Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook®
When you switch from Microsoft Exchange to Google Apps, you can use Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Office to import your existing Exchange data into your Google Apps account. You can then continue working in Outlook, or you can access your mail, calendar, and contacts from the Google Apps interface.
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Feature Compatibility with Microsoft Exchange
With Google Apps Sync, your mail, contacts, and calendar events are stored both in your Google account in the cloud and in Outlook on your computer. Google Apps Sync makes sure data is the same in both places by regularly copying, or synchronizing it back and forth. Because the cloud is accessible from anywhere on the Internet (not just from behind your firewall), you can access this information from any computer anywhere—either from Outlook, or by logging in to Google Apps from a web browser.
Some Outlook data, however, isn’t supported by Google Apps. This information either isn’t available at all with Google Apps Sync, or it’s available in Outlook but not from the Google Apps interface.
Below is a look at what you can import from Exchange to Outlook, what can be used in Outlook, and what gets synchronized with your Google account in the cloud (and can therefore be used from there). For more on using Google Apps Sync, see http://mail.google.com/support/bin/topic.py?topic=23333 ».
| Mail data in Exchange | Imports to Outlook | Available in Outlook | Syncs with Google Apps | |
| Email messages |  |
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| Email state (read vs. unread) | |
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| Folders and nested subfolders | |
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Outlook folders map to labels in Google Mail. |
| Junk E-mail | |
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Import is optional. Junk email is labeled Spam in Google Mail. |
| Deleted Items | |
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Import is optional. |
| Attachments | |
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| Executable / compressed attachments | |
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These types of attachments aren’t allowed in Google Mail. |
| Posts in mailbox folders | |
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| Importance levels (marking messages high, low priority) | |
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Not available in Google Mail. |
| Message flags | |
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Flags appear as stars in Google Mail. |
| Follow-up dates and reminders (associated with flags) | |
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Follow-up dates and reminders don’t import and aren’t available in Google Mail. But you can use them in Outlook after importing. |
| Rules | |
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Rules aren’t imported or synched. But you can recreate them in Outlook, or create equivalent filters in Google Mail that apply for both interfaces. |
| Signatures | |
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Your signature isn’t imported or synched. But you can recreate it both in Outlook and Google Mail. |
| POP/IMAP account | |
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IMAP or POP account settings don’t import from your Exchange profile. But you can add an account to your Google Apps profile and its messages aren’t synched with Google Mail. |
| POP messages |  |
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POP messages in your primary Inbox import from Exchange and are synched with Google Mail (may not be desired). POP messages that arrive after importing aren’t synched (see above). |
| Category definitions | |
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Categories aren’t available in Google Mail. |
| Category assignments | |
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Category assignments don’t import. But you can categorize messages in Outlook after importing. |
| Unsupported in Outlook Mail (with Google Apps Sync) | ||
| Mail delegation | |
Assistants can’t manage your email from Outlook, but they can manage your email from the Google Mail interface. |
| Sharing mail folders | |
Folder permissions aren’t available in Outlook for sharing folders. |
| Recovering deleted messages | |
This menu item isn’t available in Outlook. |
| Public folders | |
Public folders aren’t available in Outlook or Google Mail. |
| Sending in Rich Text format | |
Compose format must be HTML (and is set to HTML by default). |
Calendar
| Calendar data in Exchange | Imports to Outlook | Available in Outlook | Syncs with Google Apps | |
| Default calendar | |
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Includes all events, descriptions, attendees, and locations. |
| Additional calendars | |
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You can create additional calendars in both Outlook and Google Calendar. But only your default calendar syncs back and forth. |
| Event reminders | |
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| Free / Busy status | |
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Status is available only for other Google Apps users. |
| Tentative / Out of Office status | |
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Available in Outlook, but choosing either status appears as Busy, both in Google Calendar and to other Outlook users. |
| Optional attendees | |
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Available in Outlook, but inviting an optional attendee in Outlook appears as Required, both in Google Calendar and to other Outlook users. |
| Calendar attachments | |
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Available in Outlook, but attachments added in Outlook don’t sync with other users’ calendars, who instead see a note that an attachment has been removed. |
| Rich content in event descriptions (images, links, bold, italic) | |
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Available in Outlook, but other users see only plain text. |
| Category definitions | |
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Categories aren’t available in Google Calendar. |
| Category assignments | |
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| Unsupported in Outlook Calendar (with Google Apps Sync) | ||
| “Share my Calendar” feature | |
To share a calendar from Outlook, share it as an Internet calendar. |
| Calendar delegation | |
Assistants cannot manage your email from Outlook, but they can do so from the Google Calendar interface. |
| Saving event updates without sending | |
When you save event data, it synchronizes with other people's calendars whether or not you choose to send updates from Outlook. |
Personal Contacts
| Personal contact data in Exchange | Imports to Outlook | Available in Outlook | Syncs with Google Apps | |
| All personal contacts | |
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Includes all fields (File As, images, notes, etc.). |
| Multiple contact folders | |
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Contacts folders from Outlook don’t sync to Google Apps. Instead, all contacts appear in Google Apps under My Contacts. But you can reorganize them using Google groups. |
| Personal distribution lists | |
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Your mailing lists from Outlook don’t sync to Google Apps. But you can still email a list from Google Apps by creating a Google group. |
| Rich formatting in notes | |
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Rich formatting remains in Outlook only if you don’t update contacts from Google Apps. |
| Notes larger than 16KB | |
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Larger notes are truncated in Google Apps but the full note remains in Outlook. |
| Follow-up flags, dates, and reminders. | |
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Flags aren’t available in Google contacts. |
| Category definitions | |
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Categories aren’t available in Google contacts. |
| Category assignments | |
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| Unsupported in Outlook Contacts (with Google Apps Sync) | ||
| Sharing a contact folder | |
Folder permissions aren’t available in Outlook for sharing folders. |
Global Contacts
Your Global Address List is available with Google Apps Sync if your administrator has uploaded domain addresses to your organization’s Google Apps account.
| Global contact data and features | Available in Outlook | Syncs with Google Apps | |
| Domain contacts | |
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Includes individual addresses and group mailing lists. |
| Out-of-domain contacts | |
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Requires that your domain administrator run Google Apps Sync’s GAL Generator. |
| Autocomplete | |
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Applies for individual and group addresses. For autocomplete to work the first time you enter an address, your administrator must run the GAL Generator. |
| Name, email, and address fields | |
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| Other field data (phone, company, etc.) | |
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Phone data will be available soon. |
Notes, Tasks, and Journal
| Other Exchange data | Imports to Outlook | Available in Outlook | Syncs with Google Apps |
| Notes | |
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| Tasks | |
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| Journal entries | |
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For complete information about installing and using Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Office, see http://mail.google.com/support/bin/topic.py?topic=23333 ».
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