Using GroupWise in Remote Mode


Very few functional differences exist between using GroupWise in remote mode and using GroupWise while logged in to the network (online mode). The same set of program files are used, the screens all look the same, and you access all your information the same way.

When you use GroupWise in online mode, you are working directly with your master mailbox, which is stored on the network. When you leave the office and need to use GroupWise, the program will use a remote version of your mailbox, which is stored on the computer you are using remotely. The messages and Calendar items you create in remote mode are stored in the remote mailbox until you connect to the GroupWise system and synchronize the two mailboxes.

One way to utilize GroupWise's remote mode is to utilize the Hit the Road process at the end of each day. This way, you can take a copy of your master mailbox out of the office (on a portable computer). You can then use the GroupWise client to read, delete, and reply to messages in the remote copy (all without ever connecting to the Internet or to the GroupWise system via a modem). The next time the client is connected to the master mailbox (when you get back to the office), the GroupWise client will prompt you that items are pending in the remote mailbox. If you select Yes, your remote data and changes will be synchronized to the master mailbox, causing items to be removed, new messages and message replies to be sent to users, and so on. The Hit the road process is further described in the section called "Understanding Hit the Road"

Introducing the Remote Menu

One of the most noticeable differences between GroupWise running in the standard network mode and GroupWise remote mode is a new menu item called Accounts. The following selections are available from the Accounts menu:

  • Send/Retrieve, <Remote Account Name> Here, you can configure and initiate the remote connection. (The remote account name is the name you specified previously for your GroupWise remote account.)

  • Send/Retrieve, GroupWise Options Here, you can specify which items you want to download during the connection.

  • Pending Requests You use this selection to view and manage requests waiting to be uploaded and responded to by the master system. Usually, you don't need to do anything in this screen.

  • Connection Log You use this selection to view the connection details in the log file. You can also see this information if you click the Show Log button when you make a connection to the master system.

  • Show Status Window This selection displays the connection status window.

  • Auto Send/Retrieve This toggle setting turns off the automatic send/retrieve mode, which is configured under Account Options, General Options. This mode is also known as synchronized mode. When this option is enabled, GroupWise automatically uploads and downloads at a specified time interval as long as a connection can be established to the GroupWise system.

The Accounts menu also appears when you are running in cache mode, but it generally does not appear when you're running in online mode.

NOTE

You can see the Accounts option while running in online mode if your GroupWise administrator has enabled your account to store POP, IMAP, and News accounts in your online mailbox. Enabling these accounts is generally discouraged, however. Check with your GroupWise administrator to see whether your system has been configured to allow the storing of external accounts in the master mailbox.


Sending Messages

For the most part, there is not much difference between using GroupWise remotely and using it on the network: You use the Address Book (and Address Selector) and send messages, create Calendar entries, and reply to and forward messages the same way. The only difference is that you need to connect to the master system to actually send messages. If you are running in cache mode, the GroupWise client will automatically try to synchronize immediately when you send a message. This is one major difference between remote and cache modes. When in remote mode, you must manually synchronize the mailbox to push up sent items. In cache mode, when you send mail, the GroupWise client automatically synchronizes with the online mailbox.

TIP

As you compose items and send them, the number of unsent items appears in red parentheses next to the Sent Items folder. This feature provides a visual indicator that you need to synchronize your mailbox to cause the sent items to actually be synchronized, making them truly sent. It can also signify that there are connectivity problems; if this number never disappears, you know that your client is not successfully synchronizing. Also, note that if you send a large file, synchronizing this file with the online mailbox may take several minutes. Be patient when sending large emails.


Busy Search

Busy Search is slightly different if you are in remote mode. When you are creating an appointment while you are out of the office, you might not want to wait until the appointment request has been received (and either accepted or declined) by the people you need at the meeting. If you need faster information about whether the invitees are available for an appointment, set up Busy Search in the normal way. (See Chapter 7, "Group Calendaring and Task Management," for a complete discussion of Busy Search on the network.)

After you have configured the appointment information for the Busy Search, choose to connect now or wait until the next time you connect to send the Busy Search request to the GroupWise system, as shown in Figure 10.10. Either way, you will receive the results of your Busy Search, and you can continue creating your appointment request.

Figure 10.10. The Busy Search option lets you generate an immediate request for free/busy information from GroupWise users when scheduling an appointment.


TIP

You should save your incomplete appointment in the Work In Progress folder while you are waiting for the outcome of the Busy Search. When the results arrive, open the draft appointment, complete the information, and choose Send. Don't forget to connect again to actually send the message to the system. If you are running in synchronized mode (that is, Auto Send/Retrieve is turned on), the Busy Search happens during the automatic synchronization process.


Connecting to the Master System

GroupWise remote mode is a request-based system, which means that you work offline reading messages, creating new appointments, and making other changes to your remote mailbox. After you have made all your changes and are ready to connect to the main system, you will generate a list of requests for items.

One request will be to send out all your outgoing messages. Another request will be to retrieve new messages sent to you since the last time you connected to the main GroupWise system. You can make other requests (for example, to get a new copy of the Address Book). When you connect using any of the methods listed previously, your requests are transferred to the main GroupWise system.

The GroupWise system generates responses to your requests and then transfers them via your connection to the remote computer. Some of your requests will be handled in the same session in which you sent them (to get your new messages, for example), and others will be transferred the next time you connect.

After the request list has been completed, the connection is terminated, and the responses are added to your remote mailbox.

To request items, follow these steps:

1.

Choose Accounts, Send/Retrieve, GroupWise Options. The dialog box shown in Figure 10.11 appears.

Figure 10.11. Use the Send/Retrieve dialog box to update your remote mailbox with information from your master mailbox.


2.

If you would like to refine your request for items to a specific set of items or a specific time range, click the Advanced button to display the dialog box shown in Figure 10.12. Choose the options you want from the following tabs:

  • Retrieve Lets you configure the date range from which GroupWise will retrieve messages. The default is five days prior to the current day. If you have not connected in several days, you may need to increase this range. You can also choose the Retrieve All Changes Since I Last Connected option.

  • Items Lets you select what message categories you want to update (Mail and Phone, Appointments, and so on) and set up a filter to retrieve specific messages matching certain criteria (for example, messages that contain "Miller Project" in the subject).

  • Size Limits Lets you retrieve messages that fall into a specific size range. (For example, you may choose to retrieve only messages with attachments that are less than 30KB in size.) You can also retrieve just the subject line and then get the message information later. This feature can be very useful to minimize connection time and phone charges.

    TIP

    If you are reading a message that has been truncated due to size limitations, you can select Accounts, Retrieve Selected Item, and the entire message will be downloaded during your next remote connection. If several messages in your mailbox have been truncated due to file size limits, Ctrl+click to select each message in the main GroupWise screen and then choose Accounts, Retrieve Selected Items. The complete messages will be downloaded during your next connection.

    TIP

    If you open a message item and a file attachment appears grayed out, you can right-click the attachment and select Retrieve Now to have the GroupWise client query the master mailbox for the specific file.

  • Folders Lets you select the folders you want updated. You can use this feature in conjunction with the Rules feature to move only those messages you want retrieved to a certain Remote folder so that you can simply download messages from this folder. The Folders feature makes the remote connection more efficient. Simply click the box next to the folder to select it for updating.

Figure 10.12. Use the Retrieve Options dialog box to refine your remote mailbox update request.


3.

Click OK to return to the Send/Retrieve dialog box.

4.

Make other selections from the Send/Retrieve dialog box, as desired:

  • Rules Updates all rules between the remote and master mailboxes.

  • System Address Book Updates your remote mailbox with the most current Address Book. Click Filter to select which address book you want (your Post Office or Domain address book).

  • Personal Address Book Synchronizes your master and remote personal address books.

  • Documents Lets you select the documents you want to retrieve if you have GroupWise document management services enabled on your system. You can select documents from their folders, and the documents will be transferred to your mailbox. See Chapter 9, "Document Management," for more information about document management.

  • Junk Mail Lists Lets you download to your remote mailbox the list of junk mail addresses you have configured for your master mailbox.

5.

Verify that the connection you want to use appears at the bottom of the dialog box. If you need to change the connection, click the Configure button and set up the desired connection. See the sections earlier in this chapter on setting up TCP/IP and modem connections for more information.

Choose Connect to complete the request and connect to the master system. To see the details of the connection, click the Show Log button. The Updating Mailbox window appears, showing the real-time connection and update information as the client synchronizes. Figure 10.13 displays the session information, which can be helpful in troubleshooting. This information is saved to a log file and can be accessed from the Connection Log option under the Accounts menu.

Figure 10.13. The Updating Mailbox dialog box shows the connection activity and is useful when you are troubleshooting remote connection difficulties.





Novell GroupWise 7 User's Handbook
Novell GroupWise 7 Users Handbook
ISBN: 0672327899
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 213
Authors: Eric Raff

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