Outlook 2003 SP3 is the current version of Outlook 2003.
Included in Office 2003 is a new Outlook add-in designed for low-end customer relationship management applications, Business Contact Manager. BCM ships in the Professional and Small Business editions. Also see:
- Business Contact Manager FAQ
- Support WebCast Introduction to Business Contact Manager
- Overview of the Business Contact Manager for Outlook 2003 Update Windows Small Business Server 2003
Connecting Outlook 2003 to Exchange 2010? See the following articles:
Common Client Access Considerations for Outlook 2003 and Exchange 2010
Concern: Is Having Outlook 2003 Clients Going to Prevent Me from Deploying Exchange 2010?
Planning Roadmap for New Deployments
Index: Outlook 2003 Section
Features | Availability | System Requirements | Versions | Other Updates | Deployment | Problems | More Information
Features
Outlook 2003 includes many new features such as robust anti-spam filtering, side-by-side calendars, cached connection to Exchange, and integration with Windows SharePoint Services. See:
- Outlook 2003 Overview
- Outlook 2003 New Features
- Office 2003 Reviewer’s Guide
Developers will see changes in Outlook security and some other changes that will probably cause problems for Outlook applications. See Microsoft Outlook 2003 Problems for Developers.
Availability
Outlook is available in each product bundle and as a standalone application. In addition to the bundles, Outlook 2003 is also included with client access licenses for Exchange 2003.
A “technology guarantee” allows you to buy an Office XP product between now and November 30 and get an upgrade to the corresponding Office 2003 product for only the cost of shipping and handling. The offer does not apply to copies of Office obtained through new PC purchases or volume licensing programs. No upgrade pricing is available for Outlook standalone. See Microsoft Office System Retail Technology Guarantee.
MSDN Universal subscribers can now download Office 2003 Professional Enterpise Edition. Business Contact Manager is not available from MSDN yet, however.
For additional availability, pricing and upgrade information, see:
- Office 2003 Editions
- How to Buy Outlook 2003
- Office 2003 Editions Licensing Transitions and Promotions — for volume license customers
System Requirements
Outlook 2003 requires Microsoft Windows 2000 with Service Pack 3 (SP3) or Microsoft Windows XP or later operating system. It will not run on Windows 95/98/ME or Windows NT.
Outlook 2003 requires Internet Explorer 5.5 or later.
Versions
You can check the version number with Help | About Microsoft Outlook. The version number is determined by the version number on the Outllib.dll file. The table below lists the versions and the patch that updates Outlook to that version. Public updates are marked with the version number in bold.
Note that there are actually two editions of Outlook 2003. The standalone version and the version in the Microsoft Office 2003 Professional Edition suite include support for Information Rights Management (IRM). The version in the Small Business Edition, Standard Edition, Basic Edition, or Student and Teacher Edition does not include IRM support.
Outlook 2003 with critical update released on 11.4.2003. See KB828041. Install updates using the Help, Check for Updates menu or visit http://office.microsoft.com 11.5608.5703
(Internet headers list it as Build 11.0.5510) Outlook 2003 SP1 Use the Help, Check for Updates menu to install 11.6359.6360
The Internet header’s X-Mailer field will report it as Build 11.0.6353 Outlook 2003 SP1 with Smart Tag update (KB 885828) released on 2.8.2005 installed. Use Help, Check for updates menu to install or download the administrator file at Smart Tag update. 11.6359.6408
The Internet header lists it as X-Mailer: Microsoft Office Outlook, Build 11.0.6353 Outlook 2003 SP2 11.6568.6568
X-Mailer: Microsoft Office Outlook 11 Outlook 2003 SP3
Other Updates
Installing any of these updates does not change the version number for Outllib.dll.
Outlook 2003 Junk E-mail Filter Update: March 23, 2004 An optional update to the Junk E-mail Filter in Outlook 2003, this update contains with a more current definition of which messages should be considered junk. This replaces the December update and is recommended if you installed the December 2003 update.
Outlook 2003 Junk E-mail Filter Update: December 16, 2003 Replaces Outlfltr.dat to provide a more up-to-date definition of messages that are considered to be junk e-mail or not junk e-mail by the Outlook 2003 junk e-mail filter.
Outlook 2003 Junk E-mail Filter update: September 14, 2004 This is a rerelease of the Junk email update released in August 2004. It replaces the Outlfltr.dat with a larger filter definition file. If you installed the filter before August 5, see Office 2003 Service Pack 1 installs successfully but not all Office 2003 programs are updated. Update for Outlook 2003 Junk Email Filter (KB891067) An update to the Junk Email filter, released on Feb 8, 2005.
Deployment
The Office 2003 Resource Kit contains information on deploying Outlook and managing it through group policies:
Problems
Get in the habit of minimizing Outlook 2003 rather than just using Alt-Tab or a Windows task bar button to switch to another program. If you leave the full Outlook 2003 window active, it may use so much memory that it stops responding. See Outlook 2003 Stops Responding After a Long Period of Use.
Interoperability with earlier versions:
- Profile Does Not Work Correctly in Outlook 2002 After You Remove Office 2003 and then Reinstall Office XP
- Error Message When You Open E-Mail Message That You Saved with Outlook 2003
Exchange Server compatibility issues:
- XADM Information Store Intermittently Stops Responding and an Access Violation Occurs in EcDSDNFromSz
- Collaborative Data Objects Heap Corruption Occurs When You Try to Access an Exchange Mailbox
- Outlook Web Access Stops Responding When You Try to Access a Mailbox on an Exchange 5.5 Computer
Other known issues:
- Outlook 2003 messages suspected as spam
- You Receive an Error Message When You Start Outlook and You Are Using a Microsoft Exchange Server E-Mail Account
- The Public Subfolder That You Add to Your Favorites Public Folder Does Not Appear
- You Cannot Use RPC Over HTTP with a Proxy Automatic Configuration Script
- Profile Does Not Work Correctly in Outlook 2002 After You Remove Office 2003 and then Reinstall Office XP
More Information
- Outlook 2003 – some settings to change — adjustments you may want to make when first using Outlook 2003
Reviews:
- Microsoft Office Does E-Mail Well (Associated Press)
- Microsoft Toughens Up Outlook (Wired)
- Microsoft Office 2003 Reviewed (NY Times – may need to register)
- First Look: Outlook 11
- Outlook 11 Improves Connectivity, Adds Features
- IT administrators see benefits to Outlook 11
Articles that may interest you:
Last reviewed on Apr 11, 2012
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