Managing Public Folders with Outlook

Office Outlook 2003 can be used to create public folders and perform a certain degree of public folder management. You can also use previous versions of Outlook, the Microsoft Exchange Client, and certain generic mail clients ( specifically IMAP4 clients ) to create public folders, but these applications may not provide the same level of management as Outlook 2003. Because the procedures for creation are fairly similar, this section focuses only on the use of Outlook 2003 in working with public folders.

Creating Public Folders in Outlook

Creating folders in Outlook 2003 is simple. Just make sure that the All Public Folders object (or the folder in which you want to create a new folder) is highlighted, and select the New Folder command from the File menu. The process for creating a new folder is outlined in Exercise 6.1.

EXERCISE 6.1: Creating a Public Folder in Outlook

Start Outlook.
Make sure that the public folder tree is showing by selecting the List command from the View menu.
In the List view, expand the Public Folders item.
To create a top-level folder, select the All Public Folders object. You can also select another folder in which you want to create a subfolder.
With a public folder selected, choose New Folder from Outlook ‚ s File menu. This opens the Create New Folder dialog box seen below.
Enter the name of the public folder you want to create and the type of items the folder should contain, and select the folder in which the new folder should be created. The default folder is the one that was selected when you issued the New Folder command.
Once everything is set, click OK to create the new folder.
Assuming you have the appropriate permissions to create a folder in the chosen location (and, by default, all users can create folders wherever they want), the folder is created and may be accessed by other users immediately. Keep in mind, though, that it may take some time for the public folder hierarchy to replicate itself throughout Active Directory, so it may take some time before all users can see the folder in their lists. The results of this exercise are displayed below.

Configuring Public Folders from Outlook

After a public folder is created, it is managed using both Outlook and Exchange System Manager. Because users can create public folders with Outlook, it is advantageous to allow them certain managerial responsibilities, which is why part of the management occurs in the client.

When a user creates a public folder, that user automatically becomes the folder ‚ s owner. The owner is responsible for the folder ‚ s basic design, which includes access permissions, rules, and the association of electronic forms. To perform these management tasks , the user can simply open the property sheets for a particular public folder in Outlook. Public folders can also be managed to a degree from within Exchange System Manager (discussed later), but the Outlook option means that the user has only a single application with which to be concerned .

The key configuration elements of public folders in Outlook are as follows :

Permissions
Forms
Rules Views

These elements are managed through a set of property pages that are used for configuration. There are two ways to display these property pages. One way is to highlight the public folder, click the right mouse button, and choose Properties from the pop-up menu that appears. Another way is to highlight the public folder and then choose Folders > Properties For < Public Folder Name > from the File menu.

Permissions

By assigning permissions, a public folder owner can choose which users have access to the folder and what actions those users may perform. There are eight individual permissions and nine groupings of permissions, called roles , that can be assigned. Table 6.1 describes these permissions, descending from the permission with the most capabilities to the permission with the fewest capabilities. The word items , as used in this table, refers to the contents of the public folder, such as e-mail messages, forms, documents, and other files.

Table 6.2 lists the predefined groupings of permissions according to role.

Table 6.1: Public Folder Permissions
Permission	Description
Create Items	Can create new items in a folder.
Read Items	Can open and view items in a folder.
Create Subfolders	Can create subfolders within a folder.
Folder Owner	Can change permissions in a folder and perform administrative tasks, such as adding rules and installing forms on a folder.
Folder Contact	Receives e-mail notifications relating to a folder. Notifications include replication conflicts, folder design conflicts, and storage limit notifications.
Folder Visible	Determines whether the folder is visible to the user in the public folder hierarchy.
Edit Items	Can edit (modify) items in a folder.
Delete Items	Can delete items in a folder.

Table 6.2: Predefined Roles and Their Permissions
Role	Create Items	Read Items	Create Subfolders	Folder Owner	Folder Contact	Folder Visible	Edit Items	Delete Items
Owner	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	All	All
Publishing Editor	Yes	All	Yes	No	No	Yes	All	All
Editor	Yes	All	No	No	No	Yes	All	All
Publishing Author	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Own	Own
Author	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Own	Own
Nonediting Author	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	None	None
Contributor	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	None	None
Reviewer	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	None	None
None	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	None	None

Custom roles consisting of any combination of individual permissions may also be assigned. When a public folder is created, the following three users are included on the permissions list by default (see Figure 6.4):

Figure 6.4: The Permissions property page of a public folder

The user who created the public folder This user is automatically assigned the Owner role. In Figure 6.4, the owner of the folder is the Administrator account. The owner of a folder may also grant other users this role.

A special user named Default This user represents all users who have access to the public folder store but aren ‚ t explicitly listed in the permissions list. In top-level folders, the Default user is automatically granted the Author role (this can be modified). Below the top-level folders, the Default user automatically inherits the permissions it has at its parent folder.

A special user named Anonymous The Anonymous user represents all users logged on with Anonymous access. For example, an Exchange server could contain public folders holding promotional information for public viewing. People without user accounts could use a web browser or newsreader program and the Anonymous account to access the Exchange server and read the promotional information. Any permissions assigned to the Anonymous account are applied to these users.

These three users cannot be removed from the permissions list of a public folder. However, the particular roles and permissions they have can be modified. All other users can be removed from the permissions list.

Note ‚

Exchange administrators can always designate themselves as the owners of public folders. This is especially important if the recipient who is the owner of a public folder (or all Active Directory accounts that are on the permissions list of that recipient) is deleted.

Exercise 6.2 outlines the steps to configure the permissions on a public folder.

EXERCISE 6.2: Configuring the Permissions on a Public Folder

In Outlook, highlight the public folder. Click the right mouse button, and choose Properties from the pop-up menu. The Properties dialog box for the folder appears.
Click the Permissions tab. Notice the permissions given to the Default user. The Default user is given the Author role by default for top-level folders and whatever permissions it has for the parent folder of all other folders. Notice also that the user who created this public folder has the Owner role.
Highlight the Default user, and then click the down-arrow in the Roles field. Choose the None role from the list.
Click Add, and highlight a new user from the list. Next , click Add, and then click OK. The user is added to the access list for the public folder with the role of None. This role was automatically assigned because the Default user ‚ s role is None, as you can see below.
Change the new user ‚ s role to Author. Notice that the new user now has the Create Items and Read Items permissions. This role also allows the user to edit and delete the user ‚ s own items.
Click OK to save the configuration.

EXERCISE 6.3: Associating a Form with a New Public Folder

In Outlook, highlight the public folder. Click the right mouse button, and choose Properties from the pop-up menu. The Properties dialog box for the folder appears.
Click the Forms tab. Notice that there are currently no forms associated with this public folder but that the Allow These Forms In This Folder field is set to Any Form. You are going to associate a specific form with this folder and configure it as the only form to be used with this folder.
Click the Manage button. The Forms Manager appears, listing the forms published in the Organization Forms library.
Click a form, and then click Copy. If the form has already been installed, all you have to do now is click Close. Otherwise, you ‚ ll be walked through some extra steps for installing the form. Notice that the form is now associated with this public folder.
Under the Allow These Forms In This Folder field, choose Only Forms Listed Above, and then click OK. The form installation performed in this exercise will be tested in the upcoming section, ‚“Using Public Folders. ‚½

Forms

Forms can be associated with a public folder, allowing users to submit structured data into the folder. The list of forms associated with a public folder is found in the folder ‚ s property pages. Exercise 6.3 walks through the steps to associate a form with a public folder.

Rules

Rules consisting of conditions and actions can be configured on public folders. Rules allow a public folder to automate certain procedures. The following is a list of some of the conditions (or criteria ) that can be used in a rule:

From A message from specified recipients

Sent To A message sent to specified recipients

Subject Specified text in the Subject heading of a message

Message Body Specified text or phrase in the body of a message

Size A specified size of a message, ‚“At least x size ‚½ or ‚“At most x size ‚½

Received A specified date range within which a message was received

The following actions can be triggered if the preceding conditions are met:

Delete Delete the message.

Reply With Reply to the message ‚ s sender with a specified message template.

Forward To Forward the message to specified recipients.

A rule could be used, for example, to keep postings separate from replies. If a company had a public folder named Company Events containing information on upcoming company events, users could be given permission to provide feedback on these events by sending replies to this folder. However, the number of replies in this folder could hinder users from finding the original events posting. To resolve this, the owner of this folder could create a subfolder called Discussions. The owner could then create a rule for Company Events that states that all replies to this folder should be forwarded to the Discussions folder. For this example to work, the preceding folders must be visible in the GAL.

Rules are added to public folders by clicking the Folder Assistant button on a folder ‚ s Administration property page. Clicking this button displays the Folder Assistant dialog box, which enables you to add, edit, delete, and order rules for a public folder. Exercise 6.4 outlines the steps involved in creating a rule on a public folder.

EXERCISE 6.4: Creating a Rule on a Public Folder

In Outlook, highlight the public folder. Click the right mouse button, and choose Properties from the pop-up menu. The Properties dialog box for the folder appears.
Click the Administration tab, seen below.
Click the Folder Assistant button. The Folder Assistant dialog box appears, as seen below.
Click Add Rule. The Edit Rule dialog box appears. In the Subject field, type a word that should appear in the subject, and type the same word again in the Message Body field. This is the condition part of the rule and stipulates that any message that contains the chosen word in the subject or body of the message fits the criteria.
Now set the action part of the rule. Click the Forward check box, and then click To. The Choose Recipient dialog box appears. In the Show Names From The field, choose Global Address List.
Choose the user you want to automatically forward the message to, and then click the To button.
Click OK, and then click OK on the next three dialog boxes to close all open dialog boxes. The rule is now saved within the properties of the public folder.

Table 6.3: Outlook Features for Viewing Folder Items
Feature	Examples
Sort	Order items by sender, recipient, importance, subject text, sensitivity, or other properties.
Filter	Filter items by words or phrases contained in the subject text or message body, sender, recipient, what time they were sent, or other properties. Only items that pass through the filter are displayed in the Contents pane.
Group By	Group items by when they are due, sender, recipient, importance, subject text, sensitivity, or other properties.

Views

Outlook includes many powerful features to view items in a folder. Some of the features in Outlook are listed in Table 6.3.

Using Public Folders

This section and its exercises cover how to add content to a public folder. The two primary methods to add content to a public folder are as follows:

Posting forms
Sending e-mail messages

Posting

If a public folder is configured to accept postings, which is the default, users who have the necessary permissions can post data to the public folder. To post, a user must highlight the public folder and either click the New Post icon on the toolbar or choose New Post In This Folder from the Compose menu. Posting is an easy and efficient method of adding content to a public folder, because the user does not have to address the message as they do when sending a mail message to a public folder. Exercise 6.5 outlines the steps for this procedure.

EXERCISE 6.5: Posting Information to a Public Folder

In Outlook, select the public folder you want to post into.
Click the New Post icon on the Outlook toolbar to open a posting.
Enter the subject and body text, as seen below.
Post the message to the public folder.
The new posting appears in the public folder.

Mail Messages

A mail message can be sent to a public folder. As you may recall, a public folder is a recipient and, therefore, can receive and send messages. Exercise 6.6 outlines the steps to send a mail message to a public folder.

Note ‚

In order for someone to send a mail message to a public folder using their client ‚ s address book, the public folder must be visible in the address book. By default, public folders are visible in the address book. If you want to send a mail message to a public folder that is hidden, you will need to first unhide it.

EXERCISE 6.6: Sending a Mail Message to a Public Folder

In Outlook, choose Compose > New Message. An untitled mail-message window appears.
Click To. In the Show Names From The field, choose Global Address List. Find the public folder in the Global Address List.
Select the public folder, click the To button, and then click OK.
Type an appropriate subject in the Subject field.
Type some information in the body of the message.
Click the Send icon in the toolbar.