Outlook can be shutdown, by clicking on File - Exit or clicking the X in the corner. The issues you are actually experiencing is that Outlook is having a problem shutting down and/or is not responding. I would start by doing some basic steps to see if it resolve the issues.

1) Check and run Windows and Office Updates
2) Run Detect and Repair on Outlook - under Help Menu
2) If Outlook is still not responding check what other programs or services are running on your system that may be taking up resources.

Note- if you End Task on Outlook or shutdown the computer with it not being completely shut you continue to receive that mmessage, which is why we need to address the cause of it.

Francine Otterson


Candy wrote on Mon, 21 January 2008 09:19
What is the best way to shut down Outlook? Are there possible ways that may
not be recommended? I ask because sometimes, when I turn Outlook back on,
after shutting it down, it says it was not shut down properly. I have no
idea what is improper. Sometimes when I turn my computer off at night, as it
is going through the shutdown process, it says Outlook is not responding, and
I have to do what the little error screen says about closing it down
"manually" (I'm not sure how to describe it otherwise). Can someone help me
figure all this out? Thanks.


--
Francine Otterson
Microsoft Outlook MVP
President, San Diego Outlook User Group