Exchange Messaging Outlook
Volume 7, Number 6

Greetings! Welcome to Vol. 7, No. 6, 28 Aug 2002, of Exchange Messaging Outlook, a biweekly newsletter about Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Outlook.

• Office XP Service Pack 2
• Office XP SP2 changes for Outlook developers
• Level1Remove for Outlook 2000?
• New IE security rollup
• Outlook connections improved in ACT! 6.0
• Learn Outlook programming from Sue Mosher

Regular features:

• New utilities
• Updated utilities
• Other new resources

Office XP Service Pack 2

Microsoft has released Service Pack 2 for Office XP, incorporating previous post-SP1 updates and hotfixes and resolving various other problems, including some newly revealed security issues with the Office Web Components. For details on how to get SP2 and all the known Outlook fixes, check our page at http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/ol2002sp2.htm.

The most important pre-setup issue is that SP2 requires prior installation of SP1. This is a departure from the usual service pack behavior; most other Microsoft service packs are cumulative. If you don’t have SP1 already, one option is to use the administrative download for SP2, which includes all the files for both versions.

For Internet mail users, the best news about this update is that it fixes two nagging rules issues. Rules now apparently work OK when downloading from POP accounts when Outlook starts; previously they often wouldn't fire on that initial retrieval session. Also, you can now set rules on outgoing messages with an IMAP account (for example, to move messages into the IMAP account's Sent Items folder). You do, of course, have to be working online with the IMAP account for such rules to work. If you’re offline, Rules Wizard will alert you to an error and turn off the rule.

For Exchange administrators, the big news in SP2 is that it includes new registry values that can block users from adding Personal Folders .pst files or new mail accounts to their Outlook profiles. The MSKB articles at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q317819 and http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q323244 provide details. Those registry changes are the only new Outlook features we've been able to find in SP2, although there are several other new registry values to address particular problems.

The Outlook newsgroups have carried a few messages about problems using Outlook after applying SP2. Most seem to be resolved simply by renaming the Outcmd.dat file that holds toolbar customizations or by creating and using a new mail profile.

Office XP SP2 changes for Outlook developers

For Outlook developers, SP2 offers various fixes. The one with the greatest impact is that using the Previous and Next buttons to view a different item in the same window now fires a NewInspector event; see http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q321326 for details. Developers who have used other methods to detect when a user reuses the window to display an item may need to revise their code to change their detection scheme and operate differently on pre-SP2 and post-SP2 systems.

SP2 also adds functionality that was missing from the new View.XML property that allows developers to design Outlook views. Setting a filter using the XML for the view should now work. Previously, you could set the filter, but Outlook ignored the change.

SP2 also resolves a problem with setting MailItem.BodyFormat to olFormatPlain on a message sent through a POP account. The BodyFormat property is one of the nicer additions in Outlook 2002, making it possible to specify the format of a new message.

Level1Remove for Outlook 2000?

Serious students of the Microsoft Knowledgebase have noticed that the key article on attachment security for Outlook 2000 at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q318515 was recently updated to indicate that a hotfix is available from Microsoft Product Support Services (PSS) to add the same attachment customization that Outlook 2002 has. The fix adds a Level1Remove registry key to allow users to decide for themselves what potentially virus-carrying files should not be blocked.

Given the date on the key Outllib.dll file, it looks like this fix has been available since February 2002. However, you may not need to rush off and pester PSS about it. At the bottom of the article, you’ll see among the keywords " kbOffice2000preSP3fix." I found 10 other Outlook articles with this keyword, all detailing fixes released after Service Pack 2. Hopefully, that "preSP3fix" designation means that Service Pack 3 is on its way, combining the attachment blocking fix with other fixes into a new public update. Since Microsoft has issued at least 19 Outlook hotfixes since SP2 (see http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/ol2000.htm#versions), a new service pack to incorporate those would be most welcome.

New IE security rollup

Microsoft has issued another cumulative patch for Internet Explorer 5.01 (Windows 2000 only), 5.5, and 6.0. Since it includes fixes for some potential HTML mail vulnerabilities, we recommend that all Outlook users apply it.

You can read about the details in security bulletin MS02-047 at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS02-047.asp.

If you have a version of IE earlier than those listed above, we recommend that you upgrade, since Microsoft will not provide security patches for earlier versions.

Outlook connections improved in ACT! 6.0

ACT! (http://www.act.com) has long been one of the more popular contact managers, so much so that I hear the refrain, "Why can't Outlook do <fill in the blank> just like ACT!" at least once a week. Maybe the solution is to use both. A new version, ACT! 6.0, was released last week with more Outlook integration than ever, including these features:   -- HTML-format mail merge from ACT! contact data to Outlook mail messages, with the option of attaching files -- History details on mail merges kept in ACT! -- Ability to access up to three ACT! address books from within Outlook -- Ability to link Outlook notes, appointments, tasks, journal entries to ACT! contacts   We're trying to get a copy to test – there was no trial download yet when we last checked– so we can report in more detail in a future EMO issue.

Learn Outlook programming from Sue Mosher

I'm delighted to report that my new book for novice to intermediate Outlook programmers -- "Microsoft Outlook Programming: Jumpstart for Administrators, Power Users, and Developers" – went to the printer last week and should be available in time for the MEC conference in Anaheim in October. You can check out the full table of contents at http://www.slipstick.com/books/jumpstart.htm. On that page, you'll also find a link to the ordering page at Amazon.com. Amazon just dropped their free shipping price threshold to $25, so you won't pay any shipping charge if you pre-order the book now for delivery as soon as it’s released.

I'll definitely be at MEC, speaking on Outlook view programming and possibly also on the Office XP Web Services Toolkit, so be sure to stop by and say hi! MEC registration is under way at http://www.microsoft.com/corpevents/MEC2002/default.asp.

New Utilities

FILE FETCH
http://www.sperrysoftware.com/jcFileFetch.asp
Send a special message to your PC running Outlook 2000 or 2002 and this utility, and your computer will mail back the file you need.

INSERT DATE-TIME
http://www.sperrysoftware.com/jcDateTimeInsert.asp
Stamp any Outlook item with your name and the date/time, either at the top or at the bottom of the item's text.

MAILRELAYER
http://www.mailrelayer.com/outlook.html
Makes Outlook mail messages on your PC accessible from the Internet by you or people you want to share data with by turning your PC into an IMAP server. Also provides read-only remote access to Outlook contacts.

MAILSCAN FOR MICROSOFT EXCHANGE SERVER
http://www.mwti.net/antivirus/mailscan/mailscan_mes.asp
Performs anti-virus and content scanning of traffic between Exchange and the Internet.  Can also perform automatic compression.

OMNIVA POLICY MANAGER
http://www.omniva.com/products/policy_manager/
Enforce retention and confidentiality policies using Outlook and Exchange. Outlook clients can set options like mail expiration and forwarding limits, as the policy permits. Restrictions include the ability to copy and paste or print a message. An external policy server in the corporate DMZ enforces policies on messages sent via the Internet.

POWERCONTROLS
http://www.ontrack.com/powercontrols/
Retrieve any data directly from any unmounted Exchange .edb file -- in other words, directly from your backup file -- and restore it to an Exchange mailbox or Personal Folders .pst file.

SECURE EMAIL FORWARD
http://www.sperrysoftware.com/jcSecureEmailForward.asp
Set up automatic forwarding of either all messages or only messages that meet certain criteria. You can choose what information goes into the forwarded message -- subject, received time, sender, message body.

SIX DEGREES
http://www.creo.com/sixdegrees/
Productivity tool for managing projects through the relationships between files, email conversations, and contacts. Works with Outlook 2000 or 2002.

STRIP ATTACHMENTS
http://www.sperrysoftware.com/jcStripAttachments.asp
Removes attachments from existing messages and saves them to a system folder, replacing them with text links to the saved files.

SURFCONTROL E-MAIL FILTER FOR SMTP/EXCHANGE
http://www.surfcontrol.com/products/email/smtp_exchange.aspx
Operates as an SMTP gateway or a plug-in to Exchange 5.5 to screen mail for viruses, spam, and violations of company content policy. Can also compress files and add disclaimers. Includes a learning module to train the product to recognize your proprietary content.

SYNCHROLOGIC EMAIL ACCELERATOR
http://www.synchrologic.com/about/about_email_accelerator.asp
Mobile solution for access to corporate mail, contacts, and calendar data from Exchange, Domino, and IMAP and POP servers. Supports access from PDAs, laptops, WAP phones. Filters allow users to determine what kinds of messages and reminders are forwarded. Delivers related content such as travel itineraries, driving directions, and weather to the user  automatically.

WATCH OUTLOOK FOLDERS
http://www.sperrysoftware.com/jcWatchOutlookFolders.asp
Monitors one or more Outlook folders, including Exchange public folders, for changes, then notifies you either either with a pop-up message or by sending you an email message. Filters allow you to watch for changes in only those items that meet your criteria.

Updated utilities

AUGUST 2002 CUMULATIVE PATCH FOR INTERNET EXPLORER
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS02-047.asp
Plugs some HTML mail vulnerabilities, among other fixes. For IE 5.01 (with Windows 2000), 5.5, and 6.0.

OFFICE XP SERVICE PACK 2
http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/ol2002sp2.htm
General update incorporating previous post-SP1 updates and hotfixes and resolving various other problems, including the one where rules do not fire on messages downloaded from POP accounts when Outlook starts

SQLVIEW 2000 FOR MICROSOFT OUTLOOK
http://www.oaklodge.com/technology/sqlview/default.aspx
Version 6.1 of this utility for interfacing a database with Outlook adds dynamic distribution lists built on the fly from a database table, a Security tab for managing user accounts, and synchronization between the database and PDAs, plus various other improvements.

Other new resources

SECURITY OPERATIONS GUIDE FOR EXCHANGE 2000 SERVER
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/prodtech/mailexch/opsguide/default.asp
Guide to using the Microsoft Operations Framework and group policy objects to secure Exchange 2000 Servers, with detailed information on Outlook Web Access front-end/back-end server configuration.

TEN TIPS FOR MICROSOFT OFFICE VBA LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/dnoxpta/html/odc_tentipsvba.asp
VBA basics -- simple techniques you may have overlooked.

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Updated Jul 30 2006

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