Installing the Exchange Client

The option that requires the most administrative attentionmanually installing the Outlook clientis often required as an option when deploying the Outlook client. When considering these options, administrators must determine which option best fits the deployment needs by determining the overall number of manual tasks required for the installation.

All the options can be used together, but they can also be incorporated into the deployment individually to enhance the options available when installing clients manually and configuring settings. In this section, you review the basic steps for installing the Outlook client to desktop systems using Transforms, PRF files, and the switches available when using these options.

Using Transforms and PRF Files When Installing Outlook

When the options are not available to push the installation to client systems, administrators can still install the Outlook client and save valuable keystrokes and time by predefining profile information. Using these options with a manual installation scenario can greatly reduce the overall amount of time normally required to install the Outlook client manually. Administrators can now incorporate the manual installation process with preconfiguration files, such as PRFs and Transforms, and save time for each installation by not being required to manually configure each installation after completion.

When the required functionality is the client profile configuration setting and limited configuration options, the manual installation can easily be completed by using a simple PRF file. PRF files are simple to incorporate into the installation and require only the addition of a command-line switch with the Setup.exe installation program to deploy.

With more complex installation needs, administrators can create MST files to define Outlook settings, security profiles, and user options. This option is most effective and enables administrators to continue with installations rather than manually configure each client setting individually.

Installing the Outlook Clients with PRF Files

Using the steps in the last section to create the PRF file, administrators can then copy the file to the installation share for use when manually installing Outlook. This option prevents administrators from having to manually configure each client Outlook profile after the installation is complete.

To understand more about using PRF files when using the Windows installation program, complete these steps:

1. Create a folder share and place the Outlook.PRF file in the folder where it can be accessed from any location on the network.

   TIP

   When creating shares for PRF file access, provide the account being used to install Outlook Full Control to the PRF folder share.

2. To open a command prompt and begin an installation in Outlook using PRF files, begin by selecting Start, Run, and enter command .

3. From the command prompt, type

     d:\setup.exe /ImportPRF \   Outlook Files   \Outlook.PRF  

   where d: represents the location of the Outlook installation files and Outlook Files is the name of the folder share created to host the PRF configuration files.

When errors occur or it appears that the Outlook profile has not been set correctly, the PRF file can be run by using the Open command and manually installing the configuration information.

Manually Installing Outlook with Transforms

As stated earlier, Transforms offer the most functionality when predefining Outlook settings and profile information. Using Transforms, administrators can leverage multiple options and even multiple Transforms for configuring Outlook clients. To understand the command lines and syntax used when installing the Microsoft Outlook client with MST files, review the examples listed in the following sections.

Applying Transforms with the Outlook Setup.exe

In these examples, you use the OutlookSet1.MST Transform filename to customize the Outlook Installation. To incorporate Transforms into the Outlook installation, use the following command:

 Example: D:\setup.exe TRANSFORMS=OutlookSet1.mst 

Transforms can also be chained together for the application of more than one Transform to be applied when installing Outlook. When organizations create individual Transforms to specify different settings for individual groups or user types, the option to install multiple Transforms on a single installation is still possible. For example, an organization creates a baseline Transform defining settings that will be applied to all user and individual Transforms for specific groups. These files can be chained, making the Outlook settings easily manageable. Using a Setup.ini file with the proper syntax, you can link and apply Transforms in a very effective manner.