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There is nothing like trying to work when your Internet connection is slow. It’s tougher to send email, more difficult to send files to co-workers, and it’s frustrating wasting time while you wait for web pages to appear. And even with the proliferation of broadband Internet connections, there are still times you may be working on a slow connection. You might be traveling, working out of your office, still using dial-up, or your broadband connection may be acting up. But there are things you can do.

This article will show you how to increase your productivity when your connection is slow. Many of these steps are also good tips for how to increase the speed of browsing and sending and receiving email.

1. Send multiple files faster by compressing them

If you’re sending multiple files for example several files related to a project you can reduce their combined size by using a compression utility. Compressing your files can dramatically reduce the time needed to send files online, and won’t take up as much space in your (or the recipient’s) email Inbox. WinZip is one of the more common compression tools.

2. Speed browsing by turning off graphics in Internet Explorer

Graphics are important to web pages, but they also take time to download if you’re online. You can turn them off to speed your Internet browsing.

3. Send email using distribution lists

If you’re sending an email to multiple people, create a distribution list instead of listing each recipient separately. Messages are sent faster and more efficiently when you’re using a distribution list. Your company may have established procedures for creating mailing lists. If not, learn how to create a contact list in Outlook.

4. Work offline using Cached Exchange Mode in Outlook

Even if you lose your network connection, you can continue to working in Outlook if you’re using Cached Exchange Mode. With Cached Exchange Mode, a copy of your mailbox is stored on your computer. This copy provides quick access to your data and is frequently updated with the mail server. If you work offline, whether by choice or due to a connection problem, your data is still available to you instantly wherever you are. Cached Exchange Mode does require you to work with a Microsoft Exchange Server email account. Learn more about using Cached Exchange Mode.

5. Reduce email size with simple email signatures

Email signatures leave a professional stamp on your messages, but elaborate signatures that include multiple images take up a lot of unnecessary storage space in each email. Ultimately, they can slow down the time needed to send each message. Instead create distinctive text signatures combining fonts, type sizes, and colors to make your email signature smaller and quicker to transmit and receive. Learn how to create email signatures in Outlook.

6. Browse offline by saving web pages on your computer

If you use reference a web page often, save it locally to your computer. If you lose your connection or are working on a slow connection, you’ll still be able to read and find the information you need.

7. Open web pages faster by increasing your cache

If you increase the size of the Temporary Internet files cache in Internet Explorer, your computer won’t have to work so hard when you revisit web pages. Many of the images will already be downloaded on your computer, decreasing the amount of time it takes to open a page.