How To Integrate SharePoint with MS Outlook?

Maybe you’re as reliant on Microsoft Outlook as I am. There, you can organize your day’s events like meetings, phone calls, appointments, emails, and many other activities. There is a tonne of hidden features in MS Outlook that makes it possible to do even more than people realize.

Incorporating MS Outlook into SharePoint is a breeze with the ‘Connect to Outlook’ feature. As a result, you can use the Outlook platform to carry out tasks that were previously exclusive to SharePoint. That’s fantastic news for businesses that have already invested in SharePoint and Microsoft Outlook and are looking for ways to get even more out of their invested money.

Continue reading if your company uses SharePoint and if you spend the majority of your working day in your email inbox. In this article, we will discuss the process of integrating Outlook with SharePoint lists. In other words, you won’t even have to leave your inbox to access SharePoint. That indicates that you will be more productive, which is also a great way to make a good impression on your manager.

To What Extent Is It Possible to Synchronize Data Between MS SharePoint & Outlook?

Well, there is a lot that you can sync. To be more specific, you can sync the following web parts or lists of MS SharePoint with Outlook.

• Contacts
• Calendar
• To-Do List/Tasks. 
• File Repository/Document Library.
• Discussion Boards.

Read also → Difference Between SharePoint 2019, 2016 And Online

What Are the Pre-Requisites of Successful Syncing Between MS SharePoint with Outlook?

• Microsoft Outlook& MS SharePoint (both should be installed on your desktop).
• SharePoint and Office 365’s version of Outlook cannot be synchronized.

What Do You Need to Know About SharePoint & Outlook Synchronization?

Here we will demonstrate to you how to link a SharePoint calendar with Microsoft Outlook. Likewise, any other MS SharePoint web parts that you want to synchronize with MS Outlook follow the same procedure (tasks, contacts, etc.)

1. Select the web component you’d like to add to Outlook, and then go there.
2. A selection of options will be available to you by clicking the tab above.
3. Follow the prompts to link your account with Outlook and click on the ‘Connect to Outlook’ button.

4. A notification asking you to verify the sync will appear in a pop-up window. Click on the ‘Allow’ button.

5. Your Outlook List Will Now Sync & Update Automatically

Here is a screenshot showing how your SharePoint Calendar will appear in Outlook once you successfully sync the two. It will actually sync with your personal calendar and appears alongside it. Also, when You can apply this same logic to synchronizing other lists, such as Tasks and Contacts, which will result in two distinct sets of data being displayed. In the case of tasks, your SharePoint Tasks will also appear alongside your Personal Tasks, and in the case of contacts, you will have two distinct sets of synchronized and personal lists from SharePoint.

 

Important Things That You Need To Keep In Mind!

All of the SharePoint web parts that can be synced to Outlook are two-way syncs. This means that any changes you make in SharePoint will automatically be synchronized to Outlook and vice versa.  On top of that, this also means that if you add an event to your ‘SharePoint-Sync’d Calendar’ in Microsoft Outlook; then it will also appear in the SharePoint Online Calendar. A document library is the only exception to this rule because it only synchronizes in one direction. Only the most recent versions of files are available for MS Outlook download from the document library. Unfortunately, you can’t make any changes to your Outlook files with this. You can view them, but only as a reader (read-only mode).

• Calendar– Two-Way Sync (SharePoint <==> Outlook).
• Tasks– Two-Way Sync (SharePoint <==> Outlook).
• Contacts– Two-Way – Sync (SharePoint <==> Outlook).
• Discussion Board– Two-Way Sync (SharePoint <==> Outlook).
• Document Library– One-Way Sync (SharePoint ==> Outlook).

 

In fact, the following message will appear if you try to delete a synchronized document from SharePoint at all.

Recommendation

Do not add Document Libraries to Outlook synchronization. If you have many files and subfolders in Outlook, the interface can become cumbersome and unattractive. You can sync your document library with OneDrive for Business if you need access to your files while away from the office.

I can see why it would be helpful to have all of my important dates, contacts, tasks, and even message boards synchronized. This will allow you to participate in a threaded discussion without leaving your Outlook). Thanks to the synchronization capabilities of MS Outlook, you can now access and edit selected data without ever leaving your discussion thread. You can now expect to accomplish more with fewer mouse clicks and fewer keystrokes spent searching for what you need.