Exchange Messaging Outlook
Volume 11, Number 5

Issue Date: May 25, 2006

   

Greetings! Welcome to Vol. 11, No. 5, of Exchange Messaging Outlook, a biweekly newsletter about Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Outlook.

Outlook 2007 Beta 2 Special Edition

Today's highlights:

Regular features:

Office 2007 Beta2 Public Release

If you are interested in trying Office 2007, it's now available for anyone to download. All you need is a passport account and a machine to install it on.

We do not recommend installing it on a “production” machine at this time and if you choose to do so, use Ghost or True Image to copy your hard disk should you need to reformat. It's better to install it on a test computer or in a virtual machine - either Virtual PC from Microsoft or VMWare's workstation. Both have free trials available.

Important note: While Office 2007 is very stable, if you are unwilling or unable to deal with buggy software, do not install it. If you rely on Office for your work, do not install it.

Based on problems seen in the public newsgroups, many people are not heeding the warning not to install it on their main machine. This can lead to problems down the road, especially if they choose not to upgrade when the beta expires in February. If you require features or add-ins used in Outlook 2003, do not install the beta as the features or add-ins may not work. This includes third party connectors for MSN Outlook Live and other mail servers.

Along with Office 2007 applications, you can also download the Office server applications, including SharePoint server so you can see for yourself if SharePoint will replace some of the features found in Exchange. Note that Exchange 2007 is not part of the office server family and is not available yet. If you don't have spare computers to install these on, you can use the virtual server software from Microsoft or VMWare.

Is Outlook 2007 stable enough to use? Yes, most of the things that caused Beta 1 to crash are now fixed. That’s not to say it won't crash or cause problems, but it is stable enough to use every day.

System requirements for Office System 2007
http://www.microsoft.com/office/preview/beta/sysreq.mspx

Download Office System 2007 applications
http://www.microsoft.com/office/preview/default.mspx

Problems and bugs with Outlook should be posted to the Outlook General newsgroup at msnews.microsoft.com, or using the Office Online Communities at
http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx?dg=microsoft.public.outlook.general&lang=en&cr=US

Virtual PC
http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/virtualpc/default.mspx
VPC Server
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/virtualserver/default.mspx

VMware
http://www.vmware.com/

Instant Search Problems

First and foremost, Office 2007 is still very much a beta. This release is certainly much improved over the beta 1 releases, but it's still a beta and you will run into problems. Always keep this in mind should you decide to install it. I can't emphasis this enough: if you are unwilling or unable to deal with buggy software, do not install it.

At this stage, we are aware of several problems. One of the most noticeable is with Instant Search in Outlook and OneNote.

Instant Search requires the Windows Desktop Search (WDS) version 3 beta. Yes, that's right, you need to install another beta to use Instant Search. If you use WDS v2, it will be removed when you install WDS v3 and since it's still a work in progress, the UI is missing, assuming it will even install for you. If you receive the dreading "access denied" error, you'll need to muck around in the registry to fix the problem.

The instructions should be published to the following KB article, Error message when you try to install Windows Desktop Search 3.0 Beta Engine Preview: "Access is denied" in the near future.
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=919163 

Description of Windows Desktop Search 3.0 Beta Engine Preview
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=917013

Windows Desktop Search beta download
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=36e38453-6e20-4cf7-8bfc-1cac7f35da49&displaylang=en

If you choose not to install WDS v3 beta, you'll see a yellow warning at the top of your message list, along with a warning every time you open Outlook or OneNote, that you need WDS installed. You can disable this prompt using Outlook's Tools, Options, Other, Advance Options dialog box if WDS is not installed. If the checkbox is missing from the dialog you can edit the registry to disable it.

The registry key is:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Outlook\Search

DWORD: DisableSearchDownloadPrompt
Values: 1 = The WDS installation prompt and yellow bar are not displayed
0 (or missing DWORD) The WDS installation prompt is displayed

You may need to restart Outlook to remove the yellow bar from the view.

As one of those who have the installer error, I disabled the prompt rather than edit the registry to change the permissions. The time I save with the instant search won't make up for the time needed to enable it. I’ll wait for an updated version of WDS that works.

What the Release Notes Didn't Say…

For best results, don't install Office 2007 over an existing installation of any version of Office. Uninstall Office and reboot, then install Office 2007. You'll have fewer problems.

For best results, especially if your previous version of Outlook was 2000 or older, make a new profile.

If Outlook crashes often, disable add-ins, especially the Adobe acrobat add-in. Add-ins (along with all security-related options) were moved from the Options dialog to the Trust Center.

If your received messages are blank, disable your anti-virus email scanner module. Better yet, just disable it. It’s not necessary to scan outgoing email and of limited use to scan incoming email, especially if your email provider is scanning it too.

If your Outlook Today screen doesn't display correctly, disable your anti-virus scanner to see if it helps. If so, check the script blocking settings in anti-virus scanner options and re-enable the scanner.

Outlook 2007 Beta 2 will not work with current versions of Notes connector or MSN Outlook Live connector. If you require either, you shouldn't install Office 2007. The newest version of the MSN connector may work if the MSN connector account is not your default account or delivery location.

If Active Sync doesn't work right after installing Outlook 2007, reinstall ActiveSync.

It can take a long time for the Windows Desktop Search to index your mailbox. Until it's completed Instant Searches won't be instant or accurate. You may notice the computer is sluggish until it's finished indexing Outlook.

Say it Ain't So: Exchange 5.5 "Unsupported" Means "Will Not work"

In a departure from past versions of Outlook and Exchange, where unsupported meant Microsoft would not assist you if you used them together and something didn't work but the products remained usable, Outlook 2007 Beta 2 will not work with Exchange 5.5. While there is the potential for many things to go wrong if you are using Outlook 2007 and Exchange 5.5, there is no reason to disable connectivity.

At this time I'm not aware of any hack that will make the two work together as the registry hack needed for Beta 1 no longer works. This means if you use an Exchange 5.5 server, don't bother trying Beta 2, unless you plan to use IMAP or POP3 to access your mailbox. Keep in mind that IMAP and POP3 don't support Outlook's special folders and you wont be able to access to your calendar, tasks or contacts.

Unless complaints cause a change of heart or someone figures out how to hack it, sites using Exchange 5.5 will need to upgrade to Exchange 2003 or 2007 in order to use Outlook 2007. While this isn't a bad thing - Exchange 5.5 lacks a lot of features and upgrading is well worth it and there is the potential for problems when you use Outlook 2007 against an Exchange 5.5 server, I'm not a fan of forced upgrades. There are legitimate reasons why a company has newer versions of Outlook but an ancient Exchange 5.5 server and judging from the number of complaints in just the first day and a half of availability, a lot of people want to use Outlook 2007 against their Exchange 5.5 server.

Outlook 2007 FAQ

Will it install it on Windows 2000?
No, Windows XP SP2 is required. Type winver in the Start menu, Run box to see what version you are using.

Will it install on Windows XP Media Center Edition SP2?
Well, it has an XP and Sp2 in the OS name…
(Yes, someone really asked that question after reading it wouldn’t install on Windows 2000.)

Where is the Add-ins dialog?
All security related options were moved to the Trust Center (on the Tools menu), including Read as plain text, Add-ins, Digital signatures, and blocked download content settings.

I don’t want Word as my editor. How do I disable it?
There is only one email editor now and it’s Word.

How do I send email from Word?

The "Office envelope" feature which allowed you to compose a document then click a button to show the email header fields and send the document in the body of an email message was removed from the toolbars but the command still exists. Look for it in Word or Excel's Tools, Customize and add it to their Quick Access toolbar.

How can I change Outlook’s colors?
From the Office icon in the upper left corner of Word (replacing the File menu), choose Word Options, Personalize and switch color schemes. At this time there are only two colors to choose from – Windows XP blue and Vista slate gray.

Help! RSS feeds are in my Unread search folder.
If you don't want RSS feeds in the Unread search folder, make a custom search folder and choose only the folders you want to search.

Why doesn't Outlook have the ribbon interface?
The main Outlook interface doesn't have the ribbon because it's so complex and they apparently didn't have enough time. The forms do use the ribbon, in part because they are built on Word. For a better explanation, read Jenson's blog about it: http://blogs.msdn.com/jensenh/archive/2006/01/18/514300.aspx

Where do I set up RSS feeds?
All settings for all "accounts", including RSS feeds and Internet Calendars are in Tools, Account Settings.

How do I move the RSS folder from my Exchange mailbox to a pst?
You can relocate the folder RSS feeds go into, but need to do it one at a time as you create the RSS feed. See the Tools, Accounts, RSS tab.

How do I set up newsgroups in Outlook 2007?
Open Outlook Express.

Does the beta expire?
Yes, but not until February 2007.

Additional FAQs and tips on using Outlook 2007 will be at http://www.slipstick.com/ol2007/  and http://www.outlook-tips.net/archives
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New Utilities

GALSYNC
http://www.slipstreamsolutions.co.uk/products/mGALSync.htm
GALSync automatically synchronizes your Outlook Global Address List (GAL) to the Contacts folder on your mobile device. Features include: Advanced Filtering for GALs with many entries, multiple filters by Company, City, Department, State, Office, Country and Manager. Specify conditions for each filter: 'contains', 'is (exactly)', 'doesn't contain', 'is empty' or 'is not empty'. Contact details include all standard Microsoft Exchange Server fields, including: Name, Job title, Department, Phone numbers, Email address, Notes and Contact details are stored in your mobile device Contacts database. Distribution Lists and Custom Recipients are also synchronized. GAL Contacts are added to a new 'GAL' Category, making them easier to manage. Version 1.8.7. For syncing to Pocket PC or Smartphone.

INCLUE!
http://www.inclue.com/home/
Free RSS reader for Outlook. Add feeds from Firefox and Internet Explorer. Works with Outlook 2000/2002/2003.

INNOPORT
http://www.innoport.com/voice_mail.asp
Unified communications services include universal voice mail access so that you can dial in to pick up voice mail or have voice mail messages delivered to your email as audio file attachments in .wav format. Also includes advanced voice capabilities so that you can create a complete voice mail system with an auto attendant and multiple voice mailboxes extensions branching from it.

INSIGHT ADDRESSBOOK
http://www.bynari.net/index.php?id=8
Insight AddressBook is an Outlook plug-in that has the same look and feel as Microsoft’s Global Address List, from an LDAP server. This application is designed to provide customers, with even very large directory, instantaneous lookups when using the "check name" feature in a new mail message. It has caching capabilities, and queries take less than three seconds for the entire directory. The AddressBook integrates completely with Insight Connector and Outlook. The browsable GAL can lookup and display the name, email, phone numbers, fax, and more for each user. In addition, the schema can be changed to work with other mail servers. Free trial available.

PRIASOFT OUTLOOK CONTACT VIEW ADD-IN
URL:http://www.priasoft.com/Outlook/products_Outlook_View_Addin.asp
The Priasoft Outlook Contact View Add-in links message senders to Outlook contacts, attachments, and other related messages: like viewing other received messages, viewing messages you have sent, and displaying received attachments across many messages.

ROAMINDER
http://www.roaminder.com/
ROAMinder is a Microsoft Outlook plug-in that forwards your Outlook reminders to your cell phone as text when you’re away from your desk. Works with Outlook 2000, 2002, and 2003 and with all cellular providers in North America.

SEND INDIVIDUALLY
http://www.SperrySoftware.com/Outlook/Send-Individually.asp
This add-in allows you to send newsletters, press releases, or other announcements to many recipients, one at a time. Individually addressing emails allows emails to make it through more spam filters and raises response rates. How it works: 1) You create an email newsletter or other announcement. 2) Add your recipients to the "to" field. 3) You press the "Send Individually" toolbar button. For Outlook 2000 and up.

SONASAFE FOR EXCHANGE SERVER
http://www.sonasoft.com/sonaweb/TestDrive.aspx
SonaSafe for Exchange Server is an Integrated Backup/Recovery and Replication Solution for Exchange Server. SonaSafe for Exchange Server is the only software that offers both backup/recovery and replication for Exchange Server as part of a single integrated solution. The solution provides automated one-click rapid recovery to the point of failure. Free trial available.

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Updated Utilities

AUTO PRINT
http://www.sperrysoftware.com/Outlook/Auto-Print.asp
Auto Print allows you to automatically print email and/or attachments, has been upgraded to allow you to print everything in one or more Outlook folders according to the built-in filters. It also now supports printing in order (i.e., first email, then those attachments, second email, then those attachments, etc.), unlike when you use Outlook's native printing capability. Finally, it has been fixed to handle shared mailboxes while in Exchange cached mode. For Outlook 2000 and up.

DELETE DUPLICATES FOR OUTLOOK
http://brana.bujenovic.ns.users.sbb.co.yu/software.htm
Delete Duplicates for Outlook is a tool for deleting duplicate e-mails for Microsoft Outlook.

INSIGHT CONNECTOR
http://www.bynari.net/index.php?id=7
Insight Connector is a Microsoft Outlook plug-in that allows native Outlook groupware capabilities without the need for an Exchange server. With Insight Connector installed, together with either the Bynari Insight Server, Cyrus IMAP or Courier IMAP, Outlook users can perform tasks typically available only when using the Exchange server. Some of the features include resource management, public folders sharing, appointments/tasks scheduling, voting, grouping, calendar sharing, multiple accounts under one profile and other collaborative tasks. Free trial available. Version 3.1.

LUCATEC MASK
http://www.lucatec.net/mask/maskoverview-en.htm
The Lucatec Mask Add-in for Outlook is used with Exchange server accounts which allows you to reply from a shared mailbox or public folder, automatically entering the folder or mailbox's email address in the From field. Lucatec Mask will automatically determine the correct sender address to use based on the mailbox or public folder the user is currently using in Outlook. The newest version includes many new features, such as Recursive Folder Options, per-folder Signatures and improved Reply handling. It supports shared Exchange Server mailbox accounts and Public Folders with email addresses and was tested with Exchange Server 5.5 and 2000, Microsoft Outlook 2000 and XP. Version 2.

PC IMAIL
http://www.prosoftapps.com/pcimail.htm
Bulk mail tool to send an individual message to multiple recipients. Addresses can come from any address list and may include distribution lists. Has the ability to set time delay periods between messages to comply with Internet Service Provider limitations on group mailings and supports automatic unsubscribe and remove request processing, and email extraction features to aid in the creation of targeted mailing lists for newsletters, support groups, and press releases.
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Other Resources

COLLABORATION DATA OBJECTS, VERSION 1.2.1
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=2714320d-c997-4de1-986f-24f081725d36&displaylang=en
Web download of CDO 1.21. This is a package providing access to Outlook-compatible objects through a COM-based API. Using CDO, a program can connect to a MAPI store, and then perform operations against that store, including creating and processing calendar items, and resolving and handling mail recipients. Starting with Exchange 2007 and Outlook 2007, Microsoft will distribute CDO 1.2.1 as a Web download, separated from the two products.

DEVELOPING SOLUTIONS USING THE CONSOLIDATED OUTLOOK 2007 OBJECT MODEL
http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdntv/episode.aspx?xml=episodes/en/20060511OutlookRB/manifest.xml
MSDN TV featuring Outlook Program Managers Randy Byrne and Ryan Gregg talking about the new platform features in Microsoft Office Outlook 2007. They give an overview of the unification, security, performance, and forms improvements in this release. Includes a code demo of three sample add-ins. 33 minutes.

OFFICE 2007 BETA 2 PUBLIC RELEASE
http://www.microsoft.com/office/preview/default.mspx
The beta 2 release of Office System 2007 is available from the Office preview site. Included in the programs you can download are all of the Office desktop applications and the Office servers - including SharePoint server. Exchange 2007 is not part of the Officer server family and it's beta 2 is not yet available. A passport is required to download the Office beta programs.
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New Exchange Knowledge Base Articles

The last instance of the series is not seen when you create a recurring appointment in Outlook Web Access
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=915872

How to use the Remonitor tool to clear the cache for the routing engine in an Exchange Server 2003 organization or in an Exchange 2000 Server organization
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=914255

The MasSync service stops responding when a user tries to manually synchronize a Windows Mobile device with a Windows 2000-based computer that is running Exchange Server 2003 SP2
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=917875

How to use the Remonitor tool to clear the cache for the routing engine in an Exchange Server 2003 organization or in an Exchange 2000 Server organization
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=914255

The published Free/Busy information for a mailbox is displayed for the default period of two months after you have configured a longer period in Outlook
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=917687

Event ID 1000 is logged when you configure Kerberos authentication between front-end and back-end servers that are running Exchange Server 2003
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=909094

Availability of the Microsoft Application Analyzer 2006 for Lotus Domino tool
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=919028

The Exchange version of the MAPI store provider does not support Kerberos authentication
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=918710

The Exchange version of the MAPI store provider does not support Kerberos authentication
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=918710

MS06-019: Vulnerability in Microsoft Exchange Server could allow remote code execution
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=916803

Direct Push does not work in Exchange Server 2003 SP2 after you create a secondary virtual directory
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=916640

Mailbox rule synchronization may be delayed when you move mailboxes from a server that is running Exchange 2000 Server to a server that is running Exchange Server 2003 SP2
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=916694

Information about CDO patching and third-party programs that interface with the calendar in Exchange Server and in Outlook
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=917481

The IIS Admin Service (Inetinfo.exe) crashes and mail builds up in the SMTP queue on a computer that is running Exchange Server 2003
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=910618

Users sometimes cannot see attachments that have the .p7m extension in Outlook
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=913966

The body of an e-mail message is garbled when the message is viewed in Outlook in an Exchange Server 2003 organization
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=916299

Information about CDO patching and third-party programs that interface with the calendar in Exchange Server and in Outlook
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=917481

The Exchange version of the MAPI store provider does not support Kerberos authentication
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=918710

MS06-019: Vulnerability in Microsoft Exchange Server could allow remote code execution
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=916803
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New Outlook Knowledge Base Articles

Error message when you try to perform a mail merge in Outlook 2003 and in Outlook 2002: "The required file schdmapi.dll could not be loaded"
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=918307

Description of the Outlook 2003 Junk E-Mail filter update: May, 2006
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=916521

Information about CDO patching and third-party programs that interface with the calendar in Exchange Server and in Outlook
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=917481

Description of the Outlook 2003 post-Service Pack 2 hotfix package: May 8, 2006
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=917349

Specific printer settings may be lost after you print to a different printer in Outlook 2003
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=918422

An e-mail message may not be delivered at the scheduled time when you enable the "Do not deliver before" option in an Outlook 2003 message
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=918824

Description of the Outlook 2003 post-Service Pack 2 hotfix package: May 6, 2006
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=917338

Error message when you try to open or to save a Microsoft Office 2007 file: "Do you want to download a compatibility pack so that you can work with this file"
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=919026

A file does not open in the program that you expect when you try to open the file in Office
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=918957

Description of the update for Office 2003: May 19, 2006
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=910473
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ISSN 1523-7990
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