Exchange and Outlook UPDATE, Outlook Edition—brought to you by Exchange & Outlook Administrator, the print newsletter with practical advice, how-to articles, tips, and techniques to help you do your job today.
http://www.exchangeadmin.com
THIS ISSUE SPONSORED BY
Quest Software
http://www.quest.com/landing/winnetmag_Exchange_111902.asp
PROMODAG Reports for Microsoft Exchange Server V5
http://www.promodag.com/indexwinnetmag261102.asp
(below COMMENTARY)
SPONSOR: QUEST SOFTWARE
IMPROVE YOUR EXCHANGE PERFORMANCE FAST WITH EXPERT ADVICE. Learn how you can make better decisions and solve Exchange problems faster! Quest Software is offering the Exchange Health Check, a free analysis and consultation, to help put you on the road to Exchange fitness! Learn more and register TODAY!
http://www.quest.com/landing/winnetmag_Exchange_111902.asp
November 19, 2002—In this issue:
1. COMMENTARY
- Office 2000 SP3
2. ANNOUNCEMENTS
- The Microsoft Mobility Tour Is Coming Soon to a City Near You!
- Sample Our Security Administrator Newsletter!
3. RESOURCE
- Tip: Customize the Subject in a Bulk Mailing
4. NEW AND IMPROVED
- Compress and Secure Email Attachments
5. CONTACT US
- See this section for a list of ways to contact us.
1. COMMENTARY
(contributed by Sue Mosher, News Editor, [email protected])
Microsoft released Office 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP3) last week, 2 years after the last major public update for Office 2000. Many individuals and organizations ignored SP2 in November 2000 because it included the Outlook Email Security Update with its file-attachment blocking and other security features aimed at preventing the spread of email-related viruses. With SP3, Microsoft brings Outlook 2000 into parity with Outlook 2002 on file-attachment security: End users and administrators can use a registry entry to customize Outlook 2000's attachment-blocking feature.
The registry entry is the same as for Outlook 2002 except for the version number. In the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Outlook\Security registry subkey, create a new string value named Level1Remove. (Create the Security key first if it isn't already present on your system.) For the value for Level1Remove, enter a semicolon-delimited list of file extensions that you don't want Outlook to block. For example, entering mdb;url would unblock Microsoft Access files and Internet shortcuts.
Bear in mind, though, that SP3 doesn't relax any of the other Outlook Email Security Update features. Code in unpublished forms won't run, and applications that use Outlook data might trigger security prompts. The only way to alter the behavior of these features is for the Exchange administrator to set up the special Outlook Security Settings folder, as described in the "Microsoft Office 2000 Resource Kit." If your organization doesn't use Exchange Server, you can avoid the prompts only by rewriting the applications or, in the case of third-party tools, obtaining new versions that don't trigger Outlook security prompts.
As usual, you can obtain this service pack several ways. You can connect to the Office Product Updates Web site and let it scan your computer to determine what updates you need, or you can order SP3 on CD-ROM. Administrators can get a comprehensive version, either as a download or on CD-ROM, that lets them update an Office 2000 network installation point.
SP3 updates all Office 2000 programs on your system, whether you have Outlook 2000 only or the entire suite. You must install Office 2000 Service Release 1/1a (SR1/1a) before installing SP3, and if you installed Office 2000 from a CD-ROM, you'll need the CD-ROM during the SP3 setup. SP2 isn't a prerequisite because SP3 contains the cumulative collection of updates since SR1.
And what a collection it is! Reading in the Microsoft Knowledge Base, I counted 29 different hotfixes for Outlook 2000 since SP2, a few of which add support for new registry entries. For example, the Microsoft article "OL2000: Error Message: The Form You Have Selected...Cannot Be Displayed, Please Contact Your Administrator" at http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=285129 describes a new ForceFormReload registry value that makes Outlook load a custom form from its original published location whenever Outlook can't load the form from the local cache. In theory, this setting should cure Outlook's forms-cache corruption problem.
SP3 establishes a new baseline for Office 2000. Any new patches released between now and the end of hotfix support in 19 months (June 2004) will require SP3. If you're planning to stick with Office 2000 for the time being, applying this update will fix many outstanding problems with Outlook and other Office programs without taking away users' ability to exchange particular types of attachments.
Office 2000 Update: Service Pack 3 (SP3)
Office 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP3)
SPONSOR: PROMODAG REPORTS FOR MICROSOFT EXCHANGE SERVER V5
Analyze, Report, Strategize and Optimize your messaging system with V5 of the #1 reporting tool
How will you know how your messaging system is used and/or abused?
Sure, you could spend time searching through the raw Exchange logs
But why waste time when you can easily retrieve vital information with PROMODAG Reports!?
We guarantee your first report within minutes. It's that simple!
But don't take our word for it. Try it out for yourself!
FREE EVALUATION:
http://www.promodag.com/indexwinnetmag261102.asp
2. ANNOUNCEMENTS
(brought to you by Windows & .NET Magazine and its partners)
Brought to you by Windows & .NET Magazine, this outstanding seven-city event will help support your growing mobile workforce! Industry guru Paul Thurrott discusses the coolest mobility hardware solutions around, demonstrates how to increase the productivity of your "road warriors" with the unique features of Windows XP and Office XP, and much more. There is no charge for these live events, but space is limited so register today!
http://www.winnetmag.com/seminars/mobility
Security breaches and viruses can happen to your enterprise. But there are steps you can take to prevent disaster, like subscribing to Security Administrator, the print newsletter from the experts at Windows & .NET Magazine. Every issue shows you how to protect your systems with informative, in-depth articles, timely tips, and practical advice. Don't just take our word for it--get a sample issue today!
http://www.secadministrator.com/sub.cfm?code=ufei252kup
3. RESOURCE
(contributed by Sue Mosher, [email protected])
Q: In a Microsoft Word merge-to-email message, how can I use merge fields--regardless of the data source--to build the Subject field of the merge?
A: Unfortunately, when you specify the subject for a merge-to-email in Word, that subject applies to all outgoing messages. You can't construct a subject for each message, such as a subject that's personalized for the recipient.
You might be better off automating the process with programming code. The Microsoft article "Using Microsoft Excel To Do a Bulk Mailing in Microsoft Outlook" shows how to use Excel to automate a mass mailing and customize the text of the messages. You can adapt the code to customize the subject instead. You might want to keep a pre-Service Pack 2 (SP2) copy of Outlook 2000 around to run the code, though. Any later Outlook version has the Outlook Email Security Update, which displays a prompt for each message you send. The Security Update makes you wait a full 5 seconds before you can click Yes to let Outlook send the item. Alternatively, quite a few bulk mail tools are available that can work with your Outlook contact data without generating security prompts.
See the Exchange & Outlook Administrator Web site for more great tips from Sue Mosher.
http://www.exchangeadmin.com
4. NEW AND IMPROVED
(contributed by Carolyn Mader, [email protected])
PKWARE announced the integration of PKZIP 5.0 Professional Edition with Outlook to let enterprise email users authenticate attachments while reducing bandwidth and storage requirements. PKZIP 5.0 features up to Triple DES (3DES) 168-bit encryption. The price is $39.95. Contact PKWARE at 414-354-8699.
http://www.pkware.com
5. CONTACT US
Here's how to reach us with your comments and questions:
- ABOUT THE COMMENTARY — [email protected]
- ABOUT THE NEWSLETTER IN GENERAL — [email protected]
(please mention the newsletter name in the subject line)
- TECHNICAL QUESTIONS — http://www.winnetmag.net/forums
- PRODUCT NEWS — [email protected]
- QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR EXCHANGE AND OUTLOOK UPDATE SUBSCRIPTION?
Customer Support — [email protected]
- WANT TO SPONSOR EXCHANGE AND OUTLOOK UPDATE?
[email protected]
Receive the latest information about the Windows and .NET topics of your choice. Subscribe to our other FREE email newsletters.
http://www.winnetmag.net/email
