Outlook 2013 vs. OWA 2013
I have had a few customers ask for a comparison table of the differences between Outlook (OL) 2013 and the Outlook Web App (OWA) 2013 experience. So here is a short, quick view into the comparison of OL vs. OWA.
Outlook vs. OWA 2013 Comparison Table
Feature |
Feature Description |
Outlook 2013 |
OWA 2013 (online mode) |
AD Rights Management Services |
Protects messages from unauthorized access. |
Yes |
Yes |
Address Book Defaults |
Allows a default address list (such as Contacts, GAL) to be chosen |
Yes |
Yes (Limited) No offline address book |
Auto discover Compatibility |
Automatic setup of Exchange account |
Yes |
N/A |
Auto Archive |
Automatically moves older items to a local PST |
Yes |
N/A |
Calendar Preview in Meeting Requests |
Meeting requests show a preview of adjacent or conflicting appointments |
Yes |
No |
Conversation Actions |
Ignore and Clean Up/Delete buttons |
Yes |
Yes |
Conversation View |
Improved Conversation Threading |
Yes |
Yes |
Cross Forest Mailbox Move Support |
Auto reconfigure using auto discover |
Yes |
Yes |
CSV Contacts Import/Export |
Import/ Export CSV files in a standard format |
Yes |
No |
Distribution Group Management |
Management of memberships of Exchange Distribution Groups |
Yes |
Yes |
Distribution Group Expansion |
Expand DGs before sending to see all members |
Yes |
No |
Enhanced Out of Office |
Set external/internal message and from/to date range |
Yes |
Yes |
Export PST |
Allow PST files to be created and data exported |
Yes |
No |
Federated Sharing Compatibility |
Integration to allow access to remote calendar, share local calendar |
Yes |
Yes |
Group Schedule View |
Combine Multiple Calendars in One View |
Yes |
Yes |
Import PST |
Allow PST files to be imported to the mailbox |
Yes |
No |
Instant Search |
Fast searching using pre-built search index |
Yes |
Yes |
Integrated E-Mail Archive |
Online Archive Access |
Yes |
Yes |
Mailbox Delegation |
Assign permissions to other users (also called delegates) to allow them to sign in to the user’s mailbox or send messages on behalf of the user |
Yes |
Limited - Full Access Only |
MailTips |
Server side mail tips for OOF, Large DG, permissions to send or comments |
Yes |
Yes |
Multiple Exchange Accounts |
Multiple accounts with different servers or domains |
Yes |
No |
Offline Address Book |
OAB access and download |
Yes |
No |
Lync |
Start conversations video, call IM |
Yes |
Yes (IM) |
Outlook Contact Card Photo and Voice Description |
GAL Photos and UM Name along with availability |
Yes |
Yes |
Reply to embedded email messages |
Ability for users to reply to email messages sent as attachments |
Yes |
No |
Quick Actions |
Macros to perform multiple or common actions at once |
Yes |
No |
Quick View |
Allows viewing of compatible attachments without leaving Outlook |
Yes |
Yes |
Resend Message |
Resend button allows you to resend an email |
Yes |
No |
Retention and Archive Policy Management |
Set and view retention policy for folders |
Yes |
Yes |
Distribution list moderation |
ability to moderate distribution lists |
Yes |
No |
Right-Hand Preview Pane |
Message preview shown to the right of messages |
Yes |
Yes |
Roaming Autocomplete List |
Stored Nicknames on the server |
Yes |
Yes |
RSS Aggregator |
Subscribe to RSS Feeds from Outlook |
Yes |
No |
Scheduling Assistance / Availability Service Integration |
Real time calendar view for meeting and room bookings |
Yes |
Yes |
Server-side Junk E-mail List |
Modification of server side junk email allow/block list |
Yes |
Yes |
Server-side rules |
Modification of server side inbox rules |
Yes |
Yes |
Reading pane at the bottom of the window |
Option to display the reading pane at the bottom of the Outlook |
Yes |
No |
Unified Inbox |
Combined view of Inbox across multiple email accounts. |
No |
N/A |
S/MIME Support |
Allows the possibility of sending and/or receiving email encrypted |
Yes |
No |
Voting Buttons |
Allows approval of moderated messages or voting on user generated emails. |
Yes |
No |
OWA Offline Mode Limitations
As of Exchange 2013 and IE 10 or higher and other supported browsers, OWA does have ‘Offline’ capabilities. However, there are some limitations:
- Email from the last 3 days, up to 150 total items will be available offline.
- Your calendar will contain the previous month and the next year of appointments.
- Calendar reminders will exist for a limited period of time. If a computer is offline for a long period of time calendar reminders would no longer appear.
- Archives are online only, and as such do not exist offline.
- While contacts from your Exchange Server account are available offline, the auto-complete cache does not work.
- Searching and sorting may not fully function
- Attachments will not be available offline
Types of experience based on browser and Windows version
- Best: All OWA App features will work
- Good: Most features will work
- Light: The browser will display the light version of OWA.
Desktops and laptops: OWA features available by Windows operating system and browser combination:
Web browser |
Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 |
Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 |
Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 |
Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 |
IE 7 |
Light |
Not available |
Not available |
Not available |
IE 8 |
Good |
Good |
Good |
Not available |
IE 9 |
Not available |
Best |
Best |
Not available |
IE 10 |
Not available |
Not available |
Best – plus offline access |
Best – plus offline access |
Chrome 24 or later |
Good – plus offline access |
Good – plus offline access |
Best – plus offline access |
Best – plus offline access |
Firefox 17 or later |
Good |
Good |
Best |
Best |
Safari 5 or later |
Light |
Light |
Light |
Light |
One major drawback is the fact that previous versions of OWA had a built-in spell checker. In Exchange 2013, OWA now relies on the web browser for spell checking, which IE prior to v10 does not provide.
See this page for additional information: https://officepreview.microsoft.com/en-us/support/supported-browsers-for-outlook-web-app-HA102824601.aspx
Differences between ‘Light’ and ‘Premium’ versions of OWA 2013
Feature |
Light |
Premium |
Spelling checker |
Not available |
Available |
Reading pane |
Not available |
Available |
Accessibility for blind and low-vision users |
Available |
Not available |
Notifications and Reminders |
Not available |
Available |
Weekly calendar views |
Not available |
Available |
Compose messages by using HTML |
Only plain text is available in Outlook Web Access Light |
Available |
Calendar options |
Limited to the following features:
|
Available |
Arrange By |
Limited to a subset of choices, depending on the folder type |
Available |
Right-click menu |
Not available |
Available |
Drag-and-drop |
Not available |
Available |
Resource mailbox management |
Not available |
Available |
Voice mail options |
Not available |
Available |
Favorites |
Not available |
Available |
OCS integration |
Not available |
Available |
Public folders |
Not available |
Available |
Share a calendar |
Not available |
Available |
Open a shared calendar |
Not available |
Available |
Monthly calendar views |
Not available |
Available |
Conversation view |
Not available |
Available |
Scroll between pages |
Available |
Not available |
Retention Policies |
Not available |
Available |
Users can create and edit personal distribution lists |
Not available |
Available |
Users can create and edit server-side rules |
Not available |
Available |
RMS protection |
Not available |
Available |
RBAC - Change user settings |
Not available |
Available |
RBAC - Administrator settings |
Not available |
Available |
Web-ready document viewing |
Not available |
Available |
Nickname cache |
Not available |
Available |
Message tracking |
Not available |
Available |
Advanced search |
Not available |
Available |
MailTips |
Not available |
Available |
Exchange control panel |
Not available |
Available |
Attach message to a message |
Not available |
Available |
I hope this helps by consolidating some of the information out there on the internet into one listed table.
Mike