Exchange Messaging Outlook
Volume 5, Number 22

• New utilities

• Updated utilities

• Other new resources

Despite Microsoft's promotion of the Web Storage System (WSS) as a development platform, applications developed with traditional Outlook forms and folders will be around for a long time to come. For one thing, the WSS has no offline capability yet. For another, developing an application for the WSS is not something the average Exchange administrator can do in an afternoon.

Outlook forms, on the other hand, are relatively easy even for end users to design. The various discussion lists for Outlook forms (see http://www.slipstick.com/dev/forms.htm#discuss) are full of posts from people creating their first form.

To help them out, we've launched a series of web pages that explore controls on Outlook forms. The first one, at http://www.slipstick.com/dev/formcontrols.htm, offers some general tips on using list box, combo box, and option button controls, as well as the Outlook View Control that you can download in the Team Folders Kit.

The second article, at http://www.slipstick.com/dev/spreadsheetcontrol.htm, focuses on the Microsoft Office Spreadsheet control. With this control, you can embed an Excel worksheet on an Outlook form page, perform calculations on the data and apply complex formatting. For example, this code limits the area that the user sees to a small portion of the worksheet, so the user doesn't scroll out of the data area:

Set oPage = Item.GetInspector.ModifiedFormPages("Message")
Set Spreadsheet1 = oPage.Controls("Spreadsheet1")
Spreadsheet1.ViewableRange = "A1:F12"

For many purposes, the only code you need to write for the spreadsheet control handles the saving of data to the Outlook item and feeding the data back into the spreadsheet when the item opens.

In addition to these new pages, we also have a page on various date/time picker controls at http://www.slipstick.com/dev/datepick.htm. If you have favorite control tips or pet peeves, write us at mailto:emo@slipstick.com so we can share them with other Outlook form designers.

Guess how many Outlook properties change when the user simply opens a task and changes its status to Completed. One? Two? Four?

An entertaining way to find out what really happens when the user interacts with an Outlook form is to use the PropertyChange and CustomPropertyChange events. Just add this code to your form to have a message box pop up every time a property changes.

Sub Item_PropertyChange(ByVal Name)
  MsgBox "The " & Name & " property changed."
End Sub

Sub Item_CustomPropertyChange(ByVal Name)
  MsgBox "The " & Name & " custom property changed."
End Sub

And the answer to the task question -- five different Outlook properties change, in response to that one user action of changing the status to Completed.

Congratulations to Brigitte Winkert, Roger Timpson and Hobbes Chan for participating in our survey on Outlook training needs and winning the random drawing for one of my Outlook 2000 books. The drawing is over, but we're still interested in getting your feedback on what kind of Outlook training you find useful. You can fill out the survey at http://www.slipstick.com/training_survey.asp.

Your system cannot become infected by either of these viruses unless you open the .vbs file that the virus sends as an e-mail attachment to propagate itself. :

Injustice (aka I-Worm.Staple)

This virus not only sends itself to Outlook addresses, but it also sends copies of itself and its pro-Palestinian message to recipients in the Israeli government’s domain. See http://www.viruslist.com/eng/viruslist.asp?id=4173&key=00001000130000100068
 

VBS_LEE.A

This is a destructive virus that sends itself via Outlook using various subjects, message bodies and file attachment names and also overwrites files on your system. See http://www.antivirus.com/vinfo/virusencyclo/default5.asp?VName=VBS_LEE.A

New Utilities

SALESCTRL 2000
http://www.advanced-concepts.com/
Sales force automation database that integrates with Outlook tasks, appointments and mail, plus several accounting packages. Includes capability of doing bulk mail with attachments.

SYNCSUITE
http://www.syncsuite.com/Pages/wp1.html
Communications suite for e-mail, SMS messaging, fax, with a built-in personal information manager that synchronizes with Outlook, PDAs and wireless phones. [No longer available]

THE IMMUNIZER
http://www.verstrada.com/home.htm
Virus "simulator" service for virus prevention education. It sends users benign .vbs and .exe attachments, tracks who does and doesn't know about safe-computing practices, and then follows up with educational messages.

Updated utilities

Other new resources

OFFICE SPREADSHEET CONTROL ON OUTLOOK FORMS
http://www.slipstick.com/dev/spreadsheetcontrol.htm
How to use the Microsoft Office Spreadsheet control to get a self-calculating grid on an Outlook form.

OL2000 GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE OUTLOOK VIEW CONTROL
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q281/6/18.ASP
The Outlook View Control lets you put a folder view on a form or in a web page. The MSKB article covers where to get it and how to use it.

OL2000: OUTLOOK JOURNALING WHITE PAPER AVAILABLE
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q201/0/79.ASP
For 3rd party developers, how to make sure your application's documents are automatically journaled by Outlook.

More Information

• Click here to subscribe to the Exchange Messaging Outlook newsletter. 
• Exchange Messaging Outlook Newsletter back issues

ISSN 1523-7990
Copyright 1996-2006, Slipstick Systems and CDOLive LLC. All rights reserved.

Updated Apr 07 2008

Home | What's New | Exchange Server | Outlook | Utilities | Bookstore
About Slipstick | Feedback | Privacy Policy | Site Map | Archived Pages | Link to Us | Advertise