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.
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. )
Read complete article...
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.
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