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10 Minute Guide to Microsoft Exchange 5.0

- Lesson 24 -
Accessing Exchange from a Web Browser

 

In this lesson, you learn how to access the information contained on an Exchange Server using any frames-capable Web browser.

The recent popularity explosion of the World Wide Web has fueled the introduction of many new Web-based applications. These applications make access to information easier and greatly simplify the maintenance of a company's applications. Exchange Server comes with such an application. This application is a group of Web pages that allow users to interact with an Exchange server. It allows you to log on to Exchange Server, check your mailbox, send mail, view and post to public folders, and even set certain options for your mailbox. Even users without a mailbox can use some of these Web pages to interact with Exchange's public folders. In addition to this included application, custom applications can be built to access the information contained on the Exchange Server.

Whether it is the application included with Exchange or a custom solution, such applications allow users to access Exchange servers from remote locations. This is useful for people who travel a lot and don't want to take up space on a laptop with the Exchange client software. As long as they have a Web browser and a way to connect to the network containing the Exchange server, they can interact with the server as if they were sitting at their desks.

Log On to an Exchange Server

To access personal information, follow these steps:

1. First, log on to the server. You must know the Internet address of your Exchange Server to do this. Use your Web browser to move to the correct address (see Figure 24.1).

Figure 24.1 You can log on and access personal information, or you can just view public folders.


Know Your Server Address Your server's address may be a name or a group of numbers separated by periods. It may be on an intranet or located at a remote site that you connect to over the Internet. If you do not know the address of your server, contact your system administrator.

2. Enter your mailbox name and press Enter. Your request to view your mailbox is sent to the server along with your user name and password. If you are successfully logged on to the server, you will see a page that displays the contents of your mailbox (see Figure 24.2).

Figure 24.2 The contents of your mailbox are displayed on a Web page.

This Web page supports the most common functions found in the Exchange Client software. From within the mailbox, you can per-form any of these actions:

  • Create a new folder

  • Delete the current folder

  • Check for new messages

  • Scroll to the previous or next page

  • Get help

  • Send a new message

Navigating Between Folders You navigate among folders by moving up or down in the folder hierarchy. To move from the Inbox folder to the Sent Items folder, for example, you must first go up one folder.

Sending a Message

To send a message, click Send New Message at the top right of the page. This opens the Compose New Message page (see Figure 24.3).

Figure 24.3 The Compose New Message page is very similar to the New Message dialog box of the Exchange Client software.

You must enter the recipient information (To:, Cc:, and Bcc:) manually. You cannot access the Global Address List from this page. However, you can still search for display names using the Find Names feature. Enter the subject and message text as usual. If this message has attachments, you must also enter the path and file name manually in the Attachment text box.

You can also set options for a message by clicking the word Options (at the top right of the page) Figure 24.4 shows the Message Options screen that appears. From the Importance drop-down list, choose the importance of the message. Then use the check boxes to indicate whether you want a copy stored in the Sent Items folder and whether you want to be notified when the message is delivered to and/or read by the recipient. When you finish setting these options, click the words Return to Message.


Sending Attachments Be careful when sending attachments while attached to Exchange using a Web browser. Sensitive data should only be sent over secure connections. And if you are connected over a phone line, be prepared for it to take a long time to send a large file.

 

Figure 24.4 A message has several optional parameters.

When you are ready to send the message, click the word Send, which is in the right side of the recipients section (of the Compose New Message screen). If you have changed your mind and do not want to send the message, click the word Cancel in the upper-right corner of the page. You will see a confirmation dialog box when the message is sent.

Receiving a Message

Click the Check for New Messages icon to retrieve new messages in your mailbox. Messages are displayed in the Inbox folder according to the view that you have chosen (see Figure 24.5).

Figure 24.5 The Inbox displays messages you have received.

You can click the underlined name in the From column to read any message. This displays the message in a new Web browser window (see Figure 24.6).

Figure 24.6 Each message appears in its own browser window.

The commands available from this page are obvious from the underlined text in the upper-right of the page. Each bit of underlined text performs a different function. From the message window you can perform the following actions:

  • Move or copy the message to another folder

  • Delete the message

  • Close the message

  • Reply or forward the message

  • Create a new message

Public Folders

Click the Public Folders icon on the left side of the main Mailbox page to see a list of public folders. The page shown in Figure 24.7 appears. Notice that the Public Folders icon changes when it is the current view.

Figure 24.7 The Public Folders view.

  • You can view all public folders and their contents from here by navigating the folder hierarchy. In addition, you can post new items using the Post New Items page.

Public Folders You can view public folders and anonymously post to them without logging on to Exchange Server. This feature allows users who do not have a mailbox on the Exchange server to participate in discussions carried out in public folders. To use this feature, click in the Public Access area of the Log On page (refer to Figure 24.1).

Find Names and Options

While you cannot open the Global Address List directly from a message page, you can still search for display names using the Find Names feature. Click the Find Names icon to open the Find Names page (shown in Figure 24.8).

Figure 24.8 Enter information that you know to find a display name.

After you enter the information that you know or can remember, click the word Find. The search results then appear in the lower portion of the page. Choose one of the display names listed there to get more detailed information on that person.

If you click the Options icon, it opens the Options page (see Figure 24.9). This page allows you to use the Out of Office Assistant. Choose whether Exchange should treat you as in or out of the office. If you choose out of the office, you can supply a default message to be sent to anyone who sends you a message.

Figure 24.9 Use the Out of Office Assistant from anywhere that you have Web access to your Exchange Server.

Log Off Exchange Server

When you finish working with Exchange Server, you should log off to avoid security problems. Do this by clicking the Log Off icon. You should see a page with some information about logging off. To log off, close the Web browser.

In this lesson, you learned how to access the information on the Exchange Server from a Web browser. In the next lesson, you'll learn how to set up Microsoft Exchange Client software so you can work at a different computer, either at home or on the road.

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