Exchange & Outlook UPDATE, Outlook Edition, September 26, 2003

Exchange & Outlook UPDATE, Outlook Edition--September 26, 2003

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1. Commentary

- Office 2003 Editions Resource Kit Tools

2. Announcements

- Attend Exchange Connections, Win a Free Vacation

- New Web Seminars on Exchange, Active Directory, and More!

3. Resources

- Tip: Displaying the Outlook Bar in All New Windows

4. Events

- New--Mobile & Wireless Road Show!

5. New and Improved

- Simultaneously Back Up Multiple Outlook Express Identities

6. Contact Us

- See this section for a list of ways to contact us.

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==== 1. Commentary: Office 2003 Editions Resource Kit Tools ==== by Sue Mosher, News Editor, [email protected]

Microsoft Office System 2003, which includes Office Outlook 2003, became available last week to corporate customers with Software Assurance (SA) or other upgrade protection and to Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) Universal subscribers. Also available is the new "Microsoft Office 2003 Resource Kit," which includes tools to deploy Outlook 2003 and other Office programs.

The basic tools included in the resource kit haven't changed since Office XP's release. You still get the Custom Installation Wizard and Custom Maintenance Wizard for creating the "transform" .mst files that the Setup program uses, along with .msi setup files, to install certain features and settings. You can also use the Custom Installation Wizard and Custom Maintenance Wizard to create Outlook profile (.prf) files, adding or changing email account settings. Don't confuse these with the .ops files that the Office Profile Wizard creates. The Office Profile Wizard takes a snapshot of an existing Office installation's settings for use with the Custom Installation Wizard or Custom Maintenance Wizard but doesn't cover Outlook profile settings.

Installing the tools also places policy files (e.g., outlk11.adm, office11.adm) in the Windows\Inf folder. You can use these policy files to set group policies on an individual machine or, more likely, in Active Directory (AD). To create policies in AD, you first need to copy the .adm files to your domain controller (DC).

Many of the settings in the policy templates are also available in the Custom Installation Wizard's and Custom Maintenance Wizard's Change Office User Settings step. The difference is that policies enforce particular settings, whereas the Custom Installation Wizard and Custom Maintenance Wizard set initial default values that users can change.

Many new policies reflect the new features in Outlook 2003. One new policy that's sure to be crucial for most installations is the ability to set size limits on Personal Folders (.pst) files. These limits can apply to both legacy .pst files that become inaccessible when they reach 2GB in size and Outlook 2003's new .pst files that support Unicode data and are practically unlimited in size. (The policy allows a size of as large as 3906TB.) You can set both an absolute maximum size and a size above which the user can't add new data to the .pst file. This policy has no equivalent in the Custom Installation Wizard and Custom Maintenance Wizard.

To support the new cached mode in Outlook 2003, Microsoft has added several policies under the Tools | E-mail Accounts options. Also look under the Exchange settings option, which contains a separate policy that you can use to set the threshold below which Outlook operates in low-bandwidth mode, downloading only headers from the Exchange Server system and deferring the download of complete items until the user requests them. You'll also find several policies governing downloads of the Offline Address Book. And you can configure whether users see the UI for configuring remote procedure calls (RPC)-over-HTTP connections to Exchange Server 2003. (This feature is available in the policy editor, Custom Installation Wizard, and Custom Maintenance Wizard, under Tools | E-Mail Accounts, Exchange over the Internet.)

Another new feature you can configure with policies, the Custom Installation Wizard, or the Custom Maintenance Wizard is Outlook 2003's excellent junk-mail filter. You can deploy Safe Recipients, Safe Senders, and Blocked Senders lists as part of your installation. The new Desktop Alert feature, which pops up alerts from the system tray when new messages arrive, also includes several configurable aspects: duration, opacity, and default screen location. And you can control the feature that blocks external content, such as images in HTML-format messages.

Some of the policies' names obscure their purpose, so allow plenty of time to experiment with the different settings as you plan an Office 2003 or Outlook 2003 deployment. And keep in mind that the other Office programs have rich policy templates whose settings you'll want to explore.

Office 2003 Editions Resource Kit Tools

http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/2003/default.htm

Office 2003 Resource Kit Toolbox

http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/2003/tools/default.htm

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==== 2. Announcements ==== (from Windows & .NET Magazine and its partners)

Attend Exchange Connections, Win a Free Vacation

Learn the latest tech tips and tricks from gurus like Tony Redmond, Sue Mosher, Paul Robichaux, and the Microsoft Exchange Team. Receive free access to concurrently running Windows & .NET Magazine Connections. Plus, you'll have a chance to win a 5-day Las Vegas vacation with airfare for two. Register now online, or call 800-505-1201 or 203- 268-3204.

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New Web Seminars on Exchange, Active Directory, and More!

Check out the latest lineup of Web seminars from Windows & .NET Magazine. Prepare your enterprise for Exchange Server 2003, discover the legal ramifications of deterring email abuse, and find out how Active Directory can help you create and maintain a rock-solid infrastructure. There is no charge for these events, but space is limited, so register today!

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==== 3. Resources ====

Tip: Displaying the Outlook Bar in All New Windows by Sue Mosher, [email protected]

Q: Right-clicking an icon in the Outlook Bar lets me choose Open in New Window. But how can I make the Outlook Bar automatically appear in each new window?

A: The Open in New Window command typically opens a window that doesn't show the Outlook Bar or Folder List. If you're comfortable working with Outlook 2002 or Outlook 2000 Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), you can use the following code:

Private WithEvents m_colExplorers As Explorers
Private WithEvents m_objExplorer As Explorer

Private Sub Application_Startup()
Set m_colExplorers = Application.Explorers
End Sub

Private Sub m_colExplorers_NewExplorer(ByVal Explorer As Explorer)
Set m_objExplorer = Explorer
End Sub

Private Sub m_objExplorer_SelectionChange()
If Not m_objExplorer.IsPaneVisible(olOutlookBar) Then
m_objExplorer.ShowPane olOutlookBar, True
End If
End Sub

Private Sub Application_Quit()
Set m_colExplorers = Nothing
Set m_objExplorer = Nothing
End Sub

Add the code to the built-in ThisOutlookSession module, then exit and restart Outlook to initialize all event handlers. You'll see that the code uses the SelectionChange event instead of the NewExplorer or Explorer.Activate event. The latter two events might cause Outlook to crash if you use them to try to display the Outlook Bar.

See the Exchange & Outlook Administrator Web site for more great tips from Sue Mosher.

http://www.exchangeadmin.com

==== 4. Events ==== (brought to you by Windows & .NET Magazine)

New--Mobile & Wireless Road Show!

Learn more about the wireless and mobility solutions that are available today! Register now for this free event!

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==== 5. New and Improved ==== by Carolyn Mader, [email protected]

Simultaneously Back Up Multiple Outlook Express Identities

AJSystems.com released Express Assist 7.0, backup and restore software that can back up multiple Outlook Express identities at the same time. You can view any message in the backup file without restoring the message. The software lets you back up all or selected email folders and attachments to a compressed file. You can also back up and restore your Windows Address Book. Express Assist runs on Windows XP/2000/Me/9x systems and costs $34.95 for one license. Contact AJSystems.com at 905-847-9106.

http://www.ajsystems.com

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==== 6. Contact Us ====

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About product news -- [email protected]

About sponsoring Exchange & Outlook UPDATE -- [email protected]

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