Auto Assistants help you manage your incoming mail by handling messages as they arrive in your Inbox. Auto Assistants check to see if the message meets specific conditions, and perform actions such as responding, filing, and routing items. There are two Auto Assistants:
Both Assistants essentially function in a similar manner. They're configured to accomplish tasks based on rules. Each rule is applied to incoming mail and consists of two parts: conditions and actions.
All rules are processed on the Microsoft Exchange Server, which enables the Assistant to continue running even if you have not started Outlook. If the rule's actions can be performed without user intervention, the rule is completed entirely in the Microsoft Exchange mailbox. Examples of this are moving a message into a specific folder or deleting messages with certain keywords. Remember that personal folders reside on your client.
NOTE: If you set up more than one rule, they are performed in the order listed. Also, you need to be connected to your Exchange Server before you can add rules or edit them.
You can use Remote Mail to view the headers of new items in your server Inbox. You then select specific items to transfer to your offline Inbox. Because you download only the items you specify, this method can be faster than synchronizing your offline Inbox, which downloads all new items. For users that regularly receive large amounts of mail, these added levels of control are very desirable since a single attachment in a message could take an hour or more to download across a modem connection. When synchronizing offline folders, you have no flow control and are required to wait until all mail is delivered before working with individual messages.
You can also use Remote Mail to send mail you compose while offline. While working offline, it is important that your computer and your Exchange configuration can authenticate your Outlook client with your NT Domain and user account. Before attempting to automatically connect with Outlook, check your dial-up and login options under the properties of your profile's Exchange Server service. Under the Dial-up Networking page, you must have the correct login information.
In Outlook, tasks can help you manage your daily responsibilities as well as keep track of all of your future due dates on projects (see Figure 31.1).
FIG. 31.1 Simple List view of Tasks.
The following steps help you create a new task:
FIG. 31.2 Configuring information in the task form.
You can edit tasks in many ways. You can double-click a task to edit the whole task at once. Another method is to utilize the various views available to you. You can edit a task in the Detailed List view, for example, by clicking the column you need to change and type over that information. In a column such as the Due Date, you can click the box and a drop-down menu with the Date Navigator appears.
You can assign a task to others in your organization if the person to whom you are assigning that task agrees to complete the task. When you try to assign a task, you must fill out a Task Request. This is similar to creating a new task for yourself, but you need to configure a few options before sending the request.
FIG. 31.3 A Task Request form ready to be sent.
You create a recurring task the same way you create a recurring appointment. Some examples of a recurring task include filling out a time sheet or backing up your server. You can automatically set these tasks in your task list. All you need to do is create or open a task, click the Recurrence button on the toolbar, and set the recurrence pattern for your task.
One of the many features in Outlook is being able to drag a task from your task list to your calendar. This is a great way to remind yourself that you need to block out some time in your day to complete a task. Once a task is on your calendar, you can edit it like any other appointment.
In Outlook, you can keep a record of your daily activities in your journal, and you can manually add entries in your journal for miscellaneous activities. A key feature of Outlook is the ability to automatically record your activities that involve your contacts or any Microsoft documents that you worked on. If you need to locate a document or recall a meeting with a contact, the journal can be the best tool to help organize your work (see Figure 31.4).
FIG. 31.4 Viewing journal entries by type.
You can start recording a journal by following these steps:
FIG. 31.5 Creating a new journal entry.
The timer is available in Journal to keep track of the actual time the journal entry was open. This is useful if you want to keep track of the time spent in a meeting or on the phone.
Another feature in Outlook that will help you fill out a journal entry needing to be timed is the AutoDate feature. Outlook can convert text descriptions, such as today, to the current date and noon to 12:00 p.m. Outlook can also decipher holidays, such as New Year's Day and Independence Day.
The following example uses the AutoDate feature along with Journal to keep track of the actual minutes spent on an activity:
In Outlook, you can select which items can be automatically recorded in your journal. These items include contacts, Outlook items that involve contacts, and Microsoft products. To set an automatic journal entry, follow this procedure:
FIG. 31.6 Configuring items and contacts to be automatically recorded in Journal.
FIG. 31.7 Setting the amount of time to elapse before archiving Journal entries.
Notes can be very useful in helping you remember things. Just like the popular paper sticky notes, you can use Notes in Outlook to write down reminders for yourself, just as you would with paper.
To work with Notes in Outlook, click the Notes button on the Outlook bar (see Figure 31.8). To create a new note, select Note and then click New Note. You also can press Ctrl+Shift+N from anywhere within Outlook instead. The Notes Information Viewer opens. You can now type in any quick reminders, questions, or ideas. The note displays over whichever part of Outlook you are currently in. Type your comments in the note and press Escape. Outlook automatically saves the note in your Notes folder. Next time you bring up Notes, your message will appear.
FIG. 31.8 Sample notes in Notes folder.
Notes are yellow by default, but you can change the color to blue, green, pink, or white to color code your messages. To change the color of your note, right-click the note you want to change. To change the color of a new note, click the icon at the top left corner of the note, choose Color in the menu, and select the new color from the list displayed.
Outlook is very flexible and can be used by more than one person or possess multiple configurations per user. This is accomplished with Profiles. Outlook can also be used to access multiple sources of information. This option is configured through a feature called Information Services.
Generally, the profile you create during installation is the only profile you will need, unless one of these situations occurs:
NOTE: You can start Outlook with the default profile you have specified. You can also be prompted to select a profile each time you start Outlook.
TIP: Being prompted to select a profile is a good idea when you use multiple profiles, or when there are multiple users per computer.
Information Services provide for Outlook's great flexibility because they do the following:
NOTE: Before you can use an information service, you must add it to an active profile.
In Outlook, you can set up delegates to manage resources such as conference rooms, office equipment, and so on. These resources can be managed manually (making the delegate fully responsible for their availability) or automatically, depending on your organization's requirements. Since a resource cannot respond to any requests for its use, you can establish a delegate to take care of booking the resource for a particular meeting. To create a delegate, perform the following steps:
At this point, all meeting requests involving this resource are automatically forwarded to the delegate.
You can also set up the resource account to be booked on a first-come, first-served basis. This would fully automate the process of booking a resource. To override any advanced bookings, however, you need to contact the delegate or the administrator since they are the only ones with access to the resource account.
If your Exchange organization uses public folders, you can work with some or all of these folders while you are offline. This feature is very useful for organizations that keep documents on the server. This enables users who work with offline folders to be continuously updated with information that is added to public folders. Also, this is a great way for you to make changes to documents while you are offline, and have those changes automatically updated when you connect online.
Under public folders, you will find a folder called Favorites. Store all the public folders you want to view offline here. To add these folders, follow these steps:
Outlook Web Access is an enhanced feature of Exchange Server 5.5. This feature is greatly improved from the Active Server component of 5.0 for users needing to attach to the server without having to use the full-featured Outlook client. Outlook Web Access is very practical for someone who wants to use a computer with Internet access to quickly and efficiently check e-mail. Your organization can also utilize Outlook Web Access on computers that cannot run the Outlook client and need an alternative to attaching to the Exchange Server for secure access to mailboxes and public folders, such as UNIX or Macintosh clients.
In Outlook Web Access, you can access your mailbox on the Exchange Server to send messages and read messages in your Inbox. Contact your administrator for details on how to log on to your Exchange Server from your Web browser. Once you pass the security set up by your network administrator, you receive the login screen (see Figure 31.9).
FIG. 31.9 User login to mailbox in Web Outlook view.
After successfully logging in to your mailbox, you see the current contents of your Inbox through Outlook Web Access (see Figure 31.10).
FIG. 31.10 Viewing the Inbox in Web Outlook view.
Creating Messages In the Inbox of Outlook Web Access, click Send New Message. A New Message form appears, which is similar to the Mail form in Outlook (see Figure 31.11). You have several options to configure before sending the message:
NOTE: When you enter a name in either of the above boxes, you can type in the Display Name of the recipient in your Exchange organization or the SMTP/Internet address for all other recipients.
On the Attachments page, type a path to the files you want to attach to your message. On the Options page, configure read and delivery receipts and the use of BCCs (see Figure 31.13).
FIG. 31.11 New Message form.
FIG. 31.12 Setting attachments in your message.
When you are finished filling out the form, you can send or cancel it.
Reading Messages You can open a message in your Inbox by clicking the sender in the From column (see Figure 31.14). After reading the message, you have several options to further handle this message:
FIG. 31.13 Configuring options for read & delivery receipts and the use of BCCs.
You can access public folders as easily as your mailbox after you log in to your Exchange Server over Outlook Web Access. Once the server has authenticated you, you can start posting and reading items stored in the public folders (see Figure 31.15). The following sections provide a basic guide for you to manipulate public folders.
Post New Item From Outlook Web Access, you can post a new item to a public folder. First you need to select the correct public folder to which you want to post information (see Figure 31.16).
FIG. 31.14 Reading a message in your Inbox.
FIG. 31.15 Public folders viewed through Outlook Web Access.
FIG. 31.16 Viewing posted messages in a public folder.
Then in the Action Area of the Outlook Web Access, click Post New Item. A New Post form appears, and you have several options to configure before finally posting the item in the public folder (see Figure 31.17).
Reading and Responding to Posts Posting information to a public folder is only part of what you can do over a Web browser. You can also read and respond to posts. To start reading posts, you need to select one from a public folder that interests you. After reading that post, you have three options to handle it and possibly continue the discussion.
FIG. 31.17 The New Post form.
The Find Names option enables you to search the Exchange Address Book. You can get detailed information about someone in your organization by typing in any information you know about that person. The available fields include Display Name, First Name, Last Name, Title, Alias Name, Company, Department, Office, and City (see Figure 31.18).
FIG. 31.18 Using Find Names.
After typing in that information, click Find, and if there are matches to the request, a list appears. You can then select the name to get more information about that person (see Figure 31.19).
FIG. 31.19 Viewing the Exchange Address Book.
Under Options in the Navigation Bar, you can set your Out of Office Assistant. You can indicate that you are In the Office, or you can select Out of the Office and have replies with a text message sent to each sender (see Figure 31.20). You can also reset your time zone and configure some aspects of the calendaring functionality (see Figure 31.21).
FIG. 31.20 Out of Office Assistant options.
FIG. 31.21 Current time zone and Calendar options.
Calendaring functionality, new with Exchange 5.5, significantly enhances the web-based solution for local and mobile users and makes it very attractive and viable. The initial Calendar view is in Figure 31.22. One of the great features is the continuity with the actual Outlook client interface. This will be familiar to Outlook users and intuitive to new users accessing Exchange services.
FIG. 31.22 Calendar view in Outlook Web Access.
In Figure 31.23, notice the striking similarity with the New Appointment screens in the Outlook client. Some features are exactly the same as they are in the client, such as the Meeting Planner page (see Figure 31.24). Others are offered in a new venue, such as the Recurrence features (see Figure 31.25), but allow for much of the same functionality. Again, attachments and options work as they do when you create a new message.
FIG. 31.23 The New Appointment screen in Outlook Web Access.
FIG. 31.24 The Meeting Planner page.
FIG. 31.25 Use the Recurrence page for new appointments in Outlook Web Access.
By selecting Logoff in the Navigation bar, you can log off of Microsoft Exchange. You will receive a message reminding you to complete the logoff process by closing the Web browser (see Figure 31.26). This is for your security, so that others cannot view your mailbox.
FIG. 31.26 Logoff message in Outlook Web Access.