Check for Outlook Updates at the Office Downloads page

To check for Outlook updates, you need to go to the Microsoft Office Downloads home page. Once there, you need to find the link that lets Microsoft check your system to determine which downloads you need. Then you need to select the updates you want to install. Finally, download and install them. Once you've done it a few times, this process becomes quick and easy. The following sections cover each part of the process in detail.

Tell Outlook to check for updates.
Find the link.
Let Microsoft check your system.
Select, download, and install the updates you want.

Follow these steps and you will have the Outlook updates that are important to you installed in no time. Well, almost no time.

Telling Outlook to Check for Updates

This step is easy. From anywhere in Outlook, click Help, then Check for Updates. This causes Outlook to launch your default web browser and open the Microsoft Offic Downloads Home Page of the Microsoft Office Online web site.

Because there is so much information on this page, it can be confusing to navigate around it. The page can also change from time to time. The next step tells you how to find the link you are looking for.

Finding the Link

As of March 13, 2006, finding the updates link isn't hard at all. However, if you are using anything other than MSN Explorer or Internet Explorer as your web browser, you will run into a snag. The sites automatic detection feature, which makes this all much simpler, only works with those two browsers.

I strongly suggest you use Internet Explorer (IE) for the rest of this process. You don't need to change your default web browser or anything like that, just follow my lead here.

In your current web browser, copy the address of the Microsoft Office Downloads Home Page. Copy and paste will work fine.
Start IE. You should be able to find it on your desktop, or in the main Start menu, or in the All Programs section of the Start menu.
Paste the address of the Microsoft Office Downloads Home Page into IE's Address box, then click Go.

If you followed those steps, you should now see the page in Internet Explorer. Close the other browser and continue using IE.

At the top center of the page you can see a Check for Updates link.

The Check for Updates link.

NOTE: Don't click this link until you read Letting Microsoft Check Your System.

Letting Microsoft Check Your System

If you are using MSN Explorer or Internet Explorer, clicking the Check for Update link will cause the website to check your system. When this happens, the site anonymously sends information to Microsoft, where it is analyzed to determine what updates you need for your Microsoft Office products, including Outlook.

Some people are very uncomfortable with this process because they fear that Microsoft could be invading their privacy by gathering information from their computer. While such a thing is possible, I don't consider it a significant risk, and suggest you go ahead with the process. To me, getting Outlook updated to run as well as possible and to be as secure against spammers and other bad guys as possible is worth the tiny risk that Microsoft is spying on you.

With that out of the way...

...click Check for Updates and accept any agreements that appear.

NOTE: You must have an active Internet connection to do this.

After a few moments, the website will finish examining your computer and spit out a list of updates that you need. Your browser should display something a list of updates for you to choose between. Go here for advice on choosing which outlook updates to accept and how to install them.

From here you can:

Return to the top of this Outlook Updates page.
Close this window to return to the Microsoft Outlook Updates page.