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Microsoft
Outlook Tip
CAN'T
SEE MUCH IN QUICK VIEW?
Are you running Microsoft Outlook 2000 on a Windows 2000 computer, particularly one that you installed Office on fresh (as opposed to upgrading from Windows NT 4.0?) If this is the case, you've undoubtedly noticed that when you right-click a file attachment, one of the options is Quick View. Unfortunately, when you select it, you get an error message stating that Quick View couldn't be started and to check to make sure that it was installed properly. The cause of this is that the Quick View viewer doesn't ship with Windows 2000--it only comes with Windows NT 4.0. If you had upgraded from Windows NT 4.0, it might work because quickview.exe would still be on the system. There are two possible solutions to this problem: 1. Remove the Quick View entries from the registry so that the option no longer appears to tempt your users or you. This requires editing the registry. Go to the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{0006F031-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}\Verb\ key in the registry and delete the "3" subkey. This should remove Quick View from the context menu. 2. Acquire and install a third-party viewer. One place to find a third-party viewer is the Jasc Software Web site. http://www.jasc.com/ NOTE: As always, we'll remind you that registry editing is risky, so be sure you have a verified backup before you begin.
DEFEND USERS AGAINST VBSCRIPT VIRUSES
If you're concerned about your users being tricked into opening .vbs files--such as the ILOVEYOU virus--here's a handy trick that can help you better protect them: Associate the .vbs file extension with the Notepad application. Notepad will open the .vbs file harmlessly and allow you to view the code inside. Because Notepad has no macro capabilities, the bug won't activate or spread when opened this way. To create this association in Windows 95, 98, or NT, follow these steps: 1. Open My Computer and choose View | Folder Options. 2. On the File Types tab, select the .vbs extension (or add it if you don't already have it) in the Registered File Types box and click Edit. 3. In the Edit File Type dialog box, select Open In The Actions box and click Edit. 4. Enter the path to Notepad.exe in the Application Used To Perform Action field and click OK to exit all dialog boxes. To do this in Windows 2000, you can follow the same steps, but you'll find the Folder Options menu item under the Tools menu instead. To distribute this to a wide number of users, make the change on one machine and then open the Registry Editor. Find the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts key. Find the .vbs extension key and export that key to a registry file. Post the .reg file on a network share, or you can e-mail it as an attachment to users and ask them to double-click it. Double-clicking the .reg file will automatically import it into the registry. NOTE: Please remember that editing your registry is potentially dangerous, so be sure you have a verified backup before you begin.
AT YOUR IT SERVICE
If you buy IT services (consulting, integration, project outsourcing, or staffing) you know how time-consuming and expensive it is to identify, evaluate, and engage the best providers. Put all that behind you with TechRepublic's ITRadar. You can select from thousands of IT services firms, organized by competency and geography, to find the right solution--fast! http://www.techrepublic.com/promotion.jhtml?pc=NN1141&s=false
USE THE RULES WIZARD TO SORT INCOMING MAIL
We were asked whether or not it's possible to use the Rules Wizard to sort the internal and external mail you receive. The answer is yes. The trick to doing this is to create a rule that looks for words in the sender's address and the "@" character. The Rules Wizard will take it from there and perform the actions you requested accordingly. Mail coming to you from inside your organization will not have an Internet address--and hence no "@"--this is actually a reliable way to track your external mail. But how do you identify mail from coworkers that is sent through the Internet? Just add an exception in the Rules Wizard that says addresses that don't contain "@yourdomain.com" should be compartmentalized. How about sorting mail forwarded to your Exchange account from your various Internet accounts such as a personal ISP or POP3 account? To do this, create a rule that checks the header of the incoming message for your specific Internet mail address. By using these Rules Wizard shortcuts, you'll save time and cut mailbox clutter.
WHAT HAPPENED TO MY MESSAGES?
A common panic call from users involves them opening a folder to find it (apparently) empty. In this tip, we'll discuss three ways to resolve this situation. First, check to see if they have a filter applied to their view. Quite often, users will inadvertently change their view to something like "Unread" or "Last Seven Days" without realizing it. When they do this, all of the items that don't match those descriptions are hidden. Ask your users to look at the bottom left corner of the status bar to see how many items Outlook recognizes in the folder. This is when they discover that the folder actually contains all of their items, yet it's just that most or all of them are still hidden. Instruct your user to change to a different view or clear the filter to solve this problem. If there isn't a filter applied and the folder truly doesn't have the items in it any longer, check the AutoArchive settings. You can do this by right-clicking the folder or shortcut, going to Properties, and selecting the AutoArchive tab. Check to see if missing items have been archived. If they have, note where the archive folder is and then open it to retrieve the items. A third possibility is that the default delivery location has been altered and the items are in the new location. Find out if this is the case by going to Tools | Services | Delivery tab and verifying that the Default Delivery Location is correct--for Exchange users this should be "Mailbox--Username." If the location was modified, change it back to the original setting in order for the items to return to their folder.
EXPLORERS AND INSPECTORS
An important concept in Outlook programming is working with Explorers and Inspectors. They are fundamental elements in the way users interface with the product. Explorers are the folder views. When you're viewing the list of messages in the Inbox or daily Calendar, you're looking at an Explorer. Inspectors are the windows you use to actually look at an item. When you double-click an e-mail message in your Inbox or a contact item in your Contacts folder, the item that opens is an Inspector window. Here are two ways that you can utilize the Explorers and Inspectors features: * EXPLORER OBJECT: Use this to take actions when a user switches from one folder to another (from Inbox to Calendar, for example) or when they select a certain item in the folder. * INSPECTOR OBJECT: Use this to programmatically change the toolbars the user has available when they open the item.
WEBREVIEW: HERE'S A RESOURCE THAT'S SURE TO IMPROVE YOUR OUTLOOK
If you're an Exchange administrator and you use Outlook on your network, Mark Kaelin has found a Web site he says you must visit. Get the details in this NetAdmin WebReview. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00220000620eje02.htm
SOLVING THE MYSTERY OF DISAPPEARING MESSAGES IN OUTLOOK 98/2000 UNDER EXCHANGE SERVER
If your remote users report that e-mail messages are mysteriously disappearing, the explanation and solution may be only a few mouse clicks away. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00320000127det10.htm
CUSTOMIZING YOUR COLUMNS
Many users don't realize that Outlook lets you highly customize the column headers in the table views. In addition to adjusting their location and size, you can change the title and even the font of the title. To move a column, simply point at the column header, hold down the left mouse button, and drag the column left or right. It may not seem to be doing anything at first, but when you drag the column far enough to reach a new location, a pair of red arrows will appear indicating where the column will be placed. To resize the column, grab the vertical line on either end of the column with your cursor and drag it in or out to alter the size of the window. Now, it gets a bit trickier. To change the font, go to View | Current View | Customize Current View | Other Settings. Under Column Headings, click the Font button and choose the font you want. In order to change the title, right-click the column header and select Format Columns. Find the column you want to edit in the Available Fields list and change the Label field to whatever suits you.
OUTLOOK PROGRAMMING: THE A'S
If you're going to be doing any custom programming in Outlook 2000, you're going to run across terms whose meanings may be a bit fuzzy. Let's take a look at three of these terms: * ACTIVEX: This is Microsoft's version of Java. It's a set of programming technologies and tools that are supposed to be somewhat platform independent. You can create ActiveX controls in a variety of languages such as Visual Basic or C++. By design, these controls can be reused for any number of other applications you or others create. * ACTIVEX DATA OBJECTS (ADO): These are ActiveX controls that are specifically used for accessing database content. By adding an ADO to your Active Server Page (see definition below), you could create a custom page that a user could use to access data from a corporate database through Outlook. * ACTIVE SERVER PAGE (ASP): This is a server-side tool that Outlook and Exchange programmers can give their users. ASPs are HTML pages that contain some script or ActiveX controls that, in this context, are frequently used to access Exchange content. Within Outlook, you might use ASPs to create Digital Dashboards or custom Folder Home Pages.
OUTLOOK TRAINING: TAKING YOUR STUDENTS TO TASK
Outlook's Task features can help managers get a handle on what projects have been assigned and what progress has been made. Can you tell them all they need to know? Brush up on Assigned Tasks in this Outlook training installment. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00320000829bla01.htm E-MAIL ON DEMAND WITH MICROSOFT OUTLOOK WEB ACCESS Your users depend on Outlook. Now with Microsoft's Outlook Web Access (OWA), they can catch up on their e-mail from anywhere. If you are unsure about how it works, check out this article. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00220000719jim02.htm
OUTLOOK PROGRAMMING: THE B'S
Are you embarrassed when you don't know the meanings of Outlook programming terms? If so, we're here to help you out with three more definitions: * BINDING: Binding a control to a field means linking the two so that whatever value you set, the control is saved to the field. Suppose you have a folder that includes a "First Name" field, and you create a text box that is bound to the First Name field. Now, any data that is typed into that text box on the form will be saved in the First Name field. * BOOLEAN: This is a logic system developed by English mathematician George Boole. We encounter it when we do searches that include the words "and" and "or" in them, such as "Outlook AND Forms." * ByVal: You'll encounter this odd sounding term when creating Visual Basic macros or code for your forms. ByVal means that only a copy of the value of a variable is used in the procedure and not the variable itself. Although you can change and calculate with this value, those changes won't affect the variable itself. (It's kind of similar to working with templates--you can work with the value, but the variable itself remains unchanged.)
SET UP A REMOTE COMPUTER TO WORK OFFLINE
You can help your students become more independent by showing them how to use Outlook while offline. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00719990805jod01.htm LOOK IT UP IN YOUR FOLDOC Make the Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing your one-stop source for definitions of industry jargon, acronyms, and other IT terminology. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00220000214eje03.htm
RIGHT YOUR WRONGS
Does hearing the word, "Oops!" from your users make you break out in a sweat? Fortunately, Outlook 2000 features ways to undo mistakes. It's extremely important to comprehend, however, what can and cannot be fixed. If an item or a message is accidentally deleted, instruct your users to press [Ctrl]Z immediately to undo what they did. One exception to this is if they pressed [Shift][Delete]. In this case, the item they permanently deleted cannot be recovered. Items that were deleted minutes or even days ago may still be able to be retrieved as long as the user didn't empty their Deleted Items folder yet. These users are in luck because they can just go to the Deleted Items folder, find the item, and then drag and drop it back to the appropriate folder. Have you ever had a user who placed a message in the wrong folder inadvertently? Assure them that [Ctrl]Z will retrieve the item and move it back to its former location. Messages that have already been sent can occasionally be recalled by going to Sent Items, opening the message that needs to be recalled, and selecting Actions | Recall This Message. This trick doesn't work the majority of the time, so remind your users to save complex or important messages to their Drafts folder before sending e-mails. That way, they can carefully review what they're sending out before they click that Send button.
SETTING UP MULTIPLE USER PROFILES IN OUTLOOK 98/2000
If multiple users need access to the network through the same PC, here is how to set up multiple user profiles with Microsoft Exchange and Outlook. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00320000518det01.htm
PROTECT YOUR SMALL OR MIDSIZE ENTERPRISE AGAINST VIRUSES
Are you doing enough to protect your business against viruses? Do you know the steps you should be taking? Check out this Gartner Research Note. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00320000807ggp02.htm
AT YOUR IT SERVICE
If you buy IT services (consulting, integration, project outsourcing, or staffing) you know how time-consuming and expensive it is to identify, evaluate, and engage the best providers. Put all that behind you with TechRepublic's ITRadar. You can select from thousands of IT services firms, organized by competency and geography, to find the right solution--fast! http://www.techrepublic.com/promotion.jhtml?pc=NN1141&s=false
ADD OPTION BUTTONS TO YOUR CUSTOM FORM
If you're creating custom forms for data entry, you might be interested in adding option buttons, or what are commonly referred to as radio buttons. The whole point of using option buttons is to give users choices, such as A, B, or C. The first step in adding option buttons to your custom form is to go to Tools | Design A Form, select one of the Design Forms listed, and click Open. Now, hit Form and select the Control Toolbox from the drop-down menu. On the Control Toolbox, you'll see the OptionButton. Click this button and drag-and-drop it wherever you want on your custom form. Sounds easy so far, right? The challenge now is linking these option buttons together. If you just drag the option buttons onto the form as we have, you'll end up with non-associated option buttons. So how do you tie them together so that the button that is selected has a set value for its field? All you need to do is add a Frame control. You'll find the Frame button on the Control Toolbox. Click the Frame button and drag-and-drop it onto your custom form. Now that you have a frame, drag-and-drop your option buttons inside it. Next, you'll want to align the buttons and name them accordingly. Your option buttons can now be set to the value of a single field.
OUTLOOK 2000 LETS YOU SEE MESSAGES MORE CLEARLY
Tired of the same view in Outlook 2000, or having trouble reading your e-mail? Nathan Steele's here to save the day. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00219990730eje04.htm
GETTING E-MAIL ADDRESSES OUT OF OUTLOOK AND INTO ANOTHER APPLICATION
Are your users wasting time keying is the same e-mail addresses all the time? Here's the secret to exporting message data from Outlook. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00319990608jed20.htm
JUNK IT
Do your users get a bit jumpy just hearing the word spam? The proliferation of it over the past few years has become quite ridiculous. One of the nicer features of Outlook 2000 are the Junk and Adult Content Senders mail filters built into the program. If your users have not already turned on their Junk E-Mail feature, Outlook will prompt them to do so before they can begin adding people to their junk list. To put someone on the Junk Senders or Adult Content Senders list, simply highlight one of the person's e-mails, go to Actions | Junk E-mail, and select either Add to Junk Senders List or Add to Adult Content Senders List. What about if one of your users adds someone to their list by mistake? Tell them not to worry. They can just go to Tools | Organize | Junk Mail and follow the "For more options click here" link. Now, they'll see links to Edit Junk Senders or Edit Adult Senders. From there, they can add, delete, or edit the addresses of any Junk or Adult senders. These address lists are stored as simple text files. If you'd like to edit them manually (or copy them to another machine perhaps), just run a Windows Find (Start | Find | Files or Folders) against your C: drive for a file named "Junk Senders.txt" or "Adult Content Senders.txt."
FROM THE FORUMS: USER CAN'T OPEN FILES IN OUTLOOK 2000
Have you ever had trouble opening files in Office 2000? One TechRepublic member had such a problem, and she found a solution in the TechRepublic Forums. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00220000607eje01.htm
HOW DO YOU SET UP YOUR E-MAIL FOLDERS?
Bob Artner recently got a new laptop and took the opportunity to set up new folders for his e-mail client. See how he set up his folders, and then tell us how your e-mail client is organized and what problems you've had with client e-mail filtering. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00520000925bob01.htm
OBJECT MODEL LIMITATIONS
Have you ever written applications or macros using the Word or Excel object models? If so, you may be disappointed in the Outlook object model. While Word and Excel give you virtual complete control over the application, Outlook's object model is more focused upon items and actions. Accordingly, there are a few aspects of the Outlook application that you can't access from the object model. Here are three examples of this: * You cannot modify any of the program configurations (the settings you adjust by going to Tools | Options within the program) from a macro. * Although you can add and adjust the menu and toolbars, you can't change the icons on the Outlook Bar. * You also can't change view or folder attributes, such as turning a filter on and off or changing folder synchronization properties. The good news is that there is a workaround for some of these limitations. In some cases, you can use the CommandBars collection to run toolbar or menu commands. We'll discuss this collection in greater detail in a future tip.
CREATE FAST, TARGETED CORRESPONDENCE USING OUTLOOK'S CONTACTS
If your students don't know how to use Outlook's Contacts in a Word mail merge, they may be spinning their data source wheels. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00319990930jod05.htm
OUTLOOK TRAINING: E-MAIL FORMATS AND SIGNATURES
Do your students know the e-mail formats available to them? Can they add colorful stationery to brighten their messages? Do they know about Outlook's timesaving Signature feature? If you said no to any of these questions, read on. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00320000801bla01.htm
INTERNET MAIL ONLY PASSWORD NOT SAVED
Do you have Outlook 2000 installed in Internet Mail Only mode on a Windows 95 or 98 machine? If so, you may find that your password to your ISP isn't saved, even though you may have configured Outlook to save it. (If you're not sure what mode Outlook is in, go to Help | About Microsoft Outlook.) This occurs when there is incorrect information in the registry key that specifies the Protected Storage System Provider. Luckily, the solution is easier than understanding the cause--simply delete the offending key and Outlook will recreate it (hopefully correctly). To delete the key, exit Outlook and go to the Registry Editor (Start | Run | Regedit) and navigate to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Protected Storage System Provider key. Expand that key and you'll find subkeys for each of the users on the machine. Find the user that is having this problem and delete their subkey. Now exit RegEdit and restart the machine. After the computer comes back up, reopen Outlook. Navigate to Tools | Accounts and find the Internet e-mail account. Look at the Properties for that service and, once again, enter the password and check the Save Password box. Now when you go to do a Send/Receive, Outlook should retain the password.
NOTE: As always, we'll remind you that registry editing can be risky, so be sure you have a verified backup before you begin.
PUBLISHING YOUR OUTLOOK CALENDAR AS A WEB PAGE
There may be times when you want to be able to post a schedule to your intranet or even Internet server. To do this, you'll need to have the Internet Explorer Web Publishing Wizard installed. (Don't worry if your users don't know if this is already installed or not--Outlook will prompt them how to install it if necessary.) To publish your Calendar to the Web, click the Calendar icon and go to File | Save as Web Page and then specify the Duration--or the date range you want to publish your calendar. (Typically you'll want to publish items that are fairly current or that only go back a short time.) Under Options, you can decide whether or not you want to Include Appointment Details. We'll forewarn you that if you do include them, the details will appear in a window along the right side of the screen. If you don't, only the subject of each appointment will appear on the main calendar. Also under Options, you can choose to Use A Background Graphic if you like. Why do we recommend that you don't include a background graphic on your calendar? Because unless you choose something really light and subtle, the graphic tends to interfere with viewing the calendar. All you have left to do is think of a Calendar Title and save the calendar as a File Name. Now that you're off and running, no one has an excuse if they're late for that weekly meeting!
PERSONAL WEB PAGE DESIGN: WHERE DO I START?
Good Web design involves more than just throwing graphics and text onto a page. Kevin Rayburn has some sites you can hit for help designing your Web site. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00120000331ray01.htm 404 ERRORS: A SILENT WEB TRAFFIC KILLER 404 errors may be driving customers away from your site. Here's what they are and how to deal with them. http://www.techrepublic.com/article.jhtml?id=r00520000306spe02.htm
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