SharePoint Knowledge Base

For people who mostly work from their inbox, having to switch to SharePoint to look for something can be confusing and a waste of time. If only there were a way to synchronize some key important data from SharePoint to Outlook… Well there actually is a way! Contacts, tasks, and calendars can all be synched with Outlook so that you can interact with SharePoint without having to leave Outlook. This allows data to be easily managed by the user from Outlook and also be centralized with SharePoint so that everyone knows what's happening. That's what a "win-win" situation looks like and it's a gorgeous site to SharePoint consultants.

How to Connect SharePoint Contacts to SharePoint:

• Start Internet Explorer and type the URL for your organization's SharePoint server. The Start page will open.
• Navigate to the Contact app you want to connect to Outlook. The Contact app's page will open.
• In the ribbon click the List tab. The List ribbon will appear.
• Click the Connect to Outlook button. A confirmation dialog box will open.

  Note: In order to connect to Outlook, you may need to setup the web site in the Intranet zone within Internet Explorer.

   

  Figure 1: The Connect to Outlook Confirmation Dialog Box

• Click Allow. Outlook will open (you may have to login first) and a Connect to Outlook dialog box will appear.

   

  Figure 2: The Connect to Outlook Dialog Box

• Click Yes. The list will appear in the Other Contacts section of the Outlook folder pane.

   

  Figure 3: The Connected Contact List in Outlook

   

   

  How to Connect SharePoint Tasks to Outlook:

   

• Start Internet Explorer and type the URL for your organization's SharePoint server. The Start page will open.
• Navigate to the Task app you want to connect to Outlook. The Task app's page will open.
• In the ribbon click the List tab. The List ribbon will appear.
• Click the Sync to Outlook button. A Sync Tasks with Microsoft Outlook dialog box will open.

  Note: In order to connect to Outlook, you may need to setup the web site in the Intranet zone within Internet Explorer.

   

  Figure 4: The Sync Tasks with Microsoft Outlook Dialog Box

• Click the Sync tasks check box and click OK. The Task list will be synced to Outlook. Task changes in Outlook will show up in SharePoint. Your Outlook tasks will also show up in Tasks under your site's Newsfeed.

   

   

  How to Edit a SharePoint Calendar in Outlook:

   

• Start Internet Explorer and type the URL for your organization's SharePoint server. The Start Page will open.
• Navigate to the Calendar you want to connect to Outlook. The Calendar page will open.
• In the ribbon click the Calendar tab. The Calendar ribbon will appear.
• Click the Connect to Outlook button. A confirmation dialog box will open.

   

  Figure 5: The Connection Confirmation Dialog Box

• Click Allow. A confirmation dialog box will appear.

   

  Figure 6: The Connect to Outlook Confirmation Dialog Box

  Note: Clicking the Advanced button will display the SharePoint List Options dialog box, which will allow you to add more descriptive information, if needed.

• Click Yes. The calendar will appear in the Calendar pane of Outlook.

   

  Figure 7: The Connected Calendar in Outlook

• If you want to see both calendars at once to check for conflicts, right-click the SharePoint calendar's tab and select the Overlay option. The calendars will be merged.

   

  Figure 8: The View in Overlay Mode

• To return to the default view, right-click either of calendar tabs and de-select the Overlay option. The calendars will be separated.
• To view just the SharePoint calendar, under the My Calendars heading, click the Calendars check box. The local calendar will close.

   

  Figure 9: The Remote Calendar

   

  If Outlook is where you work then you might consider checking out this other post about Connecting to SharePoint from an Outlook Message.

   

  We love helping with SharePoint and it's all we do so feel free to contact us!

   

  Mention this post and we'll send you a white paper on all of the ways Outlook and SharePoint work together!