Using Outlook 2003 Collaboratively

 < Day Day Up > 

Outlook 2003 expands the collaborative tools of previous versions and includes some new features as well. This section covers some of the collaborative features included in Outlook 2003.

Viewing Shared Calendars in Multiple Panes

Outlook 2003 now allows a user to view an additional Calendar in a shared pane. In previous versions, if an additional Calendar was opened, it was opened in a new window. Now a user can open multiple Calendars that they have permissions to view and can line them up side by side and view or compare them.

To open more Calendars, do the following:

  1. Choose File, Open, Other User's Folder.

  2. Choose the name of the user and select Folder Type: Calendar. The Calendar opens in the main window and automatically removes the mailbox owner's Calendar.

  3. To view both the end user Calendar and the additional Calendar, go to the Folder pane. There is an area under the monthly Calendar that provides check boxes for what Calendars the end user wants to view. Click on the My Calendar box to view both the end-user Calendar and the additional Calendar.

    TIP

    Note that each additional Calendar is a different color, and the corresponding check box on the left is the same color .

  4. Continue to add the Calendars desired and click on the check boxes to remove or add Calendars to view.

  5. When completed, click on the My Calendar check box and deselect all the additional Calendars.

TIP

Viewing shared Calendars can also be accessed from the Calendar area by clicking on the Open a Shared Calendar hyperlink in the Folder List pane. Enter the name and click OK. This automatically shows both the mailbox owner's Calendar and the new Calendar(s).


Enabling Calendar Sharing

For security reasons, Calendars are not shared by default. The end user must specify users with whom to share a Calendar.

To enable the mailbox owner's Calendar to be shared, follow these steps:

  1. Click on the hyperlink Share My Calendar, in the Folder List area in Calendars.

  2. The Calendar Properties box appears.

  3. Click on Add.

  4. Browse or enter the name or group to get access to the Calendar (see Figure 25.11).

    Figure 25.11. Sharing a Calendar with another user.

    graphics/25fig11.gif

  5. Click OK.

  6. The end user must now assign the permissions for other users to have to the Calendar. Outlook provides predefined roles for permissions that appear in the Permission Level box. Clicking the drop-down menu and choosing a predefined permission level shows what permissions are being granted, making it easy to chose desired permissions. To create a unique set of permissions, choose an initial Permissions level and then check the boxes and radio buttons to assign the unique permissions.

  7. Click OK when completed. The user(s) specified will have those rights to the end user's Calendar until the end user specifically removes them by going through the same process mentioned, and then clicking on the user or group with permissions to the Calendar and choosing Remove.

Sharing Other Personal Information

Outlook also enables an end user to share other personal information, such as the Inbox, contacts, and tasks. This is all done through the same method listed previously (except that the user must be in the Contacts or Tasks areas to access the proper hyperlink to share that component of Outlook). The exception is enabling mail sharing, which doesn't provide a hyperlink.

To enable mail sharing, follow these steps:

  1. Right-click on the Inbox in the Folder view.

  2. Choose Sharing.

  3. Enter the users or groups and permissions levels, as described previously in the "Enabling Calendar Sharing" section.

Delegating Rights to Send Email "On Behalf Of"

To enable a user to send email on someone's behalf, follow these steps:

  1. Go to Tools, Options and select the Delegates tab.

  2. Click Add.

  3. Add the name of the user or group that needs the rights.

  4. Click OK.

  5. Choose the permission level for each component of Outlook.

  6. Click OK when completed.

  7. To send the delegates a summary message of their rights, click on the check box next to Automatically Send a Message to Delegate Summarizing These Permissions before clicking OK.

  8. To enable the delegates to see private items, click on the box next to Delegate Can See My Private Items before clicking OK.

TIP

The Delegates tab under Tools, Options is also an easy place where the end user can assign permissions to view Outlook components from one place rather than having to configure the option individually. However, the permissions provided are less numerous and customizable than if done through the methods listed in the previous two sections.


Sharing Information with Users Outside the Company

Throughout the different Outlook versions, collaborative functionality has constantly increased with each version. Outlook 2003 provides some additional collaborative features, as well as some of the old tried-and-true features that have been around for many versions.

Configuring Free/Busy Time to Be Viewed via the Internet

End users can publish their free/busy information outside of the company, if desired, by either using a company-provided Web site for publishing the information or using a free service provided by Microsoft called the Microsoft Office Internet Free/Busy Service (both users must have a Microsoft Passport account to use the Microsoft Service). Via either method, users outside of the company can view another's free/busy information via the Web from a shared location and can use the Web site to schedule meetings with each other. This is available for users of Outlook 2002 or later.

To configure free/busy time to be displayed on the Internet, follow these steps:

  1. Go to Tools, Options, Calendar Options.

  2. Click Free/Busy Options.

  3. Choose the number of months of free/busy data to publish to the service, as shown in Figure 25.12.

    Figure 25.12. Providing three months of free/busy data publishing.

    graphics/25fig12.jpg

  4. To also update how often Outlook updates the free/busy service with new information, under Options, type a number from 1 to 99 in the box Update Free/Busy Information on the Server Every X Minutes.

To configure which service will publish the free/busy information, follow these steps:

  1. To use a locally provided Web site, click Publish at My Location and enter the URL to the location. Go to step 10.

  2. To use the Microsoft Office Free/Busy service, click the check box next to it and click the Manage button.

  3. The user is directed to log into the site using a Microsoft Passport username and password.

  4. Agree to the terms of use by clicking on Yes, I Agree.

  5. Click Continue.

  6. Enter the email addresses of the users allowed to access the free/busy data.

  7. Include a message to nonmembers that will be sent to them telling them that they have been authorized to view the free/busy information.

  8. Click OK.

  9. Close the Internet window after noting that the authorization process is complete.

  10. Back in Outlook, click OK.

  11. The user might be prompted to install some files to complete the installation of the added functionality.

  12. Click Yes to install. The Outlook feature then is installed.

  13. Click OK two more times.

Viewing Free/Busy Time via the Internet

If permitted by the end user of the free/busy information, another end user can view that information from the Web site. The user can send meeting requests , add the user to a group schedule, and see free/busy time. To do this, the end user must access the free/busy time Web site, click on View Free/Busy Times on the Web, and enter the email address of the user whose free/busy time is to be viewed.

Using iCalendar and vCalendar

iCalendar and vCalendar are RFC-compliant features of the Outlook 2003 Calendar that support communication between different Calendar clients . This allows a Calendar event created in one technology to be imported into another Calendar technology.

vCalendar is the older version of the two Calendar features. It is widely supported by many different mail programs; when in doubt, it is best to use the vCalendar feature. However, recurring appointments cannot be saved in the vCalendar format.

The iCalendar is built on the vCalendar technology, but it provides added journal entries and additional free/busy information. However, because it's built on the vCalendar technology, mail services set up to support iCalendar support vCalendar as well. iCalendar also supports recurring appointments.

To send an iCalendar or vCalendar meeting request, first create the Calendar event. Then save it in the proper format and add it as an attachment to an email message; send it to the recipient, who can then import the iCalendar or vCalendar attachment.

To create an iCalendar entry, follow these steps:

  1. Open or create the appointment that will become the iCalendar.

  2. Choose File, Save As.

  3. Click iCalendar Format, as shown in Figure 25.13, and then click on Save.

    Figure 25.13. Saving an appointment as an iCalendar file.

    graphics/25fig13.jpg

  4. Send the newly created .ics attachment in an email message to the recipient. The recipient will then import the attachment into his Calendar program.

To create a vCalendar entry, follow these steps:

  1. Open or create the appointment that will become the vCalendar.

  2. Choose File, Save As.

  3. Click vCalendar Format (*.vcs) in the Save As box.

  4. Send the newly created .vcs attachment in an email message to the recipient. The recipient will then import the attachment into his Calendar program.

Outlook 2003 can be also configured to always use the iCalendar format when meeting requests are sent directly over the Internet.

To enable the iCalendar functionality, follow these steps:

  1. Go to the Calendar.

  2. Go to Tools, Options, Calendar Options.

  3. Click on Advanced Options.

  4. Click the check box When Sending Meeting Requests over the Internet, Use iCalendar Format.

Now the end user can send a meeting request as he would normally, but it will function across the Internet.

To turn off iCalendar, clear the check box mentioned in step 4.

Sending Contact Information to Others

Another collaborative feature that isn't new to Outlook 2003 but that is very useful is the Virtual Business Cards, or vCards. These enable the user to send Outlook contact information to others outside the company, to be imported into the contact list program.

vCards can be emailed as attachments, can be included in auto signatures, can be saved to a file elsewhere, and can be imported and saved as contacts when received.

To email a vCard, follow these steps:

  1. Open the contact that will become the vCard.

  2. Go to Actions, Forward as vCard, as shown in Figure 25.14.

    Figure 25.14. Forwarding a contact as a vCard.

    graphics/25fig14.jpg

  3. Input information into the email and send the email.

When the user receives the card, he can open it and Save and Close into his own contacts area.

To include a vCard in an auto signature, follow these steps:

  1. Edit an existing auto signature or create a new one.

  2. In the box below where the auto signature is entered, there is a vCard Options box. Choose an existing vCard.

  3. If one doesn't exit, click on New vCard from Contact and choose the contact to create a vCard for.

  4. Click Add.

  5. Click OK.

Using Public Folders to Share Information

Although using public folders to work collaboratively is not a concept new to Outlook 2003, it's worth mentioning its usefulness in collaborative work. Public folders can be shared between different groups of users, across sites and servers. Folders can be replicated across servers for fast receipt of information or can be downloaded locally to users' workstations for easy access while offline. The folders can be repositories for email, documents of all types, group contact lists, or shared Calendars. They can be monitored so that posting is okayed through a folder monitor before it happens, and they can be mail-enabled as well. They are very useful for collaborative working.

Using Group Schedules

Group Schedules are a new feature to Outlook 2003. These enable the user to create groups of users and to quickly view their Calendars. The Group Schedules features also allows a user to send all the members of the Group Schedule an email or to schedule a meeting request.

Configuring Group Schedules

Before anything can be done with a group schedule, one must be created by the end user.

To create a new group schedule, follow these steps:

  1. Select Action, View Group Schedules. The Group Schedules dialog box appears.

  2. Click New.

  3. Name the Group Schedule.

  4. Click OK.

  5. The Customized Group Schedules dialog box appears.

  6. Click Add Others.

  7. Type the name of the user(s) in the Type Name or Select from List box, and click To after the user has been selected (see Figure 25.15). Note that more than one user at a time can be selected and added to the To area.

    Figure 25.15. Adding usernames to the Group Schedules.

    graphics/25fig15.jpg

  8. When all users are selected, click OK.

  9. Click Save and Close.

After the Group Schedule has been created, to view it and work with it, follow these steps:

  1. Click on the View Group Schedules button.

  2. Select the group schedule to view.

  3. Click Open.

Sending Email or Meeting Requests to Group Schedules

After a group schedule is created, it is possible to send emails and meeting requests to the group from within the Group Schedule view.

To schedule a meeting, follow these steps:

  1. Click on the Make Meeting button from within the Group Schedule view for the specific group.

  2. Choose New Meeting to just send the meeting request to one member.

  3. Choose New Meeting with All to send the meeting request to all members of the group schedule.

  4. Fill out the meeting request as you would normally do.

To send an email, follow these steps:

  1. Click on Make Meeting.

  2. Choose New Mail Message to send to an individual member of the group.

  3. Choose New Mail Message to All to send to the whole group.

  4. Fill out the email message as you would normally do, and send the message.

Using Synchronized Home Page Views

Through Group Policy or the Custom Installation Wizard, Outlook can be configured to point to specific Web pages when the end user clicks on any of the root folders in Outlook (Inbox, Calendar, Notes, and so on). These Web pages can be used to share information in a collaborative way.

To configure shared Web home page views, do the following:

  1. Open the Group Policy Object Editor (GPEdit.exe) using Start, Programs, Administrative Tools, Group Policy Object Editor.

  2. Go to User Configuration, Administrative Tools. Right-click on Administrative Tools and select Add, Remote Templates.

  3. Add the outlk11.adm template into Group Policy. Then click Close.

    NOTE

    outlk11.adm is installed in the \ windows \inf directory when Office 2003 Resource Kit is installed on a system. outlk11.adm can be copied to the hard drive of the system being used to configure Group Policies, or the Office 2003 Resource Kit can be installed on the system.

  4. Go to User Configuration, Administrative Tools, Microsoft Outlook 2003, Folder Home Pages for Outlook special folders, as shown in Figure 25.16.

    Figure 25.16. Configuring default folder locations for OWA.

    graphics/25fig16.jpg

  5. Double-click on the Outlook home page to configure (for example, Inbox Folder home page, Calendar Folder home page, and so on).

  6. Click Enabled.

  7. Click Show Associated Web Page, and enter the URL of the Web page.

  8. Choose any other options and edit the default setting.

  9. Click OK when completed.

 < Day Day Up > 


Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Unleashed
Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Unleashed (2nd Edition)
ISBN: 0672328070
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 393
Authors: Rand Morimoto

flylib.com © 2008-2017.
If you may any questions please contact us: flylib@qtcs.net