Map classic Outlook policies to new Outlook

If your organization uses policies to configure classic Outlook, you might want to implement comparable policies for new Outlook. All ADMX policies and most policies from Cloud Policy service for Microsoft 365 (Cloud policies) apply only to classic Outlook. This article discusses how you can map ADMX and Cloud policies for classic Outlook to the following policies for new Outlook:

• Cloud policies that apply to new Outlook
• Mailbox policies for Outlook on the web and new Outlook (Outlook on the web mailbox policies)

Find existing policies for classic Outlook

Cloud policies

Use the following steps to find the existing Cloud policies for classic Outlook that are used in your organization:

1. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 Apps admin center.

2. Select Customization > Policy Management to view a list of policy configurations.

   Note: A policy configuration is a set of Cloud policies. Each policy configuration is scoped to a set of users.

3. For each policy configuration, select its checkbox, and then select Export to generate a CSV file that lists all policies that are in the policy configuration.

4. For each policy that's listed in an exported CSV file, the Setting ID value contains the policy ID. If a Setting ID value consists of multiple values that are separated by a semicolon, ignore outlk16. Typically, pick the rightmost value. Make a list of the applicable policy IDs for all policies that are in the exported CSV files.

ADMX policies

Use the following steps to determine the ADMX policies that are used in your organization:

1. Run the PowerShell cmdlet Get-GPOReport on a domain controller to get a list of Group Policies for a domain. Alternatively, you can view the list of Group Policies for a domain on the Settings tab of the Group Policy Management Console.

2. In the list of Group Policies for a domain, the ADMX policies for Outlook are listed under User Configuration (Enabled) > Policies > Administrative Templates > Microsoft Outlook 2016/<policy category>. For example, you might see an Outlook policy that's named Keep Search Folders in Exchange Online. Make a list of the Outlook policy names.

3. Search for each Outlook policy name in the language-specific administrative template file, outlk16.adml, to find the associated policy ID. For example, the Keep Search Folders in Exchange Online policy has the policy ID L_KeepsearchfoldersinExchangeonline. Make a list of the policy IDs.

   Tip

   The outlk16.adml file is usually located in the %SystemRoot%\PolicyDefinitions\<locale> folder on a domain controller. Alternatively, you can download the outlk16.adml file from Group Policy Administrative Template files (ADMX/ADML).

Determine policies for new Outlook

Use the following tables to map classic Outlook policies to equivalent or related new Outlook policies.

If your organization directly edits registry keys instead of using Group Policy to configure classic Outlook, use the Registry values for classic Outlook column instead of the Policy IDs for classic Outlook column.

If the tables don't include a particular policy ID or registry value for classic Outlook, a comparable policy for new Outlook might not exist.

Create policies for new Outlook

Cloud policies

To create Cloud policies, see Steps for creating a policy configuration.

Outlook on the web mailbox policies

To create and assign an Outlook on the web mailbox policy, follow these steps:

1. Create an Outlook on the web mailbox policy.

   Tip

   We recommend that you use PowerShell instead of the Exchange admin center (EAC) to create Outlook on the web mailbox policies because PowerShell supports more policy options.

2. Assign an Outlook on the web mailbox policy to a mailbox.

   Note: An Outlook on the web mailbox policy is a set of Outlook policies. The Set-OwaMailboxPolicy cmdlet adds Outlook policies to an Outlook on the web mailbox policy. You can assign only one Outlook on the web mailbox policy to each user mailbox.

   Tip

   If you want to assign multiple Outlook on the web mailbox policies to the same user mailbox, add all applicable Outlook policies to a single Outlook on the web mailbox policy. Then assign the single Outlook on the web mailbox policy to the user mailbox.

   To bulk assign the same Outlook on the web mailbox policy to multiple users, run the following cmdlets in Exchange Online PowerShell:

   $users = Import-Csv -Path '<path to a CSV file that lists the users in a column named "User">'
   $users | ForEach-Object { Set-CASMailbox -Identity $_.User -OWAMailboxPolicy "<policy name>" }
   

   To check the Outlook on the web mailbox policy for multiple users, run the following PowerShell code:

   $users = Import-Csv -Path '<path to a CSV file that lists the users in a column named "User">'
   $userData = @()
   $users | ForEach-Object {
    $casMailbox = Get-CASMailbox -Identity $_.User
    $userData += [PSCustomObject]@{
    DisplayName = $casMailbox.DisplayName
    PrimarySmtpAddress = $casMailbox.PrimarySmtpAddress
    OWAMailboxPolicy = $casMailbox.OWAMailboxPolicy
    }
   }
   $userData | Format-Table -AutoSize