Updating Outlook Profiles by Using PRF Files | Microsoft Office 2003 Editions Resource Kit (Pro-Resource Kit)

If you need to update Microsoft Outlook profile information after installing Microsoft Office Outlook 2003, you have two main methods to choose from:

Update profile information in an Outlook profile file (PRF file), and distribute the file to your users. When Outlook imports the PRF file, user profile settings are updated.
Use the Custom Maintenance Wizard to reconfigure profile settings, save those settings in a configuration maintenance file, and apply that file to your users’ installations.

Using a PRF file to update users’ profiles might be the best choice if one or more of the following circumstances apply:

You saved a PRF file with your users’ Outlook profile configurations when you installed Outlook.
You are making minor changes to the profiles.
You wish to keep from inadvertently modifying other Office settings, which cannot be done by using a PRF file.
You want to add a service that cannot be configured by using the Custom Maintenance Wizard.

This section of the chapter describes how to update Outlook profiles by using a PRF file.

Note

Using the Custom Maintenance Wizard to update profiles might be the best choice if you are making other changes to Microsoft Office settings at the same time that you want to modify Outlook profile information, or you are making substantial or complicated changes to Outlook profiles. For more information about updating profiles by using the Custom Maintenance Wizard, see “Updating Outlook 2003 by Using the Custom Maintenance Wizard” earlier in this chapter.

You can update an existing PRF file by editing it in a simple text editor, such as Notepad. The PRF file contains detailed comments to guide you in making appropriate changes. All of the customizations that are available through pages in the Custom Maintenance Wizard can be made manually by editing the file.

For instance, a simple change would be to update the Microsoft Exchange server name for a group of users, following these steps:

In Section 1, in the [General] section, set the value for OverwriteProfile to Append as follows:
```
OverwriteProfile=Append
```
In Section 4, in the [Service 1] section, set the value of OverwriteExistingService to Yes as follows:
```
OverwriteExistingService=Yes
```
In Section 4, in the [Service 1] section, set a new string value for the HomeServer field. For example:
```
HomeServer=New-Exchange-Server-Name
```

After you have made changes to the PRF file, you can use it to update Outlook profiles in several ways. For example, you can provide it to users by making it available on a network share or you can distribute the file by using Microsoft Systems Management Server. Because the PRF file is an executable file, users can update their profiles by simply double-clicking the file name. When users double-click the PRF file, Outlook starts and uses the PRF file information to update the users’ profiles.

In addition, you can add custom features to users’ Outlook profiles by editing the file. For example, if you need to add a new messaging service for your users that is not provided in the Custom Maintenance Wizard, you can make manual changes to the PRF file to add the service.

Note

A fast way to create a PRF file for use in your deployment is to create your preliminary configuration by specifying Outlook options in the Custom Installation Wizard, then export the settings. After saving the file, open it with a text editor and make any additional changes you choose. For more information about working with PRF files, see “Customizing Outlook Profiles by Using PRF Files” in Chapter 7, “Deploying Outlook 2003.”

Resources and related information

The Custom Installation Wizard offers a wide range of configuration options for defining and modifying user profiles. For more information about your options for configuring Outlook profiles, see “Customizing Outlook Features and Installation with the Custom Installation Wizard” in Chapter 7, “Deploying Outlook 2003.”

Complete details on modifying user profile information by editing and distributing a PRF file are provided in “Customizing Outlook Profiles by Using PRF Files,” also in Chapter 7.