Cause: Lots of messages in the Inbox can slow synchronization with the mail server
Solution: Move some messages from the mail server to your computer.
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Select Outlook > Preferences.
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Under Personal Settings, click General.
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Under Sidebar, clear the checkbox for Hide On My Computer folders.
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At the bottom of the sidebar, click Mail .
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In the message list, select the messages that you want to move.
To select multiple items, hold down as you click the items.
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Drag the messages to the On My ComputerInbox folder. After you move a message to an On My Computer folder, that message is no longer available when you access your account from a different computer.
Note: To keep your inbox from becoming too full, you can create rules to move or delete certain messages automatically. For example, you could create a rule to move all messages that are older than three months to an archive folder under On My Computer. To learn more about how to create rules, see Create a rule in Outlook 2016 for Mac.
Solution: Export to an Outlook for Mac archive file.
To specify which items you want to export, assign them to a category and then export all items in that category.
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At the bottom of the sidebar, click Mail .
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In the message list, select the items you want to export.
To select multiple items, hold down as you click the items.
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Select Message > Categorize, and then click a category.
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Select File > Export.
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Select Items that are in the category and then choose the category you want to export. Click Continue.
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Enter a file name and the location where you want to save the file, and then click Save.
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Click Finish.
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Note: To learn how to restore information from an archive file, see Import email messages, contacts, and other items.
Solution: Empty your Deleted Items folder.
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At the bottom of the sidebar, click Mail .
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Press CONTROL, and then click the Trash folder > Empty Folder.
Cause: Outlook can take longer to sort items in less-common fields
Solution: Sort contacts and messages by a different field.
The time that it takes for Outlook to sort items in a folder can vary, depending on the field that you want to sort by. For example, it's faster to sort contacts by name than by a custom field.
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Select a folder that's taking a long time to open.
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Click the By: list and select the column heading that you want to sort by.
For Contacts, the fastest field to sort by is Name. For Mail, the fastest fields to sort by are Date Received and Subject.
Solution: Use search to find your items.
If sorting items takes a long time, use search to find items faster. To learn more, see Find items by doing a basic search in Outlook for Mac.
Solution: Show only your incomplete tasks.
The tasks list might respond faster if completed tasks are hidden.
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At the bottom of the sidebar, click Tasks .
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On the View menu, deselect Completed.
Cause: Outlook might run more slowly if logging is turned on
Solution: Turn off logging in Outlook.
Logging is a diagnostic tool primarily used by support professionals to help troubleshoot Outlook issues.
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Select Window > Sync Errors.
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Click the Action button .
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Clear the Turn on logging for troubleshooting check box.
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Restart Outlook.
Cause: Outlook can take longer to sort items in less-common fields
Solution: Sort contacts and messages by a different field.
The time that it takes for Outlook to sort items in a folder can vary, depending on the field that you want to sort by. For example, it is faster to sort contacts by name than by a custom field.
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In the folder list, click a folder that is taking a long time to open.
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Click the column heading that you want to sort by.
Tip: For contacts, the fastest field to sort by is Name. For messages, the fastest fields to sort by are Date Received and Subject.
Solution: Use search to find your items.
If sorting items takes a long time, search might help you find the items faster. To learn more, see Find items in Outlook by doing a basic search.
Solution: Show only your incomplete tasks.
The tasks list may respond faster if completed tasks are hidden.
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At the bottom of the navigation pane, click Tasks .
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On the Home tab, clear the Completed check box.
Cause: Outlook might run more slowly if logging is turned on
Solution: Turn off logging in Outlook.
Logging is a diagnostic tool primarily used by support professionals to help troubleshoot Outlook issues. By default, logging is turned off, but if you have turned it on and no longer need it, you can turn it off.
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On the Window menu, click Error Log.
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Click the Action button .
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Clear the Turn on logging for troubleshooting check box.
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Restart Outlook.