Switch from Microsoft Outlook to Zoho Mail
Once you have made your switch to Zoho Workplace from Microsoft 365, you'll need to get your Zoho Mail account set up. This transition guide will help you navigate and explore the features of your Zoho Mail account.
Sign Up NowGet started with Zoho Mail
Log in to Zoho Workplace from workplace.zoho.com using your Zoho Workplace email address and password. Navigate to Zoho Mail from the header. You can also access Zoho Mail from mail.zoho.com and sign in using your Workplace account.
To get started with Zoho Mail, you can explore the following topics:
Features You'll Enjoy in Zoho Mail
Zoho Mail offers numerous helpful features that not only give you a smooth and seamless email experience but also help you collaborate with your team and streamline your workflows. Here are some of the significant features you can explore:
Streams
Streams help you collaborate with your coworkers in an effective way. Simply create a post in a Streams group to get your message across, tag your teammates to notify them in specific posts, assign tasks, and create events in the same view. Explore streams in Zoho Mail
Email Sharing
Whether you're composing an email draft or want input on an email you sent or received, share it with your contacts by just tagging them in the email. Learn more about the draft and email sharing.
Email retention and eDiscovery
Back up all the emails in your organization with email retention and easily retrieve specific emails using eDiscovery. Learn more about email retention and eDiscovery.
S/MIME
In addition to TLS, Zoho Mail provides added security to your emails with S/MIME. Create digital signatures and safeguard your emails from different types of email attacks with Mail. Learn more about S/MIME in Zoho Mail.
eWidget
Zoho Mail integrates with other Zoho products and many other third-party applications via the eWidget panel. You can access eWidgets from your mailbox and start integrating your favorite apps immediately. Explore eWidgets in Zoho Mail.
Control Panel
Organization admins can manage the email accounts and the users in their organization using Mail's extensive Control Panel. Learn more about Zoho Mail's control panel.
Compare Microsoft Outlook and Zoho Mail features
If you have been using Microsoft Outlook, this feature comparison will help you familiarize yourself and get the most out of Zoho Mail.
| Microsoft Outlook | Zoho Mail |
|---|---|
| Viewing emails | |
Email threads in Outlook can be viewed as a conversation. | Conversation view You can view your email thread as a conversation displayed chronologically with the newest email on top. This option can be applied specifically to each folder. Go to Settings > Conversation Settings. |
The Reading Pane in Outlook opens at the bottom-right, or is hidden completely when you open an email. | Email open behaviour When clicking on an email, you can view it in the following modes when it opens: Vertical preview, Horizontal preview, in a New Tab, or in a New Window. Go to Settings > Mail View Options. |
To view the attachments in your email, open the email and click on the attachment in the header of the window. The attachment will be opened in the browser. | Managing attachments All the attachments in your email are available in the Attachment Viewer. You can also view your email attachments in your browser. Click on Attachment Viewer in the right side of your mailbox. |
| Composing emails | |
The maximum file size that can be uploaded in Outlook is 20 MB. If you want to attach bigger files, you need to upload it to a cloud service and send the link in an email. | Huge attachments In addition to the direct attachments of file size upto 20 MB, you can upload files up to 1 GB each and Mail will convert them to links in your email. The recipient will be able to view and download the file by clicking on the link. Go to New mail > Attachments. |
You can manually check spelling and grammar from Outlook's Review tab after you have drafted an email. | Spell check Using the Spell Check option, you can check for spelling and grammar errors while composing emails. You can also add words to your custom dictionary. Go to New Mail > Spell check from the compose window tool bar. |
Outlook allows you to mark your email with priority before you send it. You can assign either high priority or low priority to inform the recipient. | Email priority Let your email recipient know how urgently their response is needed by setting priority for your emails. You can choose from: high, medium, and low. Go to Compose > New Mail > Options > Priority. |
Contacts can be @mentioned in the body of an email in Outlook. The @mention will be highlighted and the contact will be added to the "To" list. | @mention contacts in the mail You can simply add a user to the recipient list by @mentioning them in the body of the email. |
Automatic Replies are used in Outlook to send automated responses via email when you are unavailable. | Out of Office Configure automated responses for incoming emails when you are not available using the Out of Office option. The responses will be sent for all incoming emails except automated emails. Go to Settings > Out of Office. |
| Sending emails | |
You can reply, forward and print emails in Outlook. | Reply, forward and print emails Reply to emails, forward to users, and print sent and received emails directly from your account. |
Outlook lets you configure an "undo send" option. You can set this option to undo sending up to 30 seconds. | Undo send Configure Mail's Undo Send option in your account settings by entering the duration for which you want the option to be available. When you hit the send button, the Undo Send option will be available for the specified length of time. Go to Settings > Compose Options > Undo send. |
If you have sent an email by mistake, Outlook allows you to recall it from the recipient's inbox. | Email recall You can recall any email sent by mistake using Mail's email recall feature. Once you have recalled that email, the recipient will receive an email explaining the recall. Open the Sent email > Mail Delivery Status icon > Recall this email. |
Using Rules in Outlook, you can set up email scheduling and the scheduled emails will be stored in the Outbox. | Schedule emails You can draft an email and schedule it to be sent at a specific time using the Schedule Email feature. You can also set recurring conditions for the email to be sent at defined intervals. Go to Sent email > New Mail > Schedule/Recurring icon. |
Templates can be created and used in emails in Outlook. | Create and insert templates Create and customize predefined email templates instead of drafting a new email each time. Categorize and save your templates in designated folders. Go to New Mail > Drop down next to Save as Draft > Template icon. |
| Deleting emails | |
Outlook lets you archive emails to free up space. You can access the Clean Up tools and choose the folders which you want to archive. | Archive emails Using the Archive feature, you can remove selected emails from the email list in your folder and push them to the archived emails listing in the same folder. This helps reduce any clutter in your inbox. Select email > Click Archive. For more details, see archive emails. |
You can delete all emails, specific emails, or folders in Outlook. | Scrub emails You can archive or delete emails sent by a specific sender from your inbox using the Scrub feature. You can scrub emails for up to five senders. Select email > More actions > Scrub. |
| Organizing emails | |
You can organize the emails in your mailbox using Rules in Outlook. | Incoming and Outgoing Filters You can organize your mailbox by setting up filters for your incoming and outgoing email. Go to Settings > Filter. |
Outlook uses specific keywords in the emails to classify messages as meeting requests, automated replies. etc. This is achieved by defining Rules. | Smart Filters When you switch on Smart Filters, your incoming emails will be automatically scanned for header content and categorized into Notifications and Newsletters. Go to Settings > Filters > Turn on Smart Filters. |
In Outlook, you can add flags to incoming and outgoing emails to get reminders to follow up. | Flagging emails You can flag emails for easy identification. Emails can be flagged as Info, Important, or Follow-up. You can also flag emails in bulk. Right click Flag icon > Select Flag. |
Assign color categories to emails and organize them accordingly. You can also assign more than one color category to the items. | Tagging emails Organize emails in your inbox by creating tags. You can add several tags to each email and filter your emails using these tags. Go to Tags > Add icon. |
Offline mode in Outlook lets you save emails from your account starting from the past 3 months. You can access the emails and read them while you are offline. | Save emails offline Save your emails and access them when you are offline with the Offline Mode feature in Zoho Mail. You can read and draft emails and even reply to emails, which Mail will store in your Outbox to send once you connect to the internet. Go to Settings > Offline. |
| Searching emails | |
Outlook lets you search for emails using single words or phrases and also has built-in search filters to help you locate emails. | Search filters Search for any email, post, event, task, or note using Mail's extensive search filters. Go to search bar > enter condition. |
| Email notifications | |
Create reminders for incoming and outgoing emails in Outlook using the Follow up options. | Reminders for incoming and outgoing emails Set reminders for incoming and outgoing emails in your Mail account. The reminder conditions available are: "Remind me on," "For every response," and "If no one replies until." Go to New Mail > Reminder Options. |
You can follow up with the recipient for an update using the "Flag for yourself" and "Flag for recipients" options in Outlook. | Follow up If an email recipient forgets to reply, you can follow up with them by sending an email using the reminder notification feature. Select > Remind recipients also > Draft the email. |
Outlook gives you desktop notifications for new emails, meetings, and tasks. This can be enabled by turning on "Display a Desktop Alert" option. | Desktop notification for emails You can enable desktop notifications for the emails you receive in Zoho Mail. Once you have turned the notifications on in your email account, make sure to configure them in your browser as well. Go to Settings > System > Desktop Notifications. |
| Folder sharing | |
Outlook lets you share folders with your contacts and assign them permissions for each folder. | Share folders with permission You can share your folders with other members in your organization. Depending on the access level granted, they will able to comment, moderate, and respond to the emails in the shared folder. While responding to emails from a shared folder, the "From" address will be the address selected by the user who shared the folder. Right click on the folder > Share this folder. Learn about different folder sharing permissions in Zoho Mail. |
| Suite of apps | |
Microsoft Outlook comes with an integrated calendar, tasks, and contacts. | Calendar, Tasks, Notes, Contacts and Bookmarks Zoho Mail comes with a suite of built-in apps you can access from your Mail dashboard. You can create events, assign tasks, view contacts, create notes, and more—all from Zoho Mail. |
| Mobile apps | |
Microsoft Outlook mobile app is available on Android and iOS. | Download the mobile apps Manage your emails on the go with Zoho Mail's mobile apps. You can download Zoho Mail, Zoho Mail Streams, and Zoho Mail Admin for both Android and iOS. |