iLook for Microsoft Outlook

Editors' ReviewDownload.com staffApril 20, 2010This free Outlook plug-in introduces many useful features to the e-mail client, but it lacks that essential intangible: stability. iLook Social installs as a sidebar pane and brings souped-up searching and filtering, robust Skype integration, nonfunctioning e-mail controls, e-mail content and attachment exporting, and somewhat mediocre Facebook support.The search and Skype features are the strongest, but could be better. Boolean searches are not supported, nor are cross-folder queries, and the nature of Outlook requires you to manually create a new search results folder that iLook doesn't address. The Skype support is strong, with decent chat quality, contact list support, and other Skype features. Like any third-party Skype plug-in, though, it requires Skype to be running, and iLook wouldn't load if Skype was running before Outlook loaded. The Facebook support was far less convenient than it should have been to convince users to utilize it in iLook.Pervading the entire iLook experience, unfortunately, is a bumpy ride. Outlook isn't known for its speed, and this plug-in definitely slows it down even more. Switching between its features often causes error messages, and it's hard to tell if or how those errors affect either iLook or Outlook. The features that iLook Social and Outlook provide are smart choices, but the end experience needs to be tightened before it can be considered for daily use.