these 3 modes are very similar in function and look-and-feel, users will not have to learn how to manage e-mails or calendars in different devices.

Besides a nice interface, using OWA instead of the default e-mail application of mobile devices, provides users with many Exchange features not available in these apps. Forexample, it allows users to read and compose IRM-protected e-mail [Information Rights Management], view other user’s calendars (as we will see in figure 2.6), server-side search,access their Exchange archive mailbox, etc.

Unfortunately, for technical reasons, I don’t have ActiveSync access to my lab at this stage, so the following screenshots were taken from my account on the new Office 365 which isbased on Exchange 2013 (amongst other 2013 products). As such, these screenshots are identical to on-premise Exchange 2013 OWA.

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As you can see from the screenshot below, OWA on tablets is almost identical to the one on a desktop or laptop, which is great considering the fast proliferation of these devices:

Improvements to Outlook Web App in Exchange 2013 (Part 2)

I ntroduction

M obile Dev ices

OWA on an iPad

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Figure 2.1: Default OWA View on an iPad

As you can see from the screenshot below, the Bing Maps app (more on apps in the third part of this article) is also available on tables and it works without any problems.

Figure 2.2: Bing Maps App on an iPad

Figure 2.3: OWA on an iPad – Composing an E-mail

Figure 2.4: OWA on an iPad – Navigation

Figure 2.5: OWA on an iPad – Month Calendar View

Another great feature, something users I have worked with always requested, is the ability to see other users’ calendars on mobile devices such as iPads, for example. This is nowpossible and it is as simple as when using the Desktop version of OWA:

Figure 2.6: OWA on an iPad – Multiple Calendar View

Figure 2.7: OWA on an iPad – Contacts

The following screenshots were taken using my Android mobile device (a Samsung Galaxy S II).

OWA on a M obile Phone (Android)

Figure 2.8: Default OWA View on an Android Phone

Figure 2.9: OWA on an Android Phone – Reading an E-mail

Figure 2.10: OWA on an Android Phone – Navigation

Figure 2.11: OWA on an Android Phone – Month Calendar View

Another major, major improvement is the introduction of Offline support, allowing users to launch OWA and start working even if there is no network connectivity! The work a userdoes while disconnected will then be automatically synchronized the next time the user goes online. This is very similar to Outlook Cached Mode and allows users to be productiveeven when they have no network connectivity.

Most e-mail and calendar actions such as sending e-mails and calendar invites, deleting e-mails, getting reminders, declining meetings, flag and categorize messages, etc. workwhile in offline mode. However, not every option (or action) is available, but as HTML5 evolves I reckon more and more options/actions will be made available in offline mode,bringing OWA even closer to Outlook. One example is full-text indexed search which is still not possible with OWA offline or HTML5 offline in general for that matter.

Other examples of available features and limitations of offline mode are:

Only the last 3 days or 150 e-mails (whichever is larger) are available and only on your Inbox, Drafts or any folder viewed within the last few days;

The previous month and future year of your calendar are available;

Only a limited set of upcoming calendar reminders are available. If you are offline for a long time, reminders will stop working until you go online so OWA can downloadcurrent information;

All your contacts are available (this excludes contacts from social networks like LinkedIn and the Glogal Address List);

The Auto-Complete cache is available;

Archived folders or tasks are not available;

As I already mentioned, you will not be able to search or sort items when offline;

Built-in filters will also not work;

Attachments are not available.

At the time of writing of this article only the following browsers support offline mode:

Microsoft Internet Explorer 10;

Safari 5 or greater (supported on Mac desktops only);

OWA Off line M ode

Google Chrome.

Although offline mode is enabled for all users by default, in order to actually use it, users need to first manually enable it on each computer they want to use this feature. This is doneby clicking the settings button at top right-hand corner of the main OWA page and selecting Use mail offline:

Figure 2.12: Enabling OWA Offline Mode

Figure 2.13: Enabling OWA Offline Mode Warning

Note:Offline mode has been designed for computers and laptops. It can't be enabled in browsers on smaller devices like tablets or smartphones!

When starting an OWA session in offline mode, the browser takes the user directly into the mailbox (as no authentication can happen). Once in there, the experience is as I havealready described above. Notice, for example, as the attachments are not available while offline:

Figure 2.14: OWA in Offline Mode

E-mails composed and “sent” will be placed in the Outbox folder just like in Outlook (this folder is not visible when online):

Figure 2.15: Sending E-mails when in Offline Mode

Note that this Outbox folder is local to the machine the user is using.

If a user opens and edits a message from the Outbox folder, it will become a draft and get moved to the Drafts folder until SEND or SAVE is selected.

Once the connection to the mailbox gets reestablished, the browser takes the user automatically to the OWA logon webpage. Once logged in, all operations performed while offlinewill be performed (like sending e-mails in the Outbox).

Note:The only basic thing missing from offline mode is a notification informing the user he/she is working in offline mode... The only way to tell we are in offline mode seems to be theSynchronizing... text at the bottom left-hand corner of the screen:

Figure 2.16: OWA Trying to Synchronize

Obviously when users enable offline mode, their data is going to be downloaded and cached on their computer or laptop, which for some companies might not be acceptable. Thisdata is kept in a web database (usually a file or set of files) determined by the browser used. At the time this article was written, these were the locations (on Windows machines):

Internet Explorer 10: %systemdrive%\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Indexed DB

Chrome: %systemdrive%\Users\%username% \AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\databases

Figure 2.17: Browser Web Database

Note:This data is accessible through the user account under which it was enabled and is not encrypted!

The good news for all the security guys out there, is that Exchange administrators can control which users have access to OWA offline mode. Remember that offline mode isenabled by default for all users.

To disable it we have 2 options:

1. Disable offline access for an OWA mailbox policy. This can be the default policy which will affect everyone, or a new OWA policy that applies only to specific users.

Set-OwaMailboxPolicy <OWA_Policy_Name> –AllowOfflineOn [NoComputers | AllComputers | PrivateComputers]

2. Disable offline access for an OWA virtual directory. Be careful with this method as if you disable this feature on a CAS server but not on another server (assuming you havemultiple) and you have all users connecting through any one of them, then your users will face an inconsistency on their OWA functionality depending to which CAS serverthey connect through.

This feature is useful if, for example, you have a set of CAS servers that provide external access to OWA and another set of CAS servers that only provide internal OWA access. In thisscenario, you could enable offline mode just for the internal users, for example.

Set-OwaVirtualDirectory <OWA_Vir_Dir_Name> –AllowOfflineOn [NoComputers | AllComputers | PrivateComputers]

Secur ity

Conclusion

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Nuno Mota is an Exchange MVPworking as a Microsoft MessagingTeam Leader responsible for theimplementation and support ofseveral messaging solutions for alarge public sector organization in

London, UK. He specialises in Exchange 2007 and2010, Lync, Active Directory and PowerShell.

In the second part of this article series, we looked at the improvements made to the interface of Outlook Web App on Mobile Devices and the great new Offline Access feature.

In the third and last part, we will discuss apps, accessibility, supported browsers and operating systems, and if OWA is finally a replacement for Outlook.

If you would like to read the other parts in this article series please go to:

Improvements to Outlook Web App in Exchange 2013 (Part 1) (http://www.msexchange.org/articles-tutorials/exchange-server-2013/mobility-client-access/improvements-outlook-web-app-exchange-2013-part1.html)

Improvements to Outlook Web App in Exchange 2013 (Part 3) (http://www.msexchange.org/articles-tutorials/exchange-server-2013/mobility-client-access/improvements-outlook-web-app-exchange-2013-part3.html)

See Also

Improvements to Outlook Web App in Exchange 2013 (Part

1) (http://w w w .msexchange.org/articles-

tutorials/exchange-server-2013/mobility-client-

access/improvements-outlook-w eb-app-exchange-2013-part1.html)

Improvements to Outlook Web App in Exchange 2013 (Part

3) (http://w w w .msexchange.org/articles-

tutorials/exchange-server-2013/mobility-client-

access/improvements-outlook-w eb-app-exchange-2013-

part3.html)

Demystifying The Exchange Dial-tone Restore Method

(Part 2) (http://w w w .msexchange.org/articles-

tutorials/exchange-server-2003/high-availability-

recovery/Exchange-Dial-tone-Restore-Method-Part2.html)

Offline Address Book - Best Practice

(http://w w w .msexchange.org/articles-tutorials/exchange-

server-2003/management-administration/Offline-Address-

Book-Best-Practice.html)

The Offline Address Book (Part 1)

(http://w w w .msexchange.org/articles-tutorials/exchange-

server-2010/management-administration/off line-address-

book-part1.html)

Symprex Email Signature Manager

(http://w w w .msexchange.org/softw are/off ice-365-

tools/symprex-email-signature-manager.html)

Configuring Outlook 2003 for Off line Use w ith Exchange

2003 (http://w w w .msexchange.org/articles-

tutorials/exchange-server-2003/management-

administration/Configuring_Outlook_2003_for_Offline_Use.html)

Address Lists in Exchange 2007 (Part 4)

(http://w w w .msexchange.org/articles-tutorials/exchange-

server-2007/management-administration/address-lists-

exchange-2007-part4.html)

Exchange Cluster Checks With ClusPrep and ClusDiag

(Part 2) (http://w w w .msexchange.org/articles-

tutorials/exchange-server-2007/high-availability-

recovery/exchange-cluster-checks-clusprep-clusdiag-

part2.html)

Advanced Exchange Recovery

(http://w w w .msexchange.org/softw are/Backup-

Recovery/Advanced-Exchange-Recovery.html)

The Author — Nuno Mota

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