Configuring Gmail in Outlook as POP/SMTP vs. IMAP

[jmt356]

Historically, I have configured Gmail in Outlook as a POP/SMTP account because I was advised that it was unavailable as an Exchange account for free.

Today, I was configuring Gmail on Outlook on a new computer and used the automatic settings rather than manually configuring Gmail as POP. Gmail was configured as IMAP.

Isn't IMAP essentially like Exchange in that it constantly syncs with the server in real time? If so, why would anyone choose POP over IMAP?

Also, isn't POP open to security vulnerabilities that IMAP is not vulnerable to?

One thing I like about POP archiving my old emails does not remove them from the server. Is IMAP like Exchange in that if I archive my old emails, it removes them from the OST file and this syncs with the server and removes the emails from Gmail.com?

[HansV]

Recent versions of Outlook really push you towards IMAP, it has become rather difficult to set up POP3.

[HansV]

Is IMAP like Exchange in that if I archive my old emails, it removes them from the OST file and this syncs with the server and removes the emails from Gmail.com?

That is correct.

[jmt356]

It seems the main disadvantage of using IMAP is that it downloads all of the historic emails, which for some people can be 10+ years. Then, when you go to archive the emails because you don't want an enormous OST, those emails get removed from the server. Then, if there is some computer disaster and data is lost, the emails have no backup on the server.

With POP, in contrast, the emails stay on the server, even if they are downloaded and archived.

Do you agree?

[HansV]

Yes.

[jmt356]

I guess one archiving solution would be to copy old emails from the IMAP OST to an archive PST rather than delete them from the IMAP OST. That would keep them on the server as a backup in the event of a disaster that causes data loss. However, that does not fix the problem of having an enormous OST file. Is there a solution that would keep the size of the IMAP OST down while keeping the emails on the server?

[HansV]

I'm not an expert on this, I hope someone else can help you with this.

[StuartR]

I don't think IMAP is suitable for what you want. You can still configure gmail to use POP3, so why not do that?

[jmt356]

At this stage, I am weighing the comparative advantages of IMAP v. POP.

One web site I read states that POP "is also better if you have a poor internet connection and need to access your emails offline." Is this true? My understanding is that both POP and IMAP download emails and make them available for offline viewing (as does MS Exchange), so why is the internet connection relevant?

[jmt356]

In Outlook, I tried configuring an email account as IMAP. My emails display in "compact layout." Under View | View Settings | Other Settings, I ticked "Always use single-line layout," but my emails are displaying with two lines ,with the sender, subject, date and size on top and a preview on the bottom. Is the issue the message preview? Is single line format not possible with message preview?

[jmt356]

If Gmail is set up as IMAP, do the calendar and contacts associated with the IMAP OST file synchronize with the server and across devices? It seems this is possible, but I can't get it to work. When I go to the calendar in Outlook on my laptop, it states:
"Calendar (This computer only)"

Update: I just saw on https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/off ... d7c265df9f that:
"IMAP and POP are sync protocols that are unable to sync calendar, contacts, etc. They can only sync email. What are IMAP and POP?"

Unfortunately, there does not appear to be a way to synchronize Gmail contacts and calendar through IMAP on Outlook.

[Leif]

Does this help: See your Google Calendar in Outlook - Outlook ?

[StuartR]

If you need to add or modify calendar entries in Outlook, with two way synchronization to gmail, then you will need to use a third party add-in.

I use gSyncit for this, but it's not free.

[RonH]

I use Gmail IMAP as my primary email, though I also have an Outlook account. For mail handling I have installed the Thunderbird app together with Mailstore, an extremely useful, easy to use mail archiving app recommended to me by our forum colleague, Stuck.

By utilising these apps, I avoid leaving volumes of emails on the Gmail or Outlook servers ... they are saved, if needed, within multiple Folders that I have created in Thunderbird. As an additional backup, they are then archived to Mailstore on a monthly basis which is then copied onto an ext HD that I store in a separate location. I can then choose to delete or not from my Thunderbird Local Folders.

This keeps my Gmail account limited to active emails and it is much easier to search past emails within my locally stored mail apps ... for me at least being a long term retiree