Supporting Outlook 2003


Many features of Outlook 2003 are especially relevant in a book about Exchange Server 2003 because they involve interaction between the Outlook 2003 client and Exchange Server. These features include the ability to work while disconnected from the Exchange server and to let more than one user work with a specific computer.

Using Cached Exchange Mode

Exchange Server and Outlook form the two ends of a powerful communications system. Most of the time, people communicate while the programs are in direct contact with each other so that the give and take of the process can proceed freely.

However, recall from Chapter 1, “Introducing Exchange Server 2003,” that communication with messaging systems such as Exchange Server is asynchronous, which means that one party can send a message without the other party’s being available to receive the message. Even though messages and replies might fly through your Exchange Server environment as rapidly as a conversation transpires on the telephone, the recipient is not required to be available when a message is sent, and the sender does not have to be online when the message is received.

This simple fact means that you can also use the Outlook 2003 client without being connected to the Exchange server. You can read messages in the local folders or create messages that are stored in your Outbox and sent when you reconnect to Exchange Server. This powerful feature makes users more productive in many situations that are typically thought of as downtime. (For example, you’ve probably seen people sitting on planes answering their e-mail.)

You can work offline with Outlook 2003 without modifying the software in any way. In fact, if you start Outlook 2003 when you are disconnected from the network, the environment looks almost the same as it does when you are connected to an Exchange server. The folder list displays all the folders for your mailbox, and you can create messages as though you were connected. Of course, the Outlook 2003 client must previously have been connected to the Exchange Server at some point.

All this is accomplished through a feature called Cached Exchange Mode, which, when enabled, stores a copy of your Exchange mailbox on the local computer. This copy is stored in a file called an offline storage (OST) file. When a client computer is offline (either deliberately or due to a network error), Outlook 2003 automatically switches over to a disconnected mode, during which it periodically attempts to restore the connection. While the connection is unavailable, all the data inside the OST file is available to the user.

By default, however, public folders are not displayed in the folder list when you are working offline. The main reason for this is that public folders tend to be both numerous and large. Synchronizing public folders by default would cause a lot of undue network traffic. As such, you have to manually select public folders to be synchronized by first placing them in your Public Folder Favorites folder and then setting up Outlook to download Public Folder Favorites. You’ll see how to configure all this in the upcoming sections.

Configuring Cached Exchange Mode

Cached Exchange Mode is enabled by default when you install Outlook 2003 and set up an Exchange mailbox, and little configuration is necessary. However, you can change the connection setting used in this mode and also disable Cached Exchange Mode.

Changing Cached Exchange Mode Connection Settings To change the connection settings used by Outlook 2003 for Cached Exchange Mode, use the commands on the Cached Exchange Mode submenu on Outlook’s File menu. The following connection settings are available:

  • Download headers and then full items This setting causes Outlook to download all the headers of messages first, and then download the complete items. The result is that the user sees the full list of messages more quickly in the Outlook client.

  • Download full items This setting causes Outlook to download the header, body, and attachments of all messages at once. The presentation of messages is a bit slower when using this setting, because each message is displayed in the client only when the previous message is finished downloading.

  • Download headers This setting causes Outlook to download only the headers of new messages. The body of the message and any attachments are downloaded only when you open the item.

  • On slow connections download only headers This setting differs in that you can select it in addition to one of the three previous settings. Outlook 2003 has the ability to detect a slow network connection state. When the setting is enabled, Outlook switches to downloading only headers when it detects a slow link—no matter which of the previous three settings is selected.

Disabling Cached Exchange Mode Whenever you enable your Outlook 2003 client for offline use, you automatically enable the standard folders in your mailbox for offline use. The only way to disable offline use of your mailbox folders is to disable Cached Exchange Mode for your Outlook client. You can disable offline use by choosing the E-Mail Accounts option from the Tools menu in Outlook 2003. Select the View or Change Existing E-mail Accounts option, click Next, select the Exchange account, and click Change. On the window that opens, click the More Settings button, switch to the Advanced tab, and disable the Use Cached Exchange Mode option.

Note

Outlook 2003 and Exchange Server 2003 support the use of offline folders without using Cached Exchange Mode. Just disable the Cached Exchange Mode option and make sure an offline folder file is configured. The only reason you might want offline folder access is to limit the synchronization of particular Exchange folders—something most users won’t need to deal with. You can learn more about this in Microsoft Outlook 2003 Inside Out by Jim Boyce (Microsoft Press).

After you disable Cached Exchange Mode, you will no longer be able to use Outlook 2003 with the contents of any of your Exchange-based folders if you are not connected to an Exchange server. If you open Outlook with offline access disabled when you are not connected to an Exchange server, you receive a message that Outlook could not open your default e-mail folders, and Outlook opens with your default file system instead.

Note

Disabling offline access after you’ve created an offline folder does not delete the offline folder. It is not deleted until you explicitly delete it.

Synchronizing a Mailbox

Synchronizing a mailbox is a simple process from the user’s perspective, but the system must perform several complex tasks to accomplish it. When you start Outlook 2003, the system determines whether the client computer is connected to an Exchange server. You can create messages, delete messages, and perform other standard functions while offline. The next time you start Outlook and connect to an Exchange server, Outlook and Exchange Server automatically synchronize the contents of your offline folder. When Exchange Server synchronizes the contents of a folder on an Outlook 2003 client machine with the contents of the matching folder on the Exchange server, the system makes a copy of any messages that exist in only one location and places them in the other location. Exchange also synchronizes messages that have been deleted in one location but not in the other location.

The standard, default folders in your Outlook mailbox (Inbox, Outbox, Deleted Items, Calendar, Sent Items, Contacts, Tasks, Drafts, Journal, and Notes) are synchronized automatically, as long as you set up a location in which to store their contents.

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Real World—When Synchronization Doesn’t Work

Even though you’ve configured everything correctly on your Outlook 2003 client, at times your folders might not synchronize automatically when you reconnect. If Outlook determines that you have a slow connection, it automatically stops synchronization from occurring. You can still synchronize either all folders or a specific folder by using any of the synchronize commands on the Tools menu.

Other errors might also prevent synchronization. A synchronization log file is always placed in the Deleted Items folder of the offline folder. Check this log for error codes that can help you solve synchronization problems.

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Synchronizing Public Folders

As we mentioned earlier in this chapter, the standard mailbox folders are automatically enabled for offline access. You can verify this capability by displaying the property sheet for one of the folders in the mailbox, such as your Inbox. One of the tabs in the property sheet is labeled Synchronization. (This tab is discussed in the section titled “Shaping Synchronization.”) However, if you display the property sheet for a public folder, you do not see the Synchronization tab, because public folders, by default, are not enabled for offline access. Public folders typically contain large amounts of information that would clog your client machine. In addition, the contents of public folders are often subject to change, making synchronization difficult. (See the Real World sidebar “Public Folder Synchronization Conflicts” later in this chapter.)

You can, however, easily enable a public folder for offline access. Simply move the public folder to the Favorites list in the Public Folders container of the folder list. You can make this change by dragging the folder into the Favorites folder or by pointing to Folder on the File menu and choosing Add To Public Folder Favorites. When you drag a public folder to the Favorites folder, the folder has the same name as the original public folder.

When you designate a public folder as a Favorite, you do not move it from its established place in the public folder hierarchy; you simply add the folder to your list of Favorites. When a public folder is in the Favorites list, the property sheet for the folder contains a Synchronization tab. You can remove a folder from the Favorites list by selecting and then deleting it.

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Real World—Public Folder Synchronization Conflicts

Conflicts can arise when more than one person is using and modifying the items in a public folder offline. If you change an item in a public folder while you are offline, when you synchronize that folder, Exchange Server checks the timestamp for the existing version of the item. If the timestamp for the existing version is later than the original timestamp for the item you changed, someone changed the contents of the folder item since you last downloaded it. If this type of conflict occurs, you receive a message that includes copies of all conflicting versions of the item. It is up to you to resolve the conflict, either by combining all versions of an item into a single version and then clicking Keep This Item or by clicking Keep All to keep all versions of the message.

This procedure is more complicated than it sounds. A user might find it difficult to decide whether to keep an existing item or overwrite it, and the wrong decision could have negative results. For this reason, you should place controls on who is allowed to download and modify public folders by using the standard Exchange security system.

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Shaping Synchronization

After you enable offline access for your Outlook client, you can shape the way that each folder synchronizes with Exchange. If a folder is enabled for offline use, the property sheet for the folder contains a Synchronization tab, as shown in Figure 18-3.

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Figure 18-3: Synchronization tab of a folder’s property sheet.

Click the Filter button to display a dialog box that allows you to define filtering conditions (Figure 18-4). This dialog box has several tabs that allow you to define a complex condition. After you set up a filter, Outlook uses the conditions described in the filter to control which messages are synchronized between the Outlook client and the corresponding folders in Exchange Server. Keep in mind that these limits are imposed on all future synchronization attempts but have no effect on any messages that currently reside in the offline message store.

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Figure 18-4: Filtering messages to be synchronized.

Filtering is an enormously useful tool for getting all the benefits of offline access without incurring the excessive overhead caused by synchronizing less important messages. You could create a filter that disables synchronization for any messages that have large file attachments, for example, or you could synchronize only messages from your boss. Be careful to remember when you have synchronization filters on. In an offline folder, there is no indication that the messages presented in the folder are not the complete set of messages stored in the matching Exchange folder.

Deciding Whether to Copy or Synchronize Public Folders

Synchronization is no more than a sophisticated way to copy messages automatically between folders on the Exchange server and the offline folder on an Outlook 2003 client. For your Inbox, Outbox, and other mailbox folders, synchronization works well. But should you use the process for public folders?

Public folders can serve a wide variety of purposes. A public folder can be a simple repository of static information, such as a library, or it can be a dynamically changing discussion group. You can copy the contents of a public folder to your mailbox simply by dragging the folder into the Mailbox container in your Outlook folder list. When should you copy and when should you synchronize the contents of a public folder?

The longer you have the contents of a public folder away from the Exchange server, the more likely it is that you will have a conflict when you reconnect— that is, you might make changes to your offline copy while others are changing the version on the Exchange server. Although public folders do have a way to detect conflicts, as we described earlier, you must resolve those conflicts manually, which can be time-consuming.

When deciding whether to copy or synchronize a public folder, you should carefully analyze how the folder is intended to be used offline. If its contents are meant only to be read, you probably will find that a simple copy operation works well. If you will be making changes in the contents of the folder, you should seriously consider preventing later conflicts by applying filters to the synchronization process so that you modify only the messages that are unlikely to be modified by other users.

Enabling Multiple Users in Outlook 2003

The capabilities of Outlook 2003 and the capabilities of Exchange 2003 work in conjunction with each other. Outlook is a client, and Exchange is a server. When an Outlook client is connected to an Exchange server, the client is representing a single user. In some situations, however, the same Outlook client can be used to support multiple users at different times. This section explores the scenarios in which this situation can occur.

Understanding Outlook Profiles, Exchange Mailboxes,and User Accounts

Before you learn how to implement multiple users with Outlook, you need to understand the differences between an Outlook profile and an Exchange mailbox as well as how both of these entities interact with user accounts.

A profile is a client-side configuration. An Outlook profile is a set of information services configured for a particular user or purpose. The Exchange Server information service in a profile includes a reference to an associated Exchange server and mailbox. When a user starts Outlook, he or she uses the information in an Outlook profile to establish a connection with a particular Exchange server.

Normally, each client machine has a single default Outlook 2003 profile. When a user starts Outlook on that machine, the default profile is used to determine which Exchange mailbox will be used on the server side of the environment. If a user is starting Outlook for the first time or is using a machine that does not have a profile, he or she is prompted to create a profile before fully logging on to the associated Exchange server. To see the profile that your Outlook client is currently using, choose E-Mail Accounts from the Tools menu of Outlook 2003, and then select View or Change Existing E-mail Accounts. You will see the dialog box shown in Figure 18-5.

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Figure 18-5: Viewing the current profile from Outlook 2003.

Creating Multiple Profiles with Outlook 2003

Sometimes a single profile on an Outlook client is not enough. You might want to use more than one Outlook profile for any of several reasons. Perhaps you are using Outlook on a machine that you share with other users. Having separate profiles allows each profile to reflect the various mailboxes and configuration information for a given user. You might also be using a machine under different circumstances (such as in the office and on the road), making it desirable to be able to select a profile based on your current situation.

When you first log on to Outlook 2003, you are prompted to create a profile, which is used as the default profile. To create an additional profile, open the Windows Control Panel and double-click the Mail icon; then choose Show Profiles. Clicking this button displays a list of the profiles on the machine, as shown in Figure 18-6.

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Figure 18-6: A list of e-mail profiles.

To add a new profile, simply click the Add button, which starts the New Profile Wizard. This wizard prompts you for the values needed for a profile, including the name of the target Exchange server and the mailbox that the profile will use on that server. The Inbox Setup Wizard also asks whether you will be using this machine while traveling, and if so, the wizard sets up an offline folder. You can also delete or modify existing profiles in this dialog box.

At the bottom of the Mail dialog box, you can specify a user profile to be used as the default profile for this client machine. Outlook uses this default profile to connect to an Exchange server unless you specify otherwise. The use of a default profile can be somewhat cumbersome, however, because it requires you to display the Outlook property sheet when you want to use a different profile. Alternately, you can have Outlook prompt you for a profile every time you start Outlook. If you select this option, a dialog box appears every time you start Outlook, allowing you to select the profile to use.

Providing Access to Different Exchange Mailboxes

The Outlook profile described in the preceding section includes client-side configuration information. But remember that Outlook is the client portion of a client/server system. You still need the appropriate user privileges to access the server side of the equation in Exchange Server.

Exchange security is based on the Windows Server 2003 security model. Each Exchange object has an access control list (ACL) consisting of a discretionary access control list (DACL) and a system access control list (SACL). These lists are used in conjunction with the user’s access token to either grant or deny access. For instance, before an Outlook client can access an Exchange server, the user must log on to a network and receive a ticket from the domain controller. This ticket is used to gain entrance to the Exchange server. Figure 18-7 illustrates this process.

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Figure 18-7: Using the Outlook client to connect to an Exchange 2003 server.

If you specify a different user name with each profile, you can use multiple Outlook profiles to access different Exchange mailboxes. In some situations, however, you might want to allow an individual to access different Exchange mailboxes while using the same user name. For example, you might want a receptionist to be able to open the mailbox of another receptionist who has called in sick for the day.

A mailbox in Exchange is really just a storage place in an Exchange server’s private store provided for a mailbox-enabled user. When you create a mailbox, you can give other users permission to access it. You can grant this permission from the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in by opening the property sheet for the user and then displaying the Exchange Advanced tab. On this tab, click the Mailbox Rights button to open the Permissions dialog box shown in Figure 18-8. When you click the Add button, you see a list of users and groups. You can select one or more of these entities and then click OK to grant them access to the mailbox. You can also delete accounts from the list, but you can never delete the primary account for the mailbox.

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Figure 18-8: Granting permissions to other users.

Tip

If you do not see the Exchange Advanced tab, you need to enable the Advanced view in Microsoft Management Console by choosing the Advanced command from the View menu.

You can also allow other users to see any folder in your mailbox by granting them permission through the standard property sheet for a folder in Outlook. If users have permission for a specific folder or their user accounts have been granted permissions on the mailbox, they can open the folder by choosing Other User’s Folders from the Open submenu of the main File menu. They can also add the mailbox to their profile by using the option on the Advanced tab of the Microsoft Exchange Server property sheet. They simply click the Add button in the top portion of the Advanced tab and select the mailbox they want to add.

Using Outlook to Delegate Mailbox Access

The previous section described how the administrator controls access to another user’s mailbox using Active Directory Users and Computers. Using Outlook, users can grant privileges to other users without contacting the administrator. They can grant these privileges by right-clicking the folder (such as Calendar), choosing Properties, and then adding the appropriate user on the Permissions tab, as shown in Figure 18-9. These permissions are similar in nature to ACLs, except that they are Exchange-specific and can be assigned only to certain mail-enabled Active Directory objects. There is no one-to-one correlation between the permissions you see here and the Windows permissions.

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Figure 18-9: Granting access using Outlook.

In addition, a user can use the Delegates tab of the Options dialog box (available from the Tools menu) to delegate access to the folders in his or her mailbox. The user can also assign different levels of permissions for each folder. The person being granted delegate access will receive e-mail indicating that permissions have been granted and detailing what level those permissions are.

Once the privileges have been assigned to another user, that user can access the folders by pointing to Open on the File menu and choosing Other User’s Folder In Microsoft Outlook. This option is commonly used by administrative assistants checking their bosses’ schedules or in situations in which a mailbox represents a conference room, a TV, a company car, or any other resource that can be checked out. In these cases, the Calendar is used to track resource use. By providing a few users with the ability to modify the resource’s Calendar— and the rest of the company the ability to review the calendar—you can maintain a centralized location for companywide resource tracking.

Setting Up Roving Users

A roving user is a user who does not have a fixed physical location and might consequently log on to many different machines. (In Windows parlance, these users have roaming profiles. Exchange Server calls them roving profiles.) To accommodate such a user, you could set up a user profile on each of the machines he or she might use, but this solution might be impractical. Another way to address this situation is by creating a roving user profile.

The configuration information for a roving user is stored on a shared disk on a network server, allowing this information to be accessed from any machine that can connect to the network. When you set up a roving user profile on a machine running Windows Server 2003, client machines that log on to the network with that profile look on the shared disk for configuration information. The common access to the storage of a roving profile eliminates the need to have this profile stored on many machines. When you enable roving users in Windows, that’s all you have to do. Outlook 2003 automatically supports roving Exchange users. For more information about setting up a shared user profile on Windows Server 2003 and various clients, refer to the documentation for those products.

You can also accommodate roving users through Microsoft Outlook Web Access and the Web Store. These features are discussed in Chapter 19, “Supporting Outlook Web Access.”

HTTP Access from Outlook

When used with the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 RPC Proxy Service and Exchange 2003, Outlook 2003 clients can connect to an Exchange server using HTTP or HTTPS instead of a direct RPC. This reduces the need for virtual private networks (VPNs) or dial-up remote access to the network, and thus reduces cost for remote Outlook access in the process. Using HTTP Access also provides for increased security by ensuring that remote Outlook users don’t need access to the entire network. This unifies the connection methods also found in Microsoft Office Outlook Web Access and Outlook Mobile Access.

To connect to an Exchange 2003 server, the following requirements must be met:

  • The client must be running Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 1 and the Q331320 hotfix (or later) and Outlook 2003.

  • The user must have a mailbox on a server running Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and Microsoft Windows Server 2003.

  • The Microsoft Windows Server 2003 RPC Proxy Service must be enabled and configured.

To set up an Outlook client to connect to an Exchange server over HTTP, you’ll need the URL for the server running the RPC Proxy service.

More Info

For more information on configuring Outlook 2003 to connect to an Exchange server using RPC over HTTP, check out the Microsoft Office 2003 Resource Kit (Microsoft Press, 2003) or find the information on the Web at http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/2003/three/ch8/outc07.htm.




Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Administrator's Companion
Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Administrators Companion (Pro-Administrators Companion)
ISBN: 0735619794
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 254

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