How to Access Gmail with Outlook for Mac

Email & Messaging

Updated April 09, 2019

Gmail cannot do all that Outlook for Mac can do on your own machine. Where are the flexible mail sorting options, for example, in Gmail on the web? Fortunately, you can set up Gmail in Outlook for Mac and synchronize all mail and labels.

Instructions in this article apply to Outlook 2019 for Mac, Outlook 2016 for Mac, Outlook for Office 365 for Mac, and Outlook for Mac 2011

What Gmail in Outlook for Mac Lets You Do and Access

Messages that have been assigned a label (or more than one) in Gmail on the web appear in folders in Outlook for Mac. Likewise, if you copy a message in Outlook to a folder, it appears under the corresponding label in Gmail; if you move a message, it is removed from the corresponding label (or the inbox) in Gmail.

Under Junk E-mail, you have access to your Gmail Spam label; drafts, deleted, and sent messages are in the Outlook for Mac Drafts, Deleted Items, and Sent Items folders respectively.

You can hide Gmail labels (even some system labels such as Spam) from appearing in email programs that connect through IMAP.

How to Access Gmail with Outlook for Mac

Set up as an IMAP account, Gmail in Outlook for Mac not only receives incoming emails and send mail; it also accesses all your old Gmail messages.

Accessing Gmail with Outlook for Mac is a two-step process. First, you'll enable IMAP in Gmail then you'll set up Outlook for Mac to download your Gmail messages.

Enable IMAP in Gmail

To enable IMAP in Gmail, sign in to your Gmail account, open Gmail, and follow these steps:

Select the Settings icon and then select Settings.
Go to the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab and select Enable IMAP.
Exit Gmail.

Set Up Gmail in Outlook

After Gmail has been set up to enable IMAP, open Outlook for Mac and follow these steps:

Select Outlook > Preferences > Account. In Outlook for Mac 2011, go to Tools and select Accounts.
On the Accounts screen, select the plus sign (+) on the lower-left corner. Or, select Other Email.
In the E-mail address text box, enter your Gmail address.
In the Password text box, enter your Gmail password.

If you have 2-step authentication enabled for Gmail, create and use an application password specific for Outlook for Mac.
Select the Configure Automatically check box.
Select Add Account and close the Accounts window.