When you configure MS Outlook with an Exchange, IMAP, Office 365, or Exchange Outlook account, the account is set up in Cached Exchange Mode by default. Also, an Offline Storage Table or OST file is created that stores a synchronized cache of mailbox items, such as emails, attachments, contacts, calendars, tasks, etc., on your local drive.
Besides user mailbox data, Outlook 2010 and later versions also download and store any shared mailbox or shared mail folder by default in the same cache (.OST file). Users can see the shared mailbox folders in their email account and access the mail items.
When in Cached Exchange Mode, changes made in Shared Mailbox by other users are not synchronized immediately and thus, may not be visible to other users accessing the Shared Mailbox. That’s why some users may see folders while others can’t see them due to delays in synchronization.
In this article, you will learn simple methods to resolve Shared Mailbox folders not visible in Outlook when the Cached Exchange Mode is turned on.
Methods to Resolve Shared Mailbox Folders Not Visible Issue
Although switching off Cached Exchange Mode can quickly resolve the sync issues and display the missing Shared Mailbox folders in your Outlook account, it can severely degrade the Outlook performance, leading to Outlook freeze and crash.
Method 1: Turn Off Cached Exchange Mode
Microsoft provides an option to switch off Cached Exchange Mode specifically for Shared Folder. The steps are as follows:
- Open Outlook and navigate to File > Account Settings > Account Settings.
- Click on the Data Files tab, select your email account, and click Settings…
- Click on the Advanced tab and then uncheck the Download shared folders
- Click Apply and then click
- Click OK again and restart Outlook for changes to take effect.
This should resolve the Shared Mailbox folders not visible issue in Outlook Cached Exchange Mode. You may also restart Outlook, re-enable the Download shared folders checkbox, and see if the issue persists.
Method 2: Recreate Outlook Profile and Cache
Sometimes, corrupt Outlook profile or cache (OST) can also prevent Outlook to perform certain operations and lead to issues, such as shared mailbox folders not visible. In such a case, you can recreate your Outlook profile to fix the issue permanently. The steps are as follows:
- Press Windows + R, type %localappdata%/Microsoft/Outlook, autlookt/ata, right items were not completely option
- snd press Enter.
- Close Outlook and backup your current OST file as recreating a new profile will replace the old OST, leading to data loss if mail items were not completely synchronized.
- After the backup, open Outlook and go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings.
- Click on the Email tab, select your email profile, and click
- Then click New… and follow the wizard to set up your new Outlook profile.
This should permanently resolve the shared mailbox folder visibility issue in Outlook.
Alternatively, you can also rename your Outlook OST data file to recreate the ost file, which may resolve the error. The steps are as follows:
- Press Windows + R, type %localappdata%/Microsoft/Outlook, and press Enter.
- Close Outlook and rename the .OST file.
- Restart Outlook. This will create a new OST file.
Method 3: Repair Outlook Data File
Turning off the Cached Exchange Mode for Shared Mailbox folder will impact the Outlook performance when you search for emails in the Shared Mailbox folder as Outlook will retrieve the information directly from the server. In addition, low or poor internet connectivity can further deteriorate the problem and lead to further issues.
As an alternative solution, you may try repairing the Outlook data file (OST) that might be the reason behind synchronization issues. To repair the OST file, you can use SCANPST.exe (Inbox Repair Tool).
The steps are as follows:
- Go to the Microsoft Office Installation directory and launch exe.
- Click Browse and select the OST file.
- Click Start. The tool will scan the OST for errors.
- After the scan, click Repair to fix the errors found in the OST file.
- Once finished, restart Outlook, wait for synchronization, and check if the Shared Mailbox folders are visible.
If this resolves the issue, you can keep Cached Exchange Mode on for the Shared Mailbox and ensure consistent Outlook performance.
Method 4: Manually Add Shared Mailbox
You may also add Shared Mailbox manually if it’s not visible in Outlook Cached Exchange Mode. The steps are as follows:
- Open Outlook and go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings.
- Select your email profile and click on Change.
- Click on More Settings and then click Add under the Advanced
- Enter the shared mailbox email address or name and then click OK.
- When the Shared Mailbox is configured, it will be automatically synced and visible in the left folder pane in your Outlook client.
Other Workarounds and Tips to Resolve the Shared Mailbox Folders Issue
Following are some additional workarounds and tips that you may follow to resolve the Shared Mailbox folders not visible in Outlook.
- Contact administrator and ensure you have the rights or permissions to access the Shared Mailbox or Shared Folder.
- Ensure you have full access to the Shared Mailbox and not just ‘Send As.’ Administrators can grant full access by using the following command in Exchange Management Shell (EMS):
Get-Mailbox “[email protected]” | Add-ADPermission -User “[email protected]” -ExtendedRights “Send As”
- Use the Delegate Access option in Outlook to access the Shared Mailbox.
- Check the permissions in your Outlook account under Data File properties.
- Manually remove and reconnect the Shared Mailbox to sync it again and fix the issue.
- Verify Shared Mailbox accessibility via Outlook Web app.
Conclusion
In this article, we have discussed several methods to troubleshoot and resolve the Shared Mailbox folders not visible issue in Outlook when Cached Exchange Mode is on. A quick solution to resolve the issue is to disable the Cached Exchange Mode. However, due to this, Outlook performance will decrease significantly and may lead to loss of mail items as OST turns orphan and becomes inaccessible. In addition, recreating profile also leads to orphaned OST file that can lead to data loss. However, you can use an OST to PST converter software, such as Stellar Converter for OST, to extract all mail items from inaccessible or orphaned OST files and save them to an Outlook supported PST format. You may also export the extracted mail items from OST directly to Office 365 or live Exchange Server.
