How to Run Outlook 2010 as a Windows Service with AlwaysUp

Outlook 2010 is Microsoft's ubiquitous information manager, calendaring and email client. It is part of the Office suite of applications.

Note: Microsoft cautions against running any program in its Office suite as a Windows Service. However the most notable problems arise when running in the LocalSystem account (which has not been configured to run Outlook) and AlwaysUp can get around many of those problems. Nevertheless, please be sure to thoroughly test your setup to ensure that Outlook can do everything you expect when running with AlwaysUp.

To setup Outlook 2010 as a Windows Service:

1. Download and install AlwaysUp, if necessary.

2. Install and configure Outlook 2010, if necessary. Please ensure that it is properly set up and can send/receive email and work as you expect.

3. Start AlwaysUp.

4. Select Application > Add to open the Add Application window:

   

5. On the General tab:

   • In the Application field, enter the full path to the Outlook executable, Outlook.exe. If you installed Outlook 2010 in the normal location, this is:

     C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\Outlook.exe

     or

     C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\Outlook.exe

     if you have a 64-bit version of Windows and installed the 32-bit version of Outlook/Office.

   • In the Name field, enter the name that you will call the application in AlwaysUp. We have used Outlook 2010 but you can specify almost anything you like.

   

6. Click over to the Logon tab and enter the username and password of the account in which you installed and configured Outlook - probably the account you are logged in to right now. It is very important that Outlook 2010 runs in this account or it will not find its settings!

   

7. Click over to the Startup tab and check the Ensure that the Windows Networking components have started box. This informs AlwaysUp that Outlook 2010 needs TCP/IP networking support to do its work.

   

8. We are now done configuring AlwaysUp so click the Save button. In a couple of seconds, an application called Outlook 2010 will show up in the AlwaysUp window. It is not yet running though.

   

9. To start Outlook choose Application > Start "Outlook 2010". The state should transition to Running soon and clicking on the green circle will show some basics of the underlying Outlook process:

   

   On Windows 8/7/Vista and Server 2012/2008, Outlook will be running in the background in the isolated Session 0. Select Tools > Switch to Session 0 to visit the strange looking Session 0 desktop where Outlook 2010 will be visible:

   

10. That's it! Next time your computer boots, Outlook 2010 will start up immediately, before anyone logs on. We encourage you to edit the Outlook entry in AlwaysUp and check out the many other settings that may be appropriate for your environment. Send email, boost priority, restart regularly and much more.

Outlook 2010 not working properly as a Windows Service?

• From AlwaysUp, select Application > Report Activity > Today... to bring up a HTML report detailing the interaction between AlwaysUp and your application. The AlwaysUp Event Log Messages page explains the more obscure messages.
• Running Outlook 2010 unattended can be tricky, especially when it throws up dialog boxes and other windows that interrupt the action. If these can not be eliminated you may want to investigate using an automation script/program to automatically dismiss the pesky windows. Please see the Automate tab (or the AlwaysUp User's Manual) for additional information on automation.
• Browse the AlwaysUp FAQ for answers to commonly asked questions and troubleshooting tips.
• Contact us and we will be happy to help!