Outlook 2013 RT is here, and this is what you need to know

(Now that Windows 8.1 has officially released, we updated this information here.)

You asked; we are delivering—Outlook 2013 RT for Windows RT 8.1 Preview is here!

With the release of Windows RT 8.1 Preview, users get a bona fide Outlook 2013 application, with most of the familiar look and feature functionality found in the enterprise version of Outlook.

Outlook 2013 RT, in your enterprise

Windows RT 8 and Windows RT 8.1 Preview ship with Office Home & Student. If your organization also purchased commercial use rights or has a commercial license to Office 2013 suites that include Outlook, your users can use Outlook 2013 RT to get to business on their RT devices too.

Because tablets have special needs for security and mobility, a few features are not available in Outlook 2013 RT. Here’s a breakdown:

Microsoft Exchange and Office 365 mailbox accounts

Outlook 2013 RT can connect to your organization’s Exchange Server 2007, 2010, or 2013 as long as the Autodiscover service is configured. However, Outlook 2013 RT doesn’t support these Microsoft Exchange features:

    • Online Archive or Personal Archive mailboxes
    • Applying Messaging Records Management (MRM) retention policies
    • Site Mailboxes
    • Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policy tips

VBA and COM Add-ins

Outlook 2013 RT doesn’t run macros, add-ins, or other custom programs or solutions developed within your organization or by third parties. This applies to all applications that are included with Microsoft Office Home & Student 2013 (which is installed automatically with Windows RT 8.1 Preview).

Information Rights Management (IRM)

Outlook 2013 RT doesn’t allow you to set IRM on new email messages.

Microsoft Lync integration

There is no integration between Outlook 2013 RT and Lync. Microsoft Office Home & Student 2013 applications do not integrate with Lync.

SharePoint integration

The Outlook Contact Card doesn’t display an active link to users’ SharePoint My Site pages. However, Outlook 2013 RT can connect to and synchronize with SharePoint lists.

Fax providers

You cannot add a fax account to Outlook 2013 RT.

Group Policy

Outlook 2013 RT cannot be configured using Group Policy. This applies to all applications that are included with Microsoft Office Home & Student 2013.

There’s a great article here that explains in more detail exactly what application features and functionality are available in Office 2013 RT, and how reset and upgrade work.

Now, get to work!

Abdias Ruiz (Senior Support Escalation Engineer)

LeAnn Ashford (Senior Technical Writer)