This is a very complex subject, for which we can only offer some beginning pointers at this time.

Roaming profiles

When you configure a profile for Outlook with Control Panel | Mail, those settings are stored in your Windows user profile. If you have Windows Server or a NetWare server, you can set up users so that their Windows profile settings follow them, no matter what workstation they log on to.

The Microsoft Exchange Server Resource Kit includes a Profgen.exe utility that works with Newprof.exe to create profiles. See Log on anywhere and More tools below for other tools.

Note that the profile generation tools only handle the user's MAPI profile. If you want to force certain other settings -- those normally set in Tools | Options -- you need to use the System Policy Editor to create a policy file with your choices in it.

Sharing the same computer

What if you don't have Windows NT Server, but several people need to use the same computer? At the very least, each person needs their own Outlook profile, connecting to their own mail account(s) and using with a unique Personal Folders .pst file, probably password-protected. The tools listed below can generate profiles for this situation, too.

See Sharing Microsoft Outlook Info on One PC for a more detailed discussion.

Additional tips

If you have people moving around and don't want sample items created in their mailbox each time they use a new profile with Outlook 97, try adding this string value to your registry (if it isn't there already):

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\xx.0\Outlook\First-Run

Replace xx with the correct value for your version of Office. You'll set the value to "False" (without the quotes).

Outlook 2010 = 14.0
Outlook 2007 = 12.0
Outlook 2003 = 11.0
Outlook 2002 = 10.0
Outlook 2000 = 9.0