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Group Policy made searchable

A free ADMX browser or comparison tool for IT administrators.Search policies, find registry keys, and see exactly what each setting writes to the Windows Registry. Or compare two GPO backups to see exactly what has changed between them.

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Exchange Unicode Mode – Silent OST format change

This policy setting allows .OST files to silently update to Unicode format from ANSI.

If you enable this policy setting, it will only have meaning if the related policy setting "Exchange Unicode Mode - Ignore OST format" is enabled and set to the options listed below.

The behavior is as follows -

"Ignore OST Format" policy setting is enabled and set to "Create new OST if format doesn't match mode"; "Silent OST Format Change" policy setting is enabled:
If Outlook detects a mode that is different than the current .OST mode, then a new .OST is created without prompting the user.

"Ignore OST Format" policy setting is enabled and set to "Prompt to create new OST if format doesn't match mode"; "Silent OST Format Change" policy setting is enabled:
If Outlook detects a mode that is different than the current .OST mode, the user is prompted to allow a delay in the conversion to the mode set by policy. By clicking Ok, a new OST is created without a prompt for a new .OST name.

If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, users will be prompted to enter a new name for the updated .OST file.

Registry Information

VendorMicrosoft
ProductMicrosoft Outlook 2016
CategoryMicrosoft Outlook 2016 › Account Settings › Exchange
Applies toUser Configuration
Supported onWindows7
Registry Key[HKCU]softwarepoliciesmicrosoftoffice16.0outlookemsp
Value Namesilentostformatchange
TypeREG_DWORD
Enabled value1
Disabled value0

Registry File (.reg)

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

; Enable the policy
[HKEY_CURRENT_USERsoftwarepoliciesmicrosoftoffice16.0outlookemsp]
"silentostformatchange"=dword:00000001

; Disable the policy
[HKEY_CURRENT_USERsoftwarepoliciesmicrosoftoffice16.0outlookemsp]
"silentostformatchange"=dword:00000000

PowerShell

# Enable the policy
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:softwarepoliciesmicrosoftoffice16.0outlookemsp" -Name "silentostformatchange" -Value 1 -Type DWord

# Disable the policy
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:softwarepoliciesmicrosoftoffice16.0outlookemsp" -Name "silentostformatchange" -Value 0 -Type DWord