Two recent Outlook updates are known to cause problems under certain, specific conditions. The first is a problem I mentioned in the February 2 issue of EMO – the update contained in KB 892843 causes problems opening and accepting tasks after installation. Microsoft now knows the cause: the update is not installed correctly, which may result in multiple installations of this patch. There doesn’t seem to be a problem if only one copy of the patch is installed so it only affects a small percentage of Outlook users and should not be a reason not to install it. The fix remains the same as I reported previously: uninstall all copies of the update.

Keep in mind that removing the update will not fix tasks that were affected, but all new tasks should work correctly in the future.

To uninstall the update(s), go to Add/Remove Programs and click the "show updates" checkbox. The update should be listed under the entry for Microsoft Office 2003. Click Remove to uninstall. If tasks work correctly, you can reinstall the update along with the hotfix found in KB 913695, if you desire. As long as only one copy is installed it should work as expected.

A second problem is an annoyance which affects only people who don’t use Outlook and probably aren’t reading this newsletter. When either Microsoft update or Office update installs updates, Outlook is set as the default mail handler, because Microsoft assumes that if Outlook is installed it's going to be the default email client. This isn’t a new problem, as installing Office does the same thing, but recent updates, including Junk email filter updates, set Outlook as the default after each update is installed. While it’s tolerable when it happens the first time, when it keeps repeating it “gets old quickly”.

This happens because installing Office updates does the equivalent of “detect and repair”, which always resets the default client to Outlook. The solution is not to install Outlook if you aren't going to use it. However, most people just use the typical installation so Outlook is always installed. When someone is sharing the computer with others or they use Outlook only for calendaring, they need to change the default back to their preferred email client after each Office update.

While it’s possible to export the registry key from HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Clients\Mail and run the reg file after installing Office updates, but it's probably just as easy to reset the default in Internet options. Or carefully pick and choose the updates that are installed and avoid installing Outlook-specific updates if Outlook is not being used as the default client for email.

For more information, see
http://www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#13

Description of the Outlook 2003 post-Service Pack 2 hotfix package: January 23, 2006
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=913695

Description of the security update for Outlook 2003: January 10, 2006
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=892843

The Exchange 12 beta 1 is being released to subscribers of MSDN and TechNet as a community technology preview. TechNet subscribers will receive copies of it in their March update while MSDN subscribers can download it.

Exchange 12 will only be available in production environments for 64 bit machines; however the beta is available in both 32 bit and 64 bit versions. The 32 bit version is not supported in production environments – it’s available so that administrators can install it in virtual server environments and on older lab machines for testing and demonstration purposes.

Exchange 12 introduces a number of changes, and yes, public folders are still supported although they can be turned off. You’ll need to use Outlook 2007 for best results as some features, such as offline address books and free/busy will not be available to older clients when public folders are disabled. Also, Exchange 12 Public folders will not be available through OWA, IMAP, or NNTP, unless they are hosted on an Exchange 2000/2003 server.

One of my favorite features in Outlook 2007 is auto-configuration of email accounts and Exchange 12 supports auto-configuration of Exchange mailboxes. Administrators won't need to use PRFs to configure the Exchange accounts for their users - when users enter their email address and password, the account is configured in the profile automatically.

SharePoint integration is improved: you'll be able to view SharePoint documents through OWA. This should make it easier to migrate document libraries to SharePoint.

OWA 12 currently has a simple, streamlined look. While the final design may change, this build of OWA is cleaner than previous versions and messages open in place, not in a pop-up window.

Administrators will like monad as many common management options support command lines using Monad. Once you get the hang of it, it really is better than using a GUI, but many administrators will struggle with it at first.

You can view a series of Exchange 12 webcasts, scheduled for mid-March, beginning with this introduction to Exchange 12 by Terry Myerson:
http://msevents.microsoft.com/cui/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032290483&EventCategory=4&culture=en-US&CountryCode=US

For a lost of all Exchange 12 preview webcasts, visit:
http://www.microsoft.com/events/series/tnexchangeserver.mspx#Exchange%20'12'%20Preview 

For more information on Exchange 12 and Public Folders, read - Terry Myerson's article on the "You had me at HELO" blog:
http://blogs.technet.com/exchange/archive/2006/02/20/419994.aspx

Did you ever click one of the 'don't show me this dialog again' boxes, only to wish you hadn't then can't figure out where to 'undo' it? While the junk email “warn before downloading” option is exposed in the Tools, Options, Junk Email dialog, the settings for all other dialogs is in the registry at the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\xx.0\Outlook\Options\General
(Where xx is your Outlook version number. )

Look for the PONT_STRING value - it will be a REG_SZ and the values are entered in comma delimited format in the order you checked the 'don't show me again' option: 37,31,32,13,

There are at least 11 dialogs that store values in this key (including the following numbers: 8, 13, 23, 30, 31, 32, 35, 36, 37, 42, 46). Some of the values are used only in a specific version - such as 42, which is for Outlook 2003 SP2’s phishing warning dialog and 46 which controls a similar dialog in Outlook 2007.

I'm working on collecting all of the possible values and have these values and dialogs identified:

13: Expand Distribution list dialog (Outlook 2003 and up)
31: Bulk delete in Grouped view dialog shown when you select a group header and press delete.
32: Reply or Forward message with blocked external content. You can change this setting on Tools, Options, Security tab, Change Automatic Download Settings button. "Warn me before downloading..." option.
37: Junk Email Dialog. This is likely to be the first number in the list because it often comes up the first time mail is downloaded after creating an account in Outlook.
42 or 46: Phishing warning, Outlook 2003 SP2 and Outlook 2007. The Infobar has a warning that links in the message are blocked and clicking a link brings up the dialog.

If you can identify other dialogs and their values, write me at diane@slipstick.com and I’ll update the list at:
How to Show Dialogs Dismissed Using "Don't Show Dialog" Setting
http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/showdialog.htm

I hope my experience this morning with my Outlook Live account isn't a sign of what to expect with email accounts in Office Live when it becomes available to the general public.

I have an Outlook Live account I use for testing. I even paid for it with my own money - it's not a freebie from Microsoft. This morning a warning popped up informing me that my account was locked and I needed to call MSN Support:

---------------------------
Microsoft Office Outlook Connector
---------------------------
Mail: [address]

This service is unavailable right now. Please try again later. We're sorry.
Your account has been disabled. For more information, contact Support.
---------------------------

Not knowing what I did to warrant this and rather than wasting time searching for the phone number and waiting forever on hold, I did what every experienced Outlook user tries first: restart Outlook. When I did, an email message from Hotmail staff was downloaded informing me that I needed to verify my account. It also told me that this "security feature" is for my own protection: "To help protect you from junk e-mail (spam), we periodically ask customers to verify that a person, not an automated program, is using your MSN Hotmail account." Yeah, right. Like others who are hit with this lockout, I feel more irritated than protected since it's a paid account.

While I'm of the opinion that paid accounts should not be subject to verification unless they exhibit behavior which could indicate spamming, two things would make it less irritating: Outlook should download the email message from Hotmail support without requiring a restart. At least then the user will know what is wrong and how to fix it. Secondly, the alert should include a link to a page with possible causes/resolutions for the lockout. This web page would mention the need to periodically log on through a browser to verify the account is used by a real person.

Only time will tell if Office Live email accounts are subject to the same irritating verification requirements. I certainly hope MSN finds a better way to police paid accounts than to disable them without cause.