Setting Up Outlook

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The first time you start Outlook 2000, it runs the Outlook 2000 Startup Wizard, which displays a series of dialog boxes to help you configure the program. The specific dialog boxes you see depends on your current computer setup and the options you select in the wizard. This section explains some of the significant choices you'll be asked to make and provides important background information to help you understand the different configuration options.

If you're already using an e-mail program when you install Outlook 2000, Outlook might be able to access your existing e-mail messages and use your current address book and e-mail settings with Outlook. Doing so will let you continue to send and receive e-mail using your current e-mail provider without interruption. If Outlook can read and convert the data files of your current e-mail program (Outlook Express, Eudora, Netscape Messenger, and other popular e-mail programs), the Startup Wizard will display the E-mail Upgrade Options dialog box, which will list all the compatible e-mail programs the wizard detects on your computer. In this dialog box, you should either select one of these programs or select None Of The Above to set up Outlook without using your existing e-mail configuration.

TIP
After you have set up Outlook, you can import data from an existing e-mail program at any time by running the Import And Export Wizard to import your e-mail messages, addresses, and settings. To run this wizard, choose Import And Export from the File menu in Outlook.

Another important dialog box that the Startup Wizard displays is titled E-mail Service Options. In this dialog box, shown in Figure 25-1, you must choose the basic type of Outlook installation that you want. This significant decision greatly affects the Outlook features that will be available. The three options you can choose are described in Table 25-1.

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Figure 25-1. Selecting the type of Outlook installation you want in the E-mail Service Options dialog box.

Table 25-1. The Three Installation Types You Can Choose When You Install Outlook

Outlook Installation Type Select This Installation Type If...
Internet Only You send and receive e-mail via only an e-mail server that uses standard Internet protocols (namely, SMTP for outgoing messages, and either POP3 or IMAP for incoming messages), and you don't want to use Outlook as a client for Microsoft Exchange Server (discussed in the sidebar "Using Outlook with Microsoft Exchange Server").
Corporate Or Workgroup You want to use Outlook as a client for Microsoft Exchange Server, or you send and receive e-mail using Microsoft Mail 3.x or another e-mail service that doesn't use standard Internet protocols (for example, CompuServe). This installation also allows you to exchange e-mail with a standard SMTP/POP3 Internet e-mail server (using the Internet E-Mail information service, described in Table 25-2).
No E-Mail You don't plan to use Outlook to send and receive e-mail or faxes.

Because the Corporate Or Workgroup installation supports the standard Internet SMTP and POP3 e-mail protocols as well as Microsoft Exchange Server and nonstandard mail services, it's the most comprehensive choice. However, the Corporate Or Workgroup installation lacks some of the Internet e-mail and Internet collaboration features provided by the Internet Only installation— for example, support for IMAP e-mail, group scheduling on the Internet using the iCalendar protocol, and the ability to verify e-mail addresses using directory services. (These features are explained later in the book.) Also, the Internet Only installation was designed to provide better performance for Internet e-mail.

NOTE
A few of the discussions in the Outlook chapters apply only to the Corporate Or Workgroup installation of Outlook (for example, the description of information services and profiles in the following section, and the material on scheduling meetings in Chapter 27). In each of these places, the book includes a note or sidebar that briefly explains how the Internet Only installation differs from the Corporate Or Workgroup installation.

Before you can run the Corporate Or Workgroup installation of Outlook for the first time, you must set up a user profile on your computer. User profiles— and the information services they contain— are described next.

TIP
If you choose to have Outlook upgrade an existing e-mail program, the Outlook 2000 Startup Wizard won't display the E-mail Service Options dialog box. Rather, it will automatically select either the Internet Only or the Corporate Or Workgroup option (whichever is most appropriate for your e-mail settings). However, you can later switch between these two options by choosing Options from the Tools menu in Outlook, clicking the Mail Services tab, and clicking the Reconfigure Mail Support button.

Information Services and User Profiles

In Outlook, an information service is a facility that either sends and delivers messages or provides a repository for storing and managing information. For example, one information service might allow you to send and receive e-mail messages, another might provide a storage area for holding and organizing your Outlook folders, and a third might store a collection of addresses that you can use for sending messages (known as an address book). Examples of specific information services will be given in Table 25-2.

NOTE
The Internet Only installation of Outlook doesn't use information services or user profiles. Rather, you simply set up an account for each e-mail or fax service that you want to use. If you choose the Internet Only option in the Outlook 2000 Startup Wizard, Outlook runs the Internet Connection Wizard, which prompts you for information and sets up an e-mail account and possibly a fax account, as well as an Internet connection if one isn't already defined. You can later add, remove, or modify accounts by choosing Accounts from the Tools menu, or by opening the Mail item in the Windows Control Panel. More details are given in the sidebar "Setting Up E-Mail and Faxes in the Internet Only Installation."

A user profile is a collection of information services and settings. Each time you run Outlook, it opens a user profile and accesses the information services and uses the settings that it contains. A user profile must therefore be defined on your computer before you can use Outlook.

If, before you installed Outlook 2000, you used a previous Outlook version (or Microsoft Exchange), or if you were able to upgrade a prior e-mail program in the Outlook 2000 Startup Wizard, you should already have a user profile defined on your computer. In this case, Outlook can simply use this profile. However, if a user profile isn't currently defined on your computer, the Startup Wizard will start the Inbox Setup Wizard, which lets you define a user profile by adding and setting up the information services that you need.

SEE ALSO
See the sidebar "Using Outlook with Microsoft Exchange Server" in this chapter for a description of Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft Exchange.

TIP
Create Additional Profiles
You can define one or more additional user profiles. For example, if more than one person uses a computer, each could have a separate profile. Or, you might define one profile for your business information and one for your personal information. To create a new profile, open the Mail item in your Windows Control Panel folder, click the Show Profiles button on the Services tab, and click the Add button on the General tab of the Mail dialog box that's displayed. This will run the Inbox Setup Wizard to guide you through the steps for defining the profile. To control which profile Outlook uses, choose Options from the Tools menu, and click the Mail Services tab. If you select the Prompt For A Profile To Be Used option, Outlook will let you choose a profile each time it starts running. If you select Always Use This Profile, Outlook will automatically use the profile you select in the adjoining list box. (You can also set the Outlook profile using the General tab of the Mail dialog box mentioned in the previous paragraph.)

You can also modify a user profile. That is, you can add, remove, or change the properties of information services; and you can change the way messages are delivered and addressed. To modify the profile that Outlook is currently using, choose Services from the Tools menu of the Outlook program to open the Services dialog box, shown in Figure 25-2. Or, to modify any profile defined on your computer, open the Mail item in the Windows Control Panel.

Whichever method you use to define or modify a user profile, when you add an information service, you can choose from a list of standard services that Outlook provides (briefly described in Table 25-2). You can also add an information service from a disk or network location. (For example, an e-mail service provider might supply you with a disk containing an information service that you can use to send and receive e-mail with that service.) The e-mail and fax information services are explained further in the sidebar "Setting Up E-Mail and Faxes in Outlook."

Using Outlook with Microsoft Exchange Server
Microsoft Exchange Server is an application that can be installed on a network server computer running the Microsoft Windows NT Server operating system. It allows the network users to share information, to collaborate on projects, and to exchange messages with other users on the network and on the Internet.

Outlook doesn't require Exchange Server. You can use most of Outlook's features without your computer being attached to an Exchange Server network. However, if your computer is attached to an Exchange Server network, you can use Outlook as a client for Exchange Server— that is, a program that lets you access the messaging and collaborative features provided by Exchange Server on the network. To use Outlook in this capacity, you must include the Microsoft Exchange Server information service in your user profile. The following are some of the unique features and additional capabilities of Outlook when it's used as a client for Exchange Server:

Most of these Exchange Server features are discussed later in the book. The book clearly flags all features it discusses that require Exchange Server.

By the way, don't confuse Microsoft Exchange Server with the Microsoft Exchange software— later called Windows Messaging— that's included with Windows. Like Outlook, Microsoft Exchange is a client for various messaging services, although compared to Outlook it's a limited one, supporting only sending and receiving messages. Outlook and Microsoft Exchange both employ the same type of user profiles— that's why if you used Exchange before installing Outlook, you can immediately access your existing e-mail and fax messages as well as your message settings.

click to view at full size.

Figure 25-2. Modifying the current user profile in Outlook's Services dialog box.

NOTE
As you'll learn in the next section, Outlook information is stored in a set of folders (Inbox, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, and so on). To provide a place to keep your Outlook folders when you use the Corporate Or Workgroup installation of Outlook, you must include the Personal Folders information service (which stores Outlook folders on a local disk) or the Microsoft Exchange Server information service (which stores Outlook folders on the Exchange Server computer and is available only if your computer is attached to an Exchange Server network). See the preceding sidebar for more information on using Outlook with Exchange Server.

Table 25-2. Standard Outlook Information Services You Can Add to a User Profile

Information Service Purpose
Internet E-Mail Allows you to send and receive e-mail messages through an Internet service provider that uses the standard SMTP and POP3 Internet e-mail protocols.
Microsoft Exchange Server If your computer is attached to a network on which Microsoft Exchange Server is installed, this information service lets Outlook access the messaging and collaborative Exchange Server features. That is, it lets you use Outlook as a client for Exchange Server. See the sidebar "Using Outlook with Microsoft Exchange Server."
Microsoft Fax If you have a fax modem installed on your computer, and if you've installed the Microsoft Fax component of Windows, this service lets Outlook send and receive faxes using the Microsoft Fax software. Note that you should install the Microsoft Fax component before installing Outlook 2000 because the Outlook setup program needs to update the component.
Microsoft Mail Allows you to use Outlook to exchange e-mail with people who use the Microsoft Mail e-mail application for PC networks.
MS Outlook Support For Lotus cc:Mail Allows you to send and receive e-mail messages with users of the Lotus cc:Mail messaging application.
Microsoft LDAP Directory Lets you verify e-mail addresses and find information about people using LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol).
Outlook Address Book Lets you look up e-mail and fax addresses and distribution lists that you have stored in your Outlook Contacts folder.
Personal Address Book Allows you to store and retrieve e-mail addresses and to create personal distribution lists. A personal distribution list is used to e-mail a single message to an entire group of people. (A personal address book is kept within a file on your hard disk that has the .pab extension.)
Personal Folders Stores Outlook folders— Inbox, Calendar, Contacts, and so on— in a file on your hard disk. (This file has the .pst extension.) Outlook folders are described in "Accessing Outlook Folders" Note that if your computer is attached to an Exchange Server network, your Outlook folders are normally stored in your mailbox on the server, although you can also use a Personal Folders information service to store additional Outlook folders on a local disk.

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Running Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business
Running Microsoft Office 2000
ISBN: 1572319585
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 228
Authors: Michael Halvorson, Michael J. Young
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