Greetings! Welcome to Vol. 2, #2 of Exchange Messaging Outlook (formerly Exchange Center Update), an occasional newsletter about Microsoft Exchange, Windows Messaging and Microsoft Outlook, both for users of Windows 95 and NT 4.0 and for organizations using Microsoft Exchange Server.
We're back on what I hope will be a regular schedule. My goal is to get an issue of EMO out at least every two weeks.
Today's highlights:
Regular features:
Call for Outlook beta testers and suggestions
It's not every day that Microsoft issues an open call for beta testers and suggestions for a product, but they have for Microsoft Outlook. Download the survey and beta test application from http://www.slipstick.com/files/outlsurv.zip. Instructions are included. Testers are promised a copy of the next released version. Here's your chance to tell Microsoft what you want in the next version and to help make it happen.
ExLife 1.5 adds Address Book Manager
ExLife (http://www.mokry.cz/exchange/index.htm) just gets better and better. The most powerful automatic messaging tool available to Outlook or Exchange now lets you filter messages and automatically add the senders' addresses to either the Contacts list or Personal Address Book. The Address Book Manager also works in reverse -- letting you remove addresses when senders' messages meet certain criteria (like maybe "unsubscribe" in the subject line?).
Microsoft ought to take a look at ExLife before it makes the next batch of updates to SMH and Rules Wizard.
Here's a new tool to help you manage the size of your Exchange or Outlook folders, especially if you send lots of messages with file attachments. You don't need to keep these files in your messages, because they're already on your system somewhere. DetachEx (http://www.comaxis.com/detach.htm) removes all the attachments from messages in selected folders, optionally saving them on your local system. Use it to clean out the attachments, then compact Personal Folders to reduce the size of your .pst file.
Comaxis also makes tools for exporting from Exchange or Outlook to HTML or Lotus Notes.
Since our last issue, we've come across several new tools for Outlook users:
Internet Mail Enhancement Patch fixes most of the "no transport provider" problems in the first beta and also takes care of leaving messages on the server. See http://www.slipstick.com/exchange/olimep1.htm for download instructions and limitations.
Outlook Get Messages (http://www.geocities.com/ResearchTriangle/6532/) downloads messages in a separate thread so that you can view, edit or delete messages while downloading, rather than being stuck until Outlook is done.
Outlook reminder program (http://www.geocities.com/ResearchTriangle/6532/) extracts calendar and task alarms from Outlook folders and reminds you even if Outlook isn't running.
Desktop to Go, ver. 2.0 (http://www.dataviz.com/Products/PIM-PDA/DTG/Desktoptogohome.html), adds Microsoft Outlook synchronization for the PalmPilot
Fix Forms (http://www.microsoft.com/officefreestuff/outlook/dlpages/formfix.htm) makes it easier to use both Outlook and Exchange on the same machine by automatically using the right forms.
WipeName (http://premium.microsoft.com/msdn/library/officedev/office/appa/appa.htm#CHappaH227) cleans out the nickname list used by the automatic name checking feature.
Crystal Reports for Microsoft Outlook Crystal Reports™ for Microsoft Outlook 97 adds report design and viewing capabilities to Outlook 97. This tool has two components: the Crystal Reports Designer, which is used to build, manipulate and format reports; and the Crystal Reports Analyzer, which allows you to view reports created from Outlook data. HTML output is supported.
These last two are among the utilities that can be downloaded from the Microsoft Office Resource Kit (http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/appa/appa.htm). In total, there are more than 70 utilities for Microsoft Outlook listed at on the Outlook page at http://www.slipstick.com/exchange/add-ins.htm.
If you have found unsolicited e-mail to be only an annoyance that can be largely ignored, you might want to reconsider your position. What got me thinking about this was a message from a user who had become reluctant to post in the newsgroups because each post resulted in a flurry of commercial and religious messages. Sounds all too much like being afraid to walk the streets at night because of the shady characters who might be lurking about.
You don't have to take it. Here are several things you can do:
If you're wary of posting messages in newsgroups with your e-mail address in them, add some "spam-busting" text to your address, then put information on how to decode it in your signature. For example, I might use "suenospam@slipstick.com" and instruct you to take the "nospam" out of my name. (I suspect, though, that the spammers will find a way to break the code on these addresses, so don't make it too obvious.)
Visit http://spam.abuse.net/spam/ and read the suggestions for anti-spam tactics there.
Check out Doug's Spam Filter page at http://www.erols.com/dtoombs/spam.htm and use his rules to filter incoming junk messages into a Junkmail folder under your Inbox folder. Then run Antispam [no longer available] against them to generate complaints to the senders and/or their ISPs.
Get the answers from the Microsoft Exchange, Windows Messaging and Microsoft Outlook FAQs at http://www.slipstick.com/exchange/faqs.htm.
The Microsoft Outlook FAQ has a Table of Contents at http://www.slipstick.com/exchange/outlfaq.htm to help you find answers faster. New and updated items are at the bottom of the page.
Ask new questions and provide other feedback for the Slipstick Systems Exchange Center FAQs at http://www.slipstick.com/exchange/faqfdbk.htm.
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