Disable the background save feature in Outlook

Original KB number:   319158

When you create an email message that has one or more attachments in Microsoft Outlook, the attachments are streamed to Microsoft Exchange Server in the background. This background save feature minimizes the time that you have to wait before you can send the message.

In an environment that has low bandwidth, you can disable the background save feature in Outlook by configuring the DisableBGSave registry key. Use the following steps:

Important

This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For protection, back up the registry before you modify it so that you can restore it if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, see How to back up and restore the registry in Windows.

1. Exit all Microsoft Office applications.

2. Start Registry Editor.

3. Locate and then select the following registry subkey: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook

   If this subkey doesn't exist, select the following subkey instead: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook

4. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then select DWORD (32-bit) Value.

5. Type DisableBGSave, and then press Enter.

6. Right-click the DisableBGSave entry, and then select Modify.

7. Select Hexadecimal for the base, type 1 in the Value data box, and then select OK.

8. Exit Registry Editor.