The Exchange 2003 Outlook Web Access (OWA) client is much more similar to the full Outlook client than earlier versions were. The illustration contrasts an Exchange inbox displayed on Outlook (left) and OWA (right). Both use the new vertical preview pane, colored message flagging, keyboard shortcuts, and folder list displays. Especially interesting is OWA’s support for some right-click menus—rare in a Web application.

As shown in the left pane, the Outlook 2003 user interface differs in some ways from Outlook 2002. Most noticeably, the Inbox preview pane, formerly displayed horizontally below the message list, is now displayed in the vertical pane on the right. The Outlook shortcut icons are gone, replaced by Favorite Folders and Active Folders lists on the left that make it easier to organize messages by dragging and dropping. Users can also color-code messages to make it easier to pick out messages that meet their personalized criteria.

However, some Outlook actions are not available in OWA. For example, users cannot simply pick names from the global address list. Instead, they must first perform a search. Many Outlook user-interface options are also lacking. For example, users cannot highlight a time range in a calendar and then right-click to create a meeting or appointment.