I use a customized form for posts in a public folder. Can I create a second customized form and make it the default reply form for replies posted in the folder?
Setting up a custom reply form is easy. Assume that you have already created two forms, CustomPost and CustomPostReply, and published them to the folder where you want to use them. (See Step 7 if you're not familiar with publishing forms.) Here's what to do next:
- Open the CustomPost form in design mode. (In Outlook 97, use Tools, Design Outlook Form; in Outlook 98, use Tools, Forms, Design a Form.)
- Switch to the (Actions) tab. If you don't see it at first, make the window for the form wider.
- Under Action name, double-click Reply to Folder.
- Under Form name in the Form Action Properties dialog box, choose CustomPostReply, as Screen 1 shows.
- Under When responding, choose how you want the original post handled. You might also want to add RE as the Subject prefix.
- Click OK to finish changing the Reply to Folder action.
- Publish this new version of the CustomPost form back to the folder. (In Outlook 97, use File, Publish Form As; in Outlook 98, go to Tools, Forms, Publish Forms.)
How do I get my Public Folder calendar to show free/busy times in the Meeting Planner?
Imagine you want to keep track of important company meeting dates so that no one schedules a vacation at the same time as your stockholders' meeting. After you put the dates in a central location, everyone can check the dates through the Meeting Planner (Outlook 97) or Attendee Availability (Outlook 98) tab on the appointment or meeting form and make their plans accordingly.
A common mistake in this situation is to create the company meeting calendar as a folder under Public Folders. Although such a folder is publicly available, it won't appear in the Meeting Planner. If you create the calendar in a public folder, the only way to check the dates blocked out for company meetings is to open the calendar from Public Folders.
If you want to track free/busy times, you can't use a public folder. Instead, you must create a mailbox for this calendar and create appointment items in its Calendar folder. Setting up a delegate for the calendar (using Tools, Options, Delegates) lets you assign the task of maintaining this calendar to an appropriate staff member.
How can I set up my system so that users who don't have an Exchange Server mailbox can connect to my Exchange Server computer to see the Public Folders store?
The best method is to use Outlook Web Access (OWA), which supports anonymous logons so that users can connect via a Web browser to designated public folders. The Microsoft article "XWEB: PFs Not Seen When Logging on Anonymously via OWA" (http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q175/2/56.asp) explains how to set permissions on your public folders for anonymous access.
Can I change the look of the TaskPad list in the Calendar folder?
Yes, you can change the look of the TaskPad by choosing View, TaskPad View and picking one of the built-in views:
- All Tasks
- Today's Tasks
- Active Tasks for Selected Days
- Tasks for Next Seven Days
- Overdue Tasks
- Tasks Completed on Selected Days
If none of those views meets your needs, right-click any column heading in the TaskPad, and then choose View Summary (Outlook 97) or Customize Current View (Outlook 98). You can change the Sort, Group by, Filter, and other settings for the TaskPad.
I set up my Exchange Server 5.5 server to display names as Lastname, Firstname. Many of my users like to type in the first name of a recipient and let the automatic name checking take care of the rest. I have found that this technique works only when users type in the last name. How can I set up Exchange Server to check first and last names without changing the Lastname, Firstname display name convention?
When you understand which fields Outlook uses for checking names, you can fix this problem. When you run Check Names against the Global Address List (GAL), Outlook looks only at the fields Display Name (but just the first word), Last Name, Alias, Office, and the email addresses. Outlook never includes first names in the name check, even if you use a last name, first name order for the Display Name.
One solution might be to redo the Alias for each mailbox to include the first name in the alias—not very practical if you already have a large number of users. A more comprehensive solution is to change the Exchange Server directory schema to include the First Name field in automatic name resolution. The Microsoft article "XADM: How to Resolve an Address Based on First Names" (http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q155/7/15.asp) spells out the detailed steps involved. The Microsoft article "XCLN: How the Check Names Command Works" (http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/ q147/4/00.asp) explains the Check Names sequence in more detail.
Can I change the Master Category List for a public folder?
A powerful feature in Outlook is the ability to assign one or more categories to each item. You can use these categories in filters and Rules Wizard rules. Outlook provides a default Master Category List, which users can customize.
One limitation is that the systems administrator can't centrally control the Master Category List. Each user's unique Master Category List is part of the user's Windows profile; it resides in the Registry at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.0\Outlook\Categories.
To give other users the same categories, you can export that section of the Registry and distribute the exported .reg file to other users. See the Microsoft Knowledge Base article "OL97: How to Migrate Custom Categories to Other Users" (http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q164/6/25.asp) if you need detailed instructions for exporting and importing Registry entries.
Folders—including public folders—don't have category lists; only users have category lists. If you want everyone to use the same categories on the items in a particular folder, try the technique I just described to distribute a Master Category List.
Be careful: If you import a .reg file containing a category list, the new file wipes out the user's previous customized Master Category List. Users might be surprised to see that you replaced their customized category list with one that you designed.
OlCat is a shareware utility under development for managing categories for a group of users. For more information, see http://www.geocities.com/ResearchTriangle/6532/#G.
I would like to have mail sent to our support@ourcompany.com address receive a canned response that says something like, " Thanks for your email." However, I can't get the appropriate rules to work on the server. Can you point me in the right direction?
As I explained in my July 1998 "Outlook Tips and Techniques" column, certain types of rules fire only when the client is logged on to the mailbox. For example, reply rules that you create with the Outlook Rules Wizard fire only when the client is logged on, because the rules rely on an external .oft template file.
To get a reply rule to run from the server when the client is not logged on, you can't use the Rules Wizard. You must use the Inbox Assistant instead. You can disable the Rules Wizard temporarily by clearing the box (or boxes) for it in the Outlook Add-in Manager. (My column in the September 1998 issue explains the Add-in Manager.) Then, follow these steps to create a reply rule that will run from the server:
- Start Outlook with a profile that logs on to the mailbox whose incoming messages you want to reply to.
- Choose Tools, Inbox Assistant.
- Click Add Rule.
- On the Edit Rule dialog box, as Screen 2 shows, check Reply with, and click Template.
- In the Reply Template window that appears, enter the Subject and message text for the reply, but leave the To field blank. You can add Cc or Bcc recipients. Close the template, and say Yes to the Save changes? prompt.
- Click OK to close the Edit Rule dialog box, and choose Yes when Outlook asks you whether you want the rule to fire for all incoming messages.
- Click OK to close the Inbox Assistant.
Note that you can't include the incoming text of the message as part of your reply. The original sender will see only the text that you type into the reply template.
Can I make a custom form available on the Outlook toolbar so users can select it in one click?
Although you can customize the Outlook 98 toolbar somewhat, you can't add a button to launch a custom form. (Outlook 97 allows no toolbar customization.) However, you can add a shortcut for any form to the Microsoft Office Shortcut Bar installed with Office 97 by using a command-line switch that opens a particular form. The form must reside in your Personal Forms or Organization Forms library, and you must know the message class. (See the next question for guidance.) When you know the message class, proceed as follows:
- Choose Start, Find, Files or Folders, and search for Outlook.exe, the file that launches Outlook.
- When you see Outlook.exe in the Find window, drag it to the Desktop to create a shortcut.
- Right-click the shortcut, choose Properties, and select the Shortcut tab.
- Click the Target field, and then press End to make sure the insertion point is at the end of the shortcut target.
- Type <space>/c<space> (i.e., insert spaces on either side of /c), then the name of the message class for the form. Put the message class in quotation marks if it contains spaces. For example, for the Faxaway FAXDOC form, whose properties Screen 3 shows, the entire command is
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Outlook.exe /c "IPM.Note.Faxaway FAXDOC"
assuming that your Outlook.exe file is in the default folder for Office. - If you want a different icon for the shortcut, click Change Icon and select the icon you want.
- Click OK to save the changes to the shortcut.
- Right-click the shortcut, and choose Rename. Give the shortcut the name you want to see in the Tool-Tip that appears when you point to a button on the Office Shortcut Bar.
- Drag the shortcut from the Desktop to the Office Shortcut Bar. Now you can click the shortcut to open the desired form. You can either leave the shortcut on the Desktop or delete it.
How can I determine the message class of a form?
The easiest way to determine the message class of a form is to look in the Forms Manager. In Outlook 97, choose Tools, Options, Manage Forms, Manage Forms. In Outlook 98, choose Tools, Options, Other, Advanced Options, Custom Forms, Manage Forms.
The Forms Manager opens to your Personal Forms library. To switch to the Organization Forms library, click Set, and then select Organization Forms from the Forms Library list. Select any form, and click Properties. In the Form Properties dialog box, as Screen 3 shows, you see the Message class for the form. Remember that if the message class contains spaces, you must enclose it in quotation marks when you use it in a shortcut with the /c switch, as I described in the previous question.
How does a user add attendees to a meeting that someone else has scheduled?
Only the organizer of a meeting sees an Invite Others option on the Meeting Planner (Outlook 97) or Attendee Availability (Outlook 98) tab of the appointment. If you are invited to a meeting and want to invite other people, include that information in the response that you send back with your acceptance. After you click Accept, you will see a dialog box offering these choices:
- Edit the response before sending.
- Send the response now.
- Don't send a response.
Choose Edit the response before sending if you want to notify the organizer about other attendees, resources, or anything else related to the meeting.
How do I install the sample Microsoft applications in a public folder?
Microsoft provides a variety of workgroup applications that demonstrate how you can use Outlook forms and public folders together. You'll find the applications at Microsoft's Office Update site at http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/default.htm. The ValuPack folder on the Office 97 and Outlook CD-ROMs also includes a few examples.
Microsoft distributes each application in a Personal Folders (.pst) file. To open the file in Outlook 97, choose File, Open Special Folder, Personal Folder. In Outlook 98, select File, Open, Personal Folders File. When you have the Personal Folders file open, click Folder List so that you see the folders in the application. You can easily tell which folder contains the application. For example, Screen 4 shows several applications, each in a separate folder in a .pst file named Sample Forms.
After you try the application in the Personal Folders file, you might want to make it available to everyone in a public folder. Copy the application folder from the .pst file to Public Folders, All Public Folders on the server. To copy the application folder's forms, views, and settings, right-click the application folder in the Folder List, choose Copy, and select the destination. This action will copy all the forms, views, and other settings for the folder. Set permissions on the public folder.
You can also copy just certain elements of the application folder into an existing public folder. In that case, you need to use the Copy Folder Design command on the File, Folder menu.
Is there a practical limit for Contacts folders in Public Folders?
In my August 1998 column, I asked readers this question, because I was discussing how you can use a Contacts folder in Public Folders to give users a common address list they can update. Several readers responded, telling me that they have hundreds, even thousands, of entries in public Contacts folders. One administrator wrote that 6400 contacts running under Exchange Server 5.0 on a 180Mhz Pentium Pro was "a real dog." However, after the administrator moved the server to dual 400MHz Pentium II processors with Exchange Server 5.5, searches and sorts became "almost instantaneous."
One unresolved question is the difficulty of moving many items into a public folder. Outlook offers no direct import capability. The most obvious solution is to import into a mailbox folder for Contacts, and move the imported items to the public folder. Has any reader found a better technique? Write me at [email protected].
In the Outlook Contacts folder, how can I enter an address such as "=1234567@address.com" that we use to send messages to pagers?
If you type the above address into the E-mail field on a contact record, then move to another field, Outlook resolves the address to [email protected], stripping out the leading equals sign. (Resolves means that Outlook detects that this address is valid. Outlook underlines resolved addresses.)
To get Outlook to accept an address exactly as you type it, you must specify the email type using this format:
\[SMTP:[email protected]\]
The square brackets are required, as is SMTP: to specify that it is an Internet mail address. This address will resolve properly to [email protected].
How do I enter an X.400 address in Outlook Contacts?
Let's say your Exchange Server has an X.400 connector to another X.400-based system, perhaps a company you do a lot of business with. You might want to enter an X.400 address for a contact at the other company in your Contacts folder. The procedure is the same as in the previous question—enclose the address in square brackets and specify the email type. Instead of SMTP, use X400 (without a period) as the email type. Outlook offers no template to help you generate the complex X.400 address. You must type it in. The E-mail field entry will look something like this:
\[X400:c=SU;a= ;p=ka-ic;o=MOW; ou1=Support;cn=Mikhail Yurasov\]
