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Exchange Messaging Outlook
Volume 10, Number 18
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Greetings! Welcome to Vol. 10, No. 18, Dec 15 2005, of Exchange
Messaging Outlook, a biweekly newsletter about Microsoft Exchange
and Microsoft Outlook. This is our last issue of EMO for 2005. I hope you have a
wonderful holiday season and we'll see you next year! Today's highlights:
Regular features:
Exchange 12 Beta
Exchange sever 12 beta was released to a small, select group
of organizations this week. It's a closed beta, available only
to a core group of organizations considered "technology early
adopters". If your company isn't in the TAP program, you'll have
to wait until it's released in a community preview, probably
about six months from now.
What do we know about Exchange 12 at this point? To improve
reliability, Exchange 12 will only run on 64 bit servers. Setup
and deployment should be easier for many administrators because
it will be based on server roles and only the components of
Exchange 12 that they need will be installed. Exchange System
Manager offers simplified navigation through a new graphical
management console, which should help many administrators (and
annoy long time Exchange administrators who know where
everything is). Administrators can use the scriptable, command
line shell based on the Monad scripting engine to automate
routine and repetitive tasks.
Exchange 12 takes advantage of Outlook 12's new client
detection and configuration feature which simplifies Outlook's
account setup. While this is an Outlook 12 feature which
Exchange 12 leverages, it is a welcome feature for any help desk
and should reduce or eliminate end-user confusion when setting
up accounts in Outlook. Because this is an Outlook feature,
auto-configuration of accounts will work with any mail server.
Prior to the release of Office 12, Microsoft will make available
the information mail administrators need to configure their
servers for automatic configuration.
For the end-users, Exchange 12 will offer speech enabled
unified messaging, integrating voice, fax, and email in the
user's Inbox. This means if you don't have an Internet
connection and can't VPN into the server using a computer, you
can call the server from any telephone and listen to your
messages. As in previous versions, we can expect improvements to
Outlook Web Access (OWA), including an Outlook 12-like
interface.
It can't be a new version without security improvements and
enhancements, and Exchange 12 has that covered with built-in
anti-spam and phishing protection and automatic updates for
anti-spam filters, block lists and reputation services. One of
the first lines of defense against mail-born viruses is
attachment filtering and Exchange 12 will allow administrators
to block inbound or outbound attachments based on the extension,
file name or content type.
Exchange 12 Homepage
http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/preview/default.mspx
Exchange Team Blog
http://blogs.technet.com/exchange/archive/category/10058.aspx
New Australian Time Zones Problems
The Commonwealth Games are scheduled to be held during March
2006 in Melbourne Australia and several Australian states
including New South Wales, Victoria, Australian Capital
Territory, South Australia and Tasmania, have changed the
Daylight Savings transition end dates to the first Sunday of
April 2006. To assist, Microsoft provided a patch so users can
add these temporary Australian Daylight savings time zones to
Windows.
When the Australian Parliament House tested the patch they
found a "bug" that affects members who use the dual time zones
feature in Outlook. The additional time zone reference within
Outlook is not updated after the Microsoft Commonwealth Games
patch is applied.
Because the time zone fix adds new keys to the Windows time
zone settings, and doesn't touch Outlook's key for the second
time zone, it's technically not a bug, although it will bug
anyone who uses one of the affected Australian time zones as the
second Outlook time zone.
The patch adds the following keys to the Time Zone options:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Time
Zones\AUS Eastern Standard Time (Commonwealth Games 2006)]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Time
Zones\Tasmania Standard Time (Commonwealth Games 2006)]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Time
Zones\Cen. Australia Standard Time (CommonwealthGames 2006)]
Outlook's second time zone reads the TZ2 value found at this
key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\xx.0\Outlook\Options\TimeZone
(where xx = your version of Outlook)
Even though Microsoft doesn't plan to release a patch to update
Outlook's secondary time zone setting, parliament members can
run a registry file to insure they have the correct time zone
set, instead of going to Tools, Options, Calendar, Time Zones to
verify. When the time zone changes end, they can revert back to
the correct setting using another registry key file.
Australian Daylight Savings Changes for Microsoft Products for
the Year 2006
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=DDA845DE-9D70-487C-8F7C-093D4DFD1899&displaylang=en
More information, .reg files, and automated solutions will be
available at
http://www.slipstick.com/problems/autz.htm before
the end of the year for Outlook 2003, 2002 and 2000.
Question Mark in the Message Body
A reader asks "When I send email from my Outlook 2003
account, there is a question mark "?" added to the body of my
email. Any ideas of what is causing this problem?"
This is a fairly common problem and there several solutions.
The first one you should try is to install S/MIME from OWA's
Options. Make sure that the client has all of the latest IE
updates, then use OWA to download the latest version of the
S/MIME control. This will fix it in most cases.
If installing the S/MIME control doesn't fix it, it's
possible that another application installed a downreved
dhtmled.ocx and triedit.dll. The install program probably just
looked in the Windows\System32 directory, did not see the files,
so it installed them and registered them. The ones you need to
use are located in C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft
Shared\Triedit. Open a command prompt, change directory to
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Triedit and then
use regsvr32 to re-register the correct versions of dhtmled.ocx
and triedit.dll. You can then go delete the older versions that
are probably located in your windows\system32.
If neither of these solutions corrects the problem, does the
client have a product called SolarWinds Professional edition
installed on their desktop? This is a known cause and it's
possible there are other programs that may also cause it. If
other computers can send using OWA and not add question marks to
the message body, compare the applications installed on each in
an attempt to identify the cause.
Exchange 5.5 Support Ends
If your organization is still using Exchange Server 5.5
and you want or need support from Microsoft Product Support
Services, you'll need to upgrade to Exchange 2003, as all
forms of support for Exchange 5.5 are ending.
However, if your organization is a member of either Premier
Essential support plan or Premier Support plan and have an AD
migration plan approved by Microsoft, your company can pay an
additional fee ($200,000 or more per year) plus a hefty fee per
each hotfix you need, for Exchange 5.5 support. (Yes, several
companies have signed on for this program.)
New security updates and hotfixes will not be released for
Exchange 5.5 after December 31. Existing publically available
updates will continue to be available, although you should have
all of them installed on your Exchange 5.5 servers already.
For more information, see
http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/support/lifecycle/changes.mspx
Outlook Calendar "Can't Save" Bug
There are numerous reports that users are unable to create new
Calendar items after installing Outlook 2003's SP2. While we
have no idea what is causing it and it doesn't appear to be very
widespread, the solution is to restart Outlook. If Outlook
doesn't close completely (look in Task Manager) you'll need to
force it closed (select Outlook.exe and click End Process),
otherwise you'll need to reboot. So far, everyone affected by
the problem reports this fixes the problem.
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New Utilities
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ACTIVE DIRECTORY WEBMANAGER ENTERPRISE EDITION
http://www.thedotnetfactory.com/ADWebManagerEnterprise.aspx
Active Directory WebManager Enterprise Edition is a completely
web-based user and group administration tool allowing granular
delegation of user and group management. Its flexible
architecture employs a unique LDAP Query-Based technology for
delegation. This easy to use search-like delegation mechanism
allows any information in your Active Directory to be used as
the basis for delegation and restriction of account management
activities. This technology is unique to Active Directory
WebManager Enterprise and can fulfill almost any required
business scenario without the need to restructure or
re-permission your Active Directory. Common scenarios include
delegation to Helpdesk, Business Partners, Divisional Admins,
Department Managers, HR, and more. ACTIVE DIRECTORY WEBMANAGER
PROFESSIONAL EDITION
http://www.thedotnetfactory.com/ADWebManagerProfessional.aspx
Active Directory WebManager Professional Edition is a powerful
web-based user and group management tool designed for use by
dedicated network administrators. Its fast and efficient web
interface allows these power users to more efficiently perform
user and group management activities securely from anywhere. AD
WebManager's visual interface provides a wealth of information
at a glance via various icons and colored indicators.
Administrators can immediately distinguish which users are
locked-out, which are disabled, and which have or do not have a
Microsoft Exchange mailbox. Group types are easily identifiable
as security or distribution groups and it is apparent whether
they are Microsoft Exchange mail-enabled. ACTIVE DIRECTORY
WHITEPAGES
http://www.thedotnetfactory.com/ADWhitePages.aspx
The Dot Net Factory's Active Directory WhitePages is a
completely web-based corporate directory application designed
with the non-technical user in mind. Its familiar Microsoft
Office 2003 look and feel makes it easy and secure for employees
to find information, update their personal data, and change
their passwords. ACTIVESEND
http://www.messageware.com/products/05_activesend.html
ActiveSend completely integrates Outlook Web Access with the
computer desktop to provide increased Outlook-like convenience
and productivity. On its own, OWA doesn’t allow users to email
files from within applications. The file must first be saved and
then attached to a separate email message. With ActiveSend,
Outlook Web Access users can send documents at any time while
working within any application. ActiveSend also activates
hyperlinks in email, documents and web sites to provide
convenient single-click emailing capability. DELETE DUPLICATED APPOINTMENTS
http://www.rsoutlook.com/us/prods/prod14.html
Delete Duplicated Appointments allows you to delete duplicated
appointments with just a click of a button. Version 1. for
EXCHANGEFOLDERS
http://www.exchangefolders.com
Exchangefolders is an Exchange Server add-on. It enables you to
setup groups of users which can share E-mail, Contacts and
Calendars using their own existing accounts. One server-side
installation does the job and gives you a lot of synchronization
options. The best thing is that clients (e.g. Outlook)
automatically adapt to ExchangeFolders, so workstations don't
have to be modified. IZEMAIL
http://www.izecom.com/EN/izemail_desktop.html
Izemail allows you to encrypt and sign your e-mail messages,
just by pressing the "Send" button in your mail program. No need
to exchange encryption keys or certificates, no need to go
through complex enrollment procedures. Izemail allows you to
send an encrypted and signed message to a person if you only
know their email address. Still, Izemail uses widespread
standards for email encryption such as S/MIME and PKI. This
makes Izemail compatible with any technology that supports
S/MIME and/or PKI. OUTLOOK PST DIFF
http://www.mobiliti.com/outlook_pstdiff.html
Use Mobiliti’s Outlook PST diff tool to compare two pst files.
It copies the differences an output pst file, including Mails
that are present in the first pst file only or Mails that are
present in both pst files, but are different. In addition, it
logs the differences in a text file. The differences can be
viewed both as a pst and as a text file. Download for free!
(Beta) OUTLOOKFIX
http://www.cimaware.com/main/products/outlookfix.php
Repairs Outlook corruption, undeletes erased emails and other
elements in Outlook, and lets you reduce an Outlook PST file
splitting it, reducing the file size and solving the common 2 Gb
size problem. PASSWORD MANAGER
http://www.thedotnetfactory.com/PasswordManager.aspx
The Password Manager suite is allows end-users to reset
forgotten passwords and unlock their locked-out accounts while
seamlessly integrating into your existing environment. Password
Manager offers multiple interfaces allowing users to change
their passwords or enroll in the Password Recovery Service from
Microsoft SharePoint, a standard web interface, Outlook Web
Access, and soon from the Windows logon dialog. Password Manager
is a flexible solution that eliminates the source of the number
one help desk call -- password resets. PICTURE ATTACHMENTS WIZARD
http://www.collaborativeinnovations.ca/
Picture Attachments Wizard provides you with a thumbnail view of
any photos attached to an email. You can then open the images
individually or view them in a slideshow or the new filmstrip
mode. you can load picture files with a specific program and
preview picture attachments as you add them to new e-mails.
Requires Outlook 2000/XP/2003 on Windows XP. Version 1.1
PSTSTATION
http://www.addonmail.com/products/PSTStation.asp?idFrom=2
PSTStation is .pst maintenance and repair tool. PSTStation
includes 3 integrated repair and maintenance functions : Scan,
Recovery, and Backup. PSTStation can be used locally on files
within a user Outlook profile, or remotely on selected .pst
files. Each action can be configured separately for different
profiles or specific .pst files. Version 1.1 SNARF
http://research.microsoft.com/community/snarf/
Created by Microsoft Research, SNARF (Social Network and
Relationship Finder) is designed to provide a quick overview of
unread mail, organized by its importance. The UI shows a series
of different panes with unread mail in them; each pane shows a
list of authors of messages. Clicking on a name shows all
messages involving that person. Requires Outlook 2002 or 2003.
Version 1.7.004 SPEEDFILER
http://www.claritude.com
SpeedFiler will help you organize, regain and maintain control
of your email. SpeedFiler is a Microsoft Outlook add-in that
makes it easier to file your incoming and outgoing messages,
helping you keep your mail organized. If you send and receive
lots of email, like to keep it filed, and have many folders in a
hierarchical structure, SpeedFiler will save you time.
Key features include the ability to quickly file received
messages, file outgoing messages as you send them, find and jump
to folders with ease and find-as-you-type folder search.
TRUMBA ONECALENDAR
http://www.trumba.com/
Trumba's OneCalendar is an online calendaring service which
synchronizes with Outlook. Users of the service are able to
share their calendar with others, either publically on a web
page or only with trusted contacts. A free 60-day trial is
available. |
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Updated Utilities
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ATTACHMENT OPTIONS
http://www.slovaktech.com/attachmentoptions.htm
Now at version 1.8.15, Attachment Options was updated to include the
extensions added to Outlook 2002 SP3. Outlook 2002 SP3 adds several
file extensions to the list of extensions blocked by earlier SP's,
including asp, tmp, vsmacros, vss, vst, vsw, ws.
ATTACHMENTS PROCESSOR
http://www.mapilab.com/outlook/attachments_processor/
Automatically removes attachments from incoming messages and saves
them to your hard disk. A link to the file or a text file with
attachment description and the link to it can be added to the
message. Automatically packs outgoing / unpacks incoming message
attachments, creates self-extracting archives and password-protected
archives. Current version 3.1.1
ATTACHVIEW FOR OUTLOOK WEB ACCESS
http://www.messageware.com/products/05_attachview.html
AttachView secures access to OWA attachments and eliminates the need
for local applications, providing document access for everyone,
anywhere. The latest version improves security for attachment and
document exposures that are not addressed by SSL and Forms-Based
Authentication protocols. It supports over 300 different document
types and protects all documents throughout OWA. AttachView 7 has
achieved RSA certification for Two-Factor environments and now
recognizes corporate devices inside and outside the organization. It
also features an updated user interface and new group policy
support.
BRIMESSENGER
http://www.btlnet.co.uk/services/Software/sms_composer.htm
BriMESSENGER helps businesses harness the power of SMS, which is
recognized as the fastest growing method of communication -
supporting the increasing demand for mobility, flexibility and
extended opening hours. BriMESSENGER is a hosted application which
supports instant message communication between any PC and any mobile
handset (or pager). The PC user types an email and sends it to the
mobile user. The email is received by BriMESSENGER and automatically
converted into text format and sent to the recipient's mobile
device.
E-MAIL FOLLOW-UP
http://www.mapilab.com/outlook/email_followup/
E-mail Follow-up reminds you to send a follow-up e-mail message if
the reply has not been received in specified time. E-mail Follow-Up
will watch for the messages and show you alert when the reply has
not been received. Moreover, E-mail Follow-Up allows you to send
follow up message using a predefined template to remind the
recipient that the reply hasn't been received. Current version 1.6.1
HIDE FAX NUMBERS
http://www.SperrySoftware.com/Outlook/Hide-Fax-Numbers.asp
It appears that Business Contact Manager SP2 breaks the popular hide
fax technique of prepending "Fax:" (or the letter F in front of the
fax numbers), because the entries still show in the address book.
The Hide Fax Numbers add-in from Sperry Software has been updated to
overcome this difficulty, and it also now has two new buttons
available on the toolbar when viewing a contact that allow you to
Show/Hide the fax numbers. In addition, the add-in now supports the
hiding of email 2 and email 3 addresses from the address book.
NNTP FOR OUTLOOK
http://www.mapilab.com/outlook/nntp/
An NNTP transport for Outlook. Use it with Outlook 2000
(Corporate/workgroup mode) and Outlook 2002/2003 to read and post to
UseNet servers. New features added include dial-up support, a setup
wizard for Outlook 2000 Profile Manager, and an articles cache to
optimize the downloading from several accounts. Current version 1.32
PROPHET
http://www.avidian.com/
A personal sales opportunity management tool that works from within
Outlook using both Outlook data and a separate database (which
cannot be shared). Tighter and more seamless integration inside
Outlook provides a faster load time and allows users to manage sales
information right from their Outlook Inbox or Contacts. Sales
Assistant allows users to send pre-set, timed emails to their
contacts. New features include the ability for reports and form
drop-down lists to be customized. The workflow engine also
automatically creates Outlook emails, calendar events and task items
associated with a process. Groups and Permissions’ features support
unlimited hierarchical sales structures so that the right people see
the right information. Other features new to Prophet 3.0 include
increased customization, advanced reporting options, and additional
Opportunity Manager and Contact Manager features.
SHARE'N'SYNC
http://www.mapilab.com/groupware/share_sync/
Share'n'Sync is ideal for solving two tasks - organizing shared
access to Outlook folders in small organizations and synchronizing
folders on several computers. All types of Outlook folders and items
are supported - email messages, contacts, notes, calendar, etc, as
well as Business Contact Manager. The product is fully compatible
with Exchange and SBS, allowing you to sync an Exchange server
folder with your home PC. Three sync modes are supported: manual,
scheduled and automatic. Version 1.0.1
SHAREO FOR OUTLOOK
http://shareo.4team.biz/
Share your Outlook calendar, contacts, journal, mail, tasks and
notes folders with other Outlook users, without a server, with this
utility. Version 2.20.0078
SQLVIEW.NET
http://www.sqlview.net
SQLView.NET is the missing link between Microsoft Outlook and SQL
Server, SQLView enables you to store Outlook Contacts, Tasks,
Appointments and Email in a SQL database. It's the only product that
lets you use SQL tables as if they were Outlook folders. You can now
create forms for Outlook Contact and other items using any of the
Microsoft.NET technologies. (Formerly TabTag.)
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Other Resources
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EXCHANGE 12 (BETA) INFORMATION
http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/preview/default.mspx
Visit Microsoft to learn more about the upcoming release of Exchange Server 12.
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New Exchange Knowledge Base Articles
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TechNet Support WebCast: The Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Management Pack
for Microsoft Operations Manager 2005
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=911853
A delegate sees a "This request is out-of-date" message in Outlook when the
delegate views a meeting request that you accepted by using Outlook Web Access
in Exchange Server 2003
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=908927
The Outlook Mobile Access and the Microsoft Server ActiveSync virtual
directories are missing after you upgrade from Exchange 2000 Server to Exchange
Server 2003 Service Pack 1
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=905807
When you use a CDO-based program in Outlook 2003 or in Outlook 2002 to read an
EntryID property, the read fails, or Outlook silently exits
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=904635
An IMAP4 client is disconnected abruptly when you connect through a front-end
server that is running Exchange 2000 Server
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=896898
You cannot view a recurring appointment that has exceptions in Microsoft
Outlook Web Access, but you can view this appointment in Outlook in Exchange
2000
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=902152
When you use a Lotus Notes calendar connector on a server that is running
Exchange 2000 Server, you may find that the performance of the server is
decreased
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=907735
You receive a "Could not start the Microsoft Exchange System Attendant
service on Local Computer" error message when you try to start the Exchange
System Attendant service
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=910413
Applications that use Microsoft Collaboration Data Objects (CDO) may not
recognize the daylight saving time transition changes for Australia in the year
2006
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=906865
The Information Store service stops responding after you install a hotfix in
Exchange 2000 Server
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=908205
The display name in e-mail messages contains incorrect localized language
characters after you synchronize Windows Mobile with Exchange Server 2003
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=907721
The Mailbox Management report shows incorrect free space
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=895178
Outlook Web Access users cannot access a URL in a plain text e-mail message
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=907867
You receive a "HTTP 404 error" when you click a URL that contains DCBS
characters when you use Outlook Web Access together with Exchange Server 2003
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=908068
Microsoft Outlook Web Access and Microsoft Collaboration Data Objects (CDO)
daylight saving time transition change for Australia in the year 2006
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=909933
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New Outlook Knowledge Base Articles
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How to manage messages in an OST when the client is in cached Exchange mode
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=908074
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More Information
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ISSN 1523-7990
Copyright 1996-2006, Slipstick Systems and CDOLive LLC. All rights reserved.
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