Chapter 21 -- Microsoft Outlook Forms Environment

Chapter 21

About This Chapter

Electronic forms, similar to paper-based forms, are useful for gathering and providing information in a structured way. They contain fields to enter or display data, which are associated with object attributes that hold the actual information in e-mail items. Electronic forms are a key element for rapid deployment of sophisticated and cost-effective workgroup and workflow solutions.

Microsoft Outlook 2000 takes advantage of electronic forms in many ways. Whether you send messages, manage contacts, or handle appointments or tasks, you work with electronic forms. Each item is registered with its corresponding form, which lets Outlook display the information in the correct format. Based on object attributes, you can create views, filters, and rules to structure and process information. You don't need any programming skills to design forms, but you can add Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript) code to implement advanced features.

This chapter covers the development, installation, and use of Outlook forms and related workgroup solutions at a basic level. For detailed information on how to work with Outlook 2000 forms programmatically, see the Microsoft Office 2000 Visual Basic Programmer's Guide.

Before You Begin

To complete this chapter:

• Prepare server BLUESKY-SRV1 and workstation BLUESKY-WKSTA according to the descriptions given in the "Getting Started" section of "About This Book."
• Be familiar with the standard modules of Outlook 2000 and the concepts of working with Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI)-based clients in a workgroup environment.