• Office 2000 Service Release 1 
• Offline user fixes in SR-1 
• Exchange 2000 RC1 -- correction

• Thanks to our sponsors
• New Slipstick site features
• New utilities
• Updated utilities

Microsoft released Office 2000 Service Release 1 this week. For immediate gratification, you can download the 26-40mb update. North American users can order a free update CD. If you have a full version of Office (just the Outlook 2000 from the Exchange Server 5.5 SP3 CD set doesn't count), you can order a full, updated SR-1 version of Office 2000. This is the version that will start appearing on retail shelves in May.

Do you need this update? That's always the question, isn't it? There are literally dozens of Outlook fixes, too many to list here. See our page at http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/ol2000sr1.htm for the complete list and links to the download and order pages (including instructions for administrators). Among the most important fixes -- resolution of the problem with losing attachments when using WordMail as the editor, a number of fixes for offline folders and address book, and updates appropriate for Windows 2000 users.

The only new Outlook features are security enhancements to take advantage of S/MIME v3 and bring Outlook up to U.S. Defense Messaging System standards. Check the white paper at http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/2000/download/Out2000SR-1.doc for full details.

Administrators should note carefully the instructions for updating the network shared installation point. Microsoft has put a lot of effort into providing more detail than ever on how to handle different types of upgrades. Even if your users install from CD, not a network share, you can download the update files and set up an SR-1 update point on the network, so the users won't have to go through the web download.

I have been a big advocate of upgrading offline Exchange Server users to Outlook 2000, because the sync groups and other offline features are a big improvement over previous versions. SR-1 fixes some of the significant offline problems in Outlook 2000. This list is by no means complete:

• Incremental downloads of the offline address book work properly, rather than downloading the entire OAB.
• Outlook performs an integrity check on the OAB and tells the user (through an entry in the OAB) if it's corrupted and needs to by downloaded again.
• If synchronization encounters a bad message in an offline folder, Outlook moves it to a Corrupted Items folder and makes no further attempts to synchronize it.

One correction to the last issue of EMO: Exchange 2000 Server requires Windows 2000 Server, not Windows 2000 Advanced Server. Microsoft is including Exchange 2000 Enterprise Server and Windows 2000 Advanced Server in the Exchange 2000 RC1 kit, however, to give organizations the "richest evaluation experience."

The improvements we've been making to the Slipstick Systems site would not be possible without our sponsors. These companies have been generous with their support, and we look forward to continuing our association for some time to come. Please check out the products and services they have to offer:

How to create formatted messages in Microsoft Outlook
http://www.slipstick.com/dev/formatmsg.htm
Several programming methods for sending messages with fonts, etc.

Microsoft Outlook Appointment Forms
http://www.slipstick.com/dev/appointmentform.htm
Quirks, limitations, samples, etc.

Exchange Archive Solution
http://www.educom.on.ca/archives/rchv3_15b.htm
Archiving tool for Exchange Server combining, on-line, near-line and off-line storage. Can build central repository for archives from geographically separated servers.

HotSend
http://www.hotsend.com/
Free utility to create and send self-viewing read-only e-mail attachments by printing a document from any Windows program. Recipients only need to be using Windows . I'm going to try using this instead of faxing.

Mass Mail
Click here
Sample COM add-in to add mass mail capability to Outlook 2000, from MSDN.

Merlinholm Outback
http://www.merlinia.com/
Client/server in-out board application with additional functions to quickly compose new messages and other Outlook items. Does not require Exchange Server; can use an LDAP or text file database instead. Works best with Outlook, but should also be able to at least send messages with Windows Messaging. Available in English or Danish.

Outlook Monitor
http://members.home.net/chrsmo/scrpware.htm
Free Windows system tray applet to replace the normal Outlook envelope indicator with one that shows different icons depending on whether there are any unread messages in the Inbox folder

Reminder Screensaver
http://www.sidon.com/reminder/
Screen saver to remind you of Outlook tasks.

Schedulert
http://www.schedulert.com/
Reminder service to send alerts about appointments or tasks to your pager or mobile phone. Client software uploads your Outlook 2000 or 98 appointment and task details to a secure server, either manually or on a schedule. The server does the rest. Beta.

ClearView
http://www.nextword.com/ClearViewProd.htm
Formerly ActiveMail and ActiveView. Outlook productivity tool, allowing you to look up items, send messages, and respond with notes you keep in a free-form database, all from a screen that integrates Contacts, Tasks, Calendar and mail folders. Lets you create a database of freeform notes and append time-stamped notes to an Outlook contact. Includes a sales tracking module. [No longer available as of 9/2002]

EmailUnlimited
http://www.4officeautomation.com/EmailUnlimited/
Extracts information from incoming messages into databases, sends automatic replies, manages newsletter subscriptions, sends and collates questionnaires. Supports XML and scheduled tasks. Version 2 features include new user interface with on-screen instruction, sending personalized HTML messages, direct support of POP3 and SMTP, direct support of Microsoft Outlook and Outlook contacts, integrated form handler, and preview mode to see each message before sending.

MAPInotify Shadow of POWER!
http://www.silmarilsoftware.com/mapinotify/
Notification tool for mailboxes and Exchange Server Public Folders. Version 1.3 adds greater preview capabilities and deletion of mail from certain senders.

Message Executive
http://www.madsolutions.com/MessageExecutive.htm
Version 3.0. Formerly a component of CleanMail. Rules and other tools for managing messages, based on the sender. Can move messages after reading or after so many days. Beta.

Microsoft Outlook 2000 Service Release 1
http://www.microsoft.com/office/details/SR1.htm
Fixes for Outlook 2000 and the other Office 2000 components.