Greetings! Welcome to Vol. 3, No. 4, of Exchange Messaging Outlook, 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.
Today's highlights:
Outlook 98 Security Patch Update and Problem
Microsoft has issued a second version of the Outlook 98 Security Patch to fix additional issues turned up after the first version came out. There are separate patches for OL98 and OE. You need both if you are using the newsreader included with Outlook 98. For more information and links to the downloads and security bulletin, see http://www.slipstick.com/outlook98/secpatch.htm.
This patch should be applied no matter what version of Outlook 98 you use or how you get your mail -- whether through an Internet provider, Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft Mail Server or some other enterprise mail server.
We’ve turned up one bug with the second version of the patch, affecting only Corporate/Workgroup users using the Internet Mail service. Messages sent after applying the patch will show no From field in the Sent Items folder. However, recipients will get them with the From field filled in. No known fix yet.
The Availability Viewer is a Microsoft Outlook 97/98 form to show you who (or what) is free and who is busy at any given time. It first appeared as a project in the April 1998 issue of the Exchange Administrator Newsletter from Windows NT Magazine. In a new version using Collaborative Data Objects (CDO), Siegfried Weber has made some substantial improvements:
If you take a look at Siegfried's code, you'll see how the last trick is performed. Feel free to modify the form so that it expands other distribution lists so that each group of people could have its own version of the form, using its own distribution list.
Siegfried is webmaster of CdoLive, a new resource site for Microsoft Collaboration Data Objects at http://www.cdolive.com. You'll find tips and sample code for many CDO projects including a utility to allow Exchange Server users to change some of their own information in the Global Address List.
Simple Computing LLC (http://www.simplecomputing.net) is a new Outlook/Exchange developer with three very useful products on the New Utilites list this month and more promised. One tool exports or prints recipient and distribution list details from the GAL or PAB. The second resides in the system tray to notify users of updates to public and private folders without running the full Exchange or Outlook client. The third allows you to create distribution lists in the Contacts folder in Outlook 97 or 98. One of the people at Simple Computing was responsible for the Resend Extension for the Microsoft Exchange client, so their knowledge of Exchange and Outlook goes way back (as measured in cyber time).
Bookmark the Outlook 98 Drivers and Other Downloads page at http://support.microsoft.com/support/downloads/LNP499.asp if you want to keep track of the latest components available for Outlook 98.
Exchange Server 5.5 SP1 Download
The Exchange Server 5.5 SP1 download is now available at the Microsoft FTP site. See http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q191/0/13.asp for details on what to download and how to install it.
Microsoft Outlook Sample Applications
Microsoft has performed another one of those annoying rearrangements of its web site, burying the sample applications for Microsoft Outlook inside the revamped Office Update site. I spent a couple of hours yesterday locating all the new pages and have posted them on my Outlook Add-ins page at http://www.slipstick.com/exchange/add-ins/outlook.htm.
One common question about these sample applications is, "How do I install them in a public folder?" Each sample application is distributed in a Personal Folders .pst file. The simplest method is to simply copy the application folder from the PST file to Public Folders/All Public Folders on the server. This will copy all the forms, views and other settings for the folder. All you'll need to do is set permissions on the public folder.
On the other hand, you may want to copy just certain elements of the sample folder into an existing public folder. In that case, you need to use the Copy Folder Design command found on the File | Folder menu.
The publisher of my Outlook and Exchange client books has changed its name from Duke Press to 29th Street Press and is marking the occasion with a special offer. You can get either of my books at 29% off the cover price by ordering directly from 29th Street Press between now and September 30. Click on one of the links below, then type the following code at the order page, where it says Enter discount code: INHDWEB:
The Microsoft Outlook E-mail and Fax Guide
http://www.29thstreetpress.com/29thstreet/Uniquebook2.cfm?NextBook=117?The Microsoft Exchange User's Handbook
http://www.29thstreetpress.com/29thstreet/Uniquebook2.cfm?NextBook=74
Don't forget that the third annual Microsoft Exchange Conference will take place September 9-11 in Boston, MA. Registration is now under way at http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/community/events/MEC98.asp. You can read about the detailed program -- including many sessions on the forthcoming Outlook 2000 -- at http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/community/events/MEC98/program.htm.
I'll definitely be there. Just look for the woman with the worst case of jet lag after 16 hours of travel from Moscow.
New and updated utilities
MailAgent
Outlook 97/98 utility to refile messages from the Inbox (after they have been read) or from Sent Items. Can run in the System Tray. [No longer available as of 9/2002]
http://www.nextword.com/MailAgentprod.htmCompressMail
Automatically compresses file attachments. If the recipient is also a CompressMail user, the attachment is automatically decompressed. Otherwise, the recipient gets a .zip or self-extracting archive. Also available in an Enterprise edition that connects to Exchange Server and runs as an NT service.
http://www.compressmail.comContact List for Outlook
Adds distribution lists to the Contacts folder in Outlook 98 in Corporate/Workgroup mode. Outlook 97 version now also available.
http://www.simplecomputing.net/contlist.htmFolder Monitor for Exchange
Automatically notifies users when a change is made to a public or private Exchange Server folder. Application runs in the system tray and allows user to see the changes without launching the full Outlook or Exchange client.
http://www.simplecomputing.net/fmonitor.htmExport Distribution List and Mail User Properties for Exchange
Export information for individual recipients and distribution lists in printable, comma-delimited and other formats.
http://www.simplecomputing.net/dlist.htmLaplink Enterprise Exchange Accelerator
Public beta of client-server application to speed up Exchange connections for remote users using compression and filtering. You can filter incoming messages by date and size. Messages can be retrieved without attachments. http://beta.travsoft.comAvailability Viewer
Microsoft Outlook 97/98 form to show you who (or what) is free and who is busy at any given time. Latest version fixes all known problems and, for Outlook 98, allows you to use a distribution list named Everyone to populate the list of attendees whose free/busy times you want to track.
http://www.slipstick.com/exchange/olforms/availvue.htmCyberSecretary
Final release of this productivity tool to automate Microsoft Outlook 97/98 with scripts that can be triggered by nearly two dozen Outlook events, such as receiving a message or opening a Contact item, or can be scheduled or random.
http://www.voicenet.com/~wheindl/cybersecretary.htmlActioneer
This productivity tool for quick entry/access for Outlook items now supports Outlook 98 in Internet Mail Only mode, as well as Outlook 98 (CW) and Outlook 97.
http://www.actioneer.com/welcome/products/prod_AMO_1.htmlAlcom LanFax 5.0 Revision 3 (service pack)
Improvements and bug fixes for this network fax application. Exchange/Outlook users can now select from .rtf format cover pages, configure variables on the cover page header, reschedule faxes to a specific date and time and include Outlook Company, phone and fax fields on cover pages.
http://www.alcom.com/download/nt50r3sp.htm
For more information
[/_include/emo_footer.htm]