Greetings! Welcome to Vol. 3, No. 8 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:
The first Microsoft security bulletin for 1999 warns of the possibility that a malicious hacker could grab information from the Windows clipboard through an HTML mail message by exploiting a hole in one of the ActiveX controls. Read Microsoft Security Bulletin (MS99-001) at http://www.microsoft.com/security/bulletins/ms99-001.asp and download the Forms 2.0 Control Security Patch http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/downloaddetails/fm2paste.htm. The problem affects web pages, too, of course, not just HTML mail. While you're at the Office Update site, you'll also want to get the Word 97 Template Security Patch (http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/downloadDetails/wd97sp.htm) to guard against another potential security problem and take a look at the information on a patch for an Outlook archive problem that will be coming out soon (http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/Articles/outlookarchpatch.htm).
We've had a fantastic response to our page asking you to nominate the features that you think the next version of Outlook needs most. What you might find surprising is that almost every person had a different idea of the most crucial missing feature. Microsoft has experienced much the same epiphany in developing Outlook -- everyone has his or her own idea of what a PIM should be -- and it's difficult to balance development of new features, tweaks for existing features and infrastructure changes for the future. No wonder Outlook has so many pieces that don't always seem to fit together right; it must have been created by a committee.
Anyway, in this and upcoming EMO issues, I'll start listing these desirable features -- those that will be in Outlook 2000 and those that apparently won't be (at least as far as we can tell from Beta 2). I'm not going try to rank them, but just list them as they appear in my mail folders.
Keep in mind that this is just a first installment. I'm still working my way through your opinions and trying to confirm whether some particular features will be present or absent. Watch the Outlook 98 Opinion page at http://www.slipstick.com/outlook98/opinion/opinion.htm for updates to this list and for a forum that will let you continue the discussion online.
Most needed Outlook features -- Delivered!
Our first list covers those features that you said you wanted ... and that you can expect to see in Outlook 2000 in one form or another.
Features you won't see in Outlook 2000
With Beta 2 now in semi-public release, we also have a pretty good idea of what features won't be in Outlook 2000 unless something changes at the last minute. It's a disappointingly long list, I'm afraid.
Features someone might add
Developers ready? Here's a list of features that were worthy suggestions but, in my opinion, go just a bit beyond what Outlook by itself might be expected to do. Or maybe I included them in this category because they're likely to appear as add-ins. Given the new COM add-in capabilities, these are all features that might be incorporated into new utilities:
Most overlooked Outlook features
This is a perplexing category: Features that people said were missing, but that Outlook really does have already, at least to some degree if not implemented perfectly. In parentheses, I've sketched out the method you might use.
New and updated utilities
Forms 2.0 Control Security Patch
Microsoft patch for Office 97, Outlook 98 and Visual Basic 5.0 to eliminate the possibility that a malicious hacker could grab information from the Windows clipboard through an HTML mail message by exploiting a hole in one of the ActiveX controls.
http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/downloaddetails/fm2paste.htmTrial Calendar Creator
Case management for law firms using the Outlook Calendar.
http://www.lawofficesjth.com/trialcal.htmPlugin for Netscape Communicator
Makes Netscape use Outlook as its default mail program.
http://www.macgyver.org/software/nsoutlook.htmlOutlook Linker
Create hyperlinks to Outlook items that you can paste into messages and documents. Freeware. http://www.intouchsoftware.com/Word-Outlook MailMerge Program
Select document and contacts, then print form letters, labels and so on. Freeware.
http://www.intouchsoftware.com/EZEnveloper
Freeware ActiveX component to print envelopes from Outlook contacts.
http://www.stepone.co.uk/products/ezenveloper/Mr. Envelope
Shareware envelope-printing utility for Outlook.
http://www.webworldwide.com/SHAREWARE.HTMLAddress Magic
Converts between Outlook, Netscape, Eudora, Outlook Express and many other address book formats. Merges or synchronizes two address books, with duplicate checking. Generates an address book containing Exchange Server GAL SMTP addresses in any format Address Magic supports.
http://www.connectedsw.com/NTscript
Logon scripting tool that includes the ability to create Outlook/Exchange profiles.
http://www.inteletek.com/Products/NTscript/NotePost98
Shareware system tray utility to create and save Outlook 98 Notes.
http://www.webworldwide.com/SHAREWARE.HTMLFormMachine
Uses Outlook 98 to gather e-mail messages sent by visitors to your web site into an Access database. Can send customized replies using Word templates.
http://www.vclab.com/4oa/FormMachine/Outlook Messenger Express
Sends and receives messages without loading Outlook. Includes integrated browser.
http://vbsteve.com/omesupport.htmlAutoJournal
VBA add-in for AutoCAD that uses Outlook's Journal folder to log the time you spend in each drawing. http://members.home.net/autojournal/SplatMail
Adds animations, bright note designs and colorful reminders to Outlook. (I doubt I will use it myself, but it has a certain Nickelodeon-like appeal to my daughter.)
http://www.splatmail.com/fhome.htmCT Pro
Uses Caller ID to monitor incoming calls, then pop up Microsoft Outlook's contact records. This application also includes a call log, mini-dialer and its own address book. Apparently the successor to NetPop. http://www.picazo.comEasyMerge (update)
Mail merge utility now supports selection via category, merging an entire folder, more user-defined fields and other new features.
http://www.intersoft.bc.ca/easymerge/easymergeintro.htmlWabOut (ver 3)
Utility to import addresses from Microsoft Internet Mail or Outlook Express into Contacts or Personal Address Book. New version supports import to Exchange Server and includes other updates.
http://www.empire.net/~level/WabOut.htmlOutlook Aladdins (ver 4.0)
Adds more formatting options, "print from any folder," preview and other enhancements to this tool for printing envelopes and labels from Outlook contacts.
http://members.tripod.com/~MSSNZ/about.htm
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ISSN 1523-7990
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