Synchronize safe persons Outlook 2016 -> Outlook Web Access (OWA)

[ofw62]

In Outlook 2016 (Home-tab) - > Junk -> Junk E-mail options -> tab: Safe Senders, add from File I have added a number of domains using a txt-list.

AFAIK OWA does not have this option.

Is there a way to synchronize Outlook 2016 with Outlok Web Access?

Thanks!

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[Diane Poremsky]

The list should sync with OWA. (my safe and blocked lists synced to my exchange mailbox).

 

[ofw62]

Very sorry for the delay Diane. Was busy investigating some other matters. However, that aside, as a matter of fact, I don't get any notifications, so it also tends to slip my mind to check out the website for a reply, or think of it at the wrong time.
Anyway, with me, it does not sync, but I don't use exchange.

So I guess one has to add emails, or domains, 1-by-1
The 'safe senders' list is relatively poor, I must say. One can not see how many entries are already available (considering 1024 to be the max), pasting domains using a separator doesn't work.
e.g. domain.com; domain2.com; domain3.com; etc.

Bad luck.
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[Diane Poremsky]

Very sorry for the delay Diane. Was busy investigating some other matters. However, that aside, as a matter of fact, I don't get any notifications, so it also tends to slip my mind to check out the website for a reply, or think of it at the wrong time.

Not a problem. Just checked your profile in the admin section - under "Watch threads when creating or replying", it's set to No. That either means you didn't enable notifications or the address bounced 3 times and we stopped sending notifications. There should be a Watch thread link at the top of the thread - this is from mine (where it is already selected).

Anyway, with me, it does not sync, but I don't use exchange.

You don't have outlook.com set up as an Exchange account? It should sync if you do... but it definitely won't sync if you use pop or imap, but anything on the list in web access should be filtered to junk mail as it arrives - pop3 won't download it, imap would sync it with junk email.

 

[ofw62]

I guess I belong to the 'dying group' that still use Office in the old fashioned way (with pope and with pst).
As for me, except for the exceptional where sync would have been a nice-to-have-thing, pop/pst probably
is the best way to go.
Where OWA under Options->People has an import contacts option,
regretfully there is no such thing under Junk Mail->Safe Senders.
Users might export from Outlook (2016) the safe senders list to a .txt file.
(see: "Understanding the Safe and Blocked Senders lists" on your site)
However, this list regretfully can not be imported, i.e. domains should be added - copy paste - one by one.
Microsoft should make it possible to do the same as with import contacts, or allow pasting multiple entries, comma separated, or so. This way, probably there will be less 'good mails' landing as junk.

Anyway, so be it.

Thanks again.
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[Diane Poremsky]

Try this - add the account t0 Outlook as an Exchange account, import the lists, after they sync up, delete the account from outlook.

 

[ofw62]

I am afraid to do that Diane.
There are some uncertainties for me.
AFAIK all such matters are saved within the .pst (contacts, safe senders,etc.)?
I am not sure whether an Exchange account can work with a local .pst file.
Have been trying to figure this out whilst watching various videos on youtube, but gave up after half a dozen.
Could not trace a video where an account is setup 'manually' in that sense that the user could select a local .pst file.
Probably that is out of the question anyway, so the videos I watched didn't pay attention to it.
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[Diane Poremsky]

AFAIK all such matters are saved within the .pst (contacts, safe senders,etc.)?
I am not sure whether an Exchange account can work with a local .pst file.

it cant work with a pst file. Export the current lists if that is what you need online. Close outlook, go to control panel, mail and add a new profile that only has the outlook.com account added using auto account setup. Follow the first 11 steps at How to Create a New Profile

open the run command with windows key + r and type or paste outlook.exe /profiles to open the choose profiles dialog. Select the new profile.

Import the lists. Once they sync up (may take a few minutes), close outlook. Any time you want to upload a list in the future (or just want to see how it works as an Exchange account), open the profile.

 

[ofw62]

I am in the process of you what you described. Selected Manual Setup, then selected 'Exchange ActiveSync' in the Account Type window (available Office 365, POP/IMAP and Exchange ActiveSync).
Or should I choose IMAP ?
Right now I can still go [Back] so to say.
At Exchange ActiveSync (IF that should be selected, I wouldn't know what server addresses I should use)

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[Diane Poremsky]

Selected Manual Setup, then selected 'Exchange ActiveSync' in the Account Type window (available Office 365, POP/IMAP and Exchange ActiveSync).

No, use autoaccount setup. Active Sync is no longer supported in Outlook desktop. You actually only need the first 5 steps - you won't need to make changes under more settings. Just enter your email address and click Next. If the password isn't saved in window's credential manager, it will ask for it later.

 

[ofw62]

Right! Thanks.
Waow... it looks likes it works!
Will check out later.
Meanwhile.. you know, all this because Outlook.com makes it a habit to dump quite a few legitimate mails into the junk folder. It is a regular occurrence that I am waiting for something being really normal stuff, and to find it in the junk folder the next day. Regretfully OWA has no option to disable using the junk folder. Well, at least AFAIK.
My ISP is using a virus scanner and is filtering junk. I am using Mailwasher on top. In the OWA junk mail folder there are 1 , 2 or 2 really junk mails per week, but often many more 'normal' mails... Last week: 6 'junk-mails', 2 junk, 4 normal.
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[Diane Poremsky]

i *think* if you used it as an exchange account in outlook, you could set it to low or no filtering... i'm pretty sure that setting in junk mail options syncs to the server (but i could be wrong).


otherwise, the only option is to send most junk to the junk folder. Definitely don't want exclusive.

 

[ofw62]

Sorry to say, but the safe senders, right now, hasn't sync'ed.
Other stuff (junk mail, deleted items, drafts), yes. Both in Outlook 2016 and OWA they are the same.
Not the safe senders though.
Half an hour has passed, maybe tomorrow, let's see.

 

[ofw62]

Yes, in Outlook it looks like filtering could be disabled, but I am not sure whether that will be 'taken over' by OWA.
I'll give it a try and see.

 

[Diane Poremsky]

The lists sync up last - so it can take awhile with a new profile.

outlook's junk settings won't be changed by owa, I can't remember if owa will sync them and use them.

 

[ofw62]

Regretfully the 'Safe Senders' list remained the same, i.e. none of the entries from Outlook 2016 were sync'ed.
Maybe the protocol does not allow synchronizing of this element? Somewhere I read that the EAS protocol doesn't allow synchronizing blocked and safe senders lists. Whilst EAS is not being used within Outlook 2016, the protocol that indeed is being used may more or less be based on EAS? I have no knowledge of this protocol stuff though...

 

[Diane Poremsky]

Regretfully the 'Safe Senders' list remained the same, i.e. none of the entries from Outlook 2016 were sync'ed.
Maybe the protocol does not allow synchronizing of this element? Somewhere I read that the EAS protocol doesn't allow synchronizing blocked and safe senders lists. Whilst EAS is not being used within Outlook 2016, the protocol that indeed is being used may more or less be based on EAS? I have no knowledge of this protocol stuff though...

No, EAS has nothing to do with it - it uses the Microsoft Exchange service protocol, which can handle anything. I'll see what i can find out - if there are any known issues.

Do you know how many names are on each list in outlook and how many were on the outlook.com list to start?

 

[ofw62]

Thanks. I don't know how many there are in the current safe senders list in OWA, maybe 100 or so. There is no counter.
The exported .txt list from Outlook 2016 counts 1020. I read that one can add upto 1024 safe senders and 1024 safe domains. So my guess is that the total number of entries would be 2048.
Maybe I should clear the existing list (OWA) first..?

 

[Diane Poremsky]

You can get the line count from the text files - open them in notepad, turn off word wrap and turn on show status bar (Format and View menus).

If you don't need the names on the list in owa, delete the names... or since you have backups of the list in outlook, delete them from outlook and see if the owa list syncs down.

 

[ofw62]

Okay. I have done the following:
'Exchange' Outlook 2016 - exported the safe senders list to .txt
OWA - deleted the safe senders list entirly there. Later noticed that the safe senders list in Outlook 2016 was cleared.
That portion of synchronizing works well, ha!
(Luckely I had exported all the stuff before taking this action)
Imported the saved .txt file.
OWA is safe senders list is filled now.
Regretfully there is no way to count the entries, except one by one.
There is no way to copy paste the entries in OWA or anyway else, so I could check/count against the source.
Maybe there is a kind of cleanup routine built in that cleans up the double entries, or recognize multiple email addresses with the same domain, so it then removes the separate email addresses and puts in just the domain, i.e. instead of 3 or 4 mail-addresses, just have 1 domain.

Anyway, it looks to be okay now.
I truly appreciate your help (or better still: patience) Diane.

Thanks a lot!