Outlook connection settings and status

Connection state determines whether Microsoft Outlook can connect with the e-mail server. You can specify that each time you start Outlook, a specific state is used — online or offline. Additionally, you can configure Outlook to automatically choose the connection state or to prompt you each time you start whether you want to work online or offline. When you use the Cached Exchange Mode feature with Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 or Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, you can control how much and the type of data sent through the connection.
Connection state

The connection state determines whether Outlook is online or offline. When Outlook is offline you can only work with items stored on your computer. How Outlook synchronizes folders when you are offline is determined by Send/Receive groups. You can specify that Outlook either automatically detect the connection state or prompt you so you can manually choose each time you start Outlook.
Keyboard shortcut To open the Send/Receive Groups dialog box, press Ctrl+Alt+S.

The connection state is displayed on the status bar.

· Microsoft Exchange
Online
You are working with your Exchange mailbox. Full items, including attachments are available to you.
Trying to connect
One or more of the connections to a server is not active. Outlook is continuously trying to reestablish the connection. You can continue to work with your information, and once Outlook is able to connect to Exchange, changes will be synchronized automatically.
Disconnected
One or more of the connections to a server is not active. Outlook was not able to restore a connection to Exchange for at least five minutes. Outlook will retry every 15 minutes to connect. To override the delay, and try immediately, on the File menu, click Connect to Exchange account.
Offline
You have chosen to work offline. No connection attempts are made to Exchange, unless you initiate them. Folder synchronization and updates to the Address Book while offline are controlled by Send/Receive group settings or Remote Mail. If Outlook switched to an offline state automatically, you will be returned to an online state when a connection is available. If you manually selected an offline state, you must exit and restart Outlook to change connection states.
Note If you deliver e-mail messages to a Personal Folders file (.pst), these connection states do not apply and are not shown in the status bar.