Know About Error ‘Outlook 2011 for Mac won’t open – Exited with Error Code 255’

It is a known fact that almost all applications that exists has one or the either shortcoming associated with it. Similar is the case with ‘Outlook for Mac’ or the so called Outlook 2011 that has been specifically designed for Macintosh systems. There are times when the desktop mail program does not respond the way it should and errors prompt up restricting the accessibility of stored data items (emails, contacts, calendars, tasks, etc.). Occasionally, Mac Outlook users get encountered with an error with code 255 and in such cases Outlook 2011 for Mac won’t open or keeps closing after two seconds of launch. There occurs short flashing in the toolbar located at the bottom of the screen but ultimately nothing happens. In such cases, it becomes urgent to resolve the problem so as to access the emails and other items as well as send/ receive mails. But before that know when the error can occur in the next section.

When Can ‘Outlook for Mac’ Get Crashed with Error 255?

Outlook 2011 may be working pretty well and you might be checking mails within it and carrying out all other tasks. But then power outage may occur and if power backup is not present, the system shall shut down improperly at the time Outlook was retrieving email from the server. Then, when Outlook is launched once again on restoration of power the launching may fail. By clicking on it the icon would bounce once, but then nothing else would actually happen even after reboot of the system. After this, when the console is visited and checked, error 255 might be present in the log and Outlook 2011 for Mac won’t open.

Note — If a user has not visited the Console earlier, it can be found in the Applications / Utilities folder. On launching the Console, the time at which the problem occurred should also be found out.

How to Fix Error Code 255 of Outlook 2011?

The error code 255 indicates that the cause behind Outlook not being opened is related to corruption in the database. This means that an attempt should be made to rebuild the database so as to open Outlook once again. Know the process below:

Step 1: Click on the Outlook icon located on the Dock or by double-clicking the application directly and simultaneously hold the ALT key.

Step 2: The Microsoft Database Utility window as shown below comes up on the screen where the tab ‘Rebuild’ should be clicked.

Step 3: Now the Outlook database will be rebuilt. On successful completion of the re-build process as shown in the image below the button ‘Done’ should be clicked.

Step 4: Finally, the Microsoft Database Utility should be closed.

Note — Care should be taken that a backup of the relevant data should be taken before starting the manual re-building process.

Comment – On successful rebuild process, users should now be able to open ‘Outlook for Mac’ but if it this does not work then users should try to reinstall Office 2011. However, it is better to return to Windows PC and use Win Outlook, Outlook Express or Windows Live Mail to avoid perils of Mac based Outlook 2011 desktop mail program. But what if users have the need to access their Outlook for Mac data items? In such cases,any external tool should be used to export Outlook 2011 data items into suitable file formats of Windows based desktop mail programs.

An Appropriate Tool to Export Mac Outlook Data Items

When Outlook 2011 for Mac won’t open because of error code 255, it is advised to rebuild identity so that Outlook starts working once again. But though the particular Outlook starts working once again, it is suggested to stay away from it by exporting the Outlook for Mac OLM file into any suitable file types. In such cases a software application known as Outlook Mac Exporter can definitely be brought into use as its import OLM into PST, EML and MSG file formats. However, the OLM file to be exported should be first migrated to Windows PC as the tool is compatible only on Windows operating system.