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Outlook Web Access 2003 Procedure Guide The Outlook Web Access is a full-featured e-mail client, with support for rules, spelling checker, signed and encrypted e-mail, and many other features. The interface is also designed to provide an enhanced user experience similar to that of Outlook 2003, including a new Reading Pane (previously called the Preview Pane in Outlook) and improved Navigation Pane. Click on a feature below for more information about it. Setting the Number of Messaged Displayed Per Page Accessing Search Folders (Saved Searches) Adding a Sender or Recipient to Contacts Composing Messages to Recipients From the Address Book Outlook Web Access now more closely matches the Outlook 2003 user interface (Figure 2.6). This section provides detailed information about the new user interface features and options.
Figure 2.6 New Outlook Web Access interface (Outlook Web Access Premium) Outlook Web Access now allows users to select a color scheme for their Outlook Web Access experience. Figure 2.7 shows the available color schemes.
Figure 2.7 Outlook Web Access color schemes
To change the color scheme for Outlook Web Access
The improved Reading Pane (previously called the Preview Pane in Outlook) displays the e-mail message in the right pane. Essentially, the Reading Pane enhances readability and provides the user with more information on the page. Users can easily switch to the classic bottom Reading Pane or turn the pane off entirely. Reading Pane options are accessed on the Toolbar by clicking the Show/Hide Reading Pane button. Note The Reading Pane is not available with Outlook Web Access Basic.
Outlook Web Access in Exchange Server 2003 includes a new view for listing the messages in a folder. This new Two-Line view (Figure 2.8) displays the message information on two different lines, which allows more information to be displayed for each message without being cut off. This is especially useful when using the new Reading Pane. The following message information is displayed in Two-Line view:
Figure 2.8 The Two-Line View To select the Two-Line View
In Outlook Web Access, you can now flag messages for follow-up. The new flag column appears to the right of the message list and allows users to flag a message, mark a flag as complete, or clear a flag. Six flag colors are supported (Figure 2.9).
Figure 2.9 Message flagging You cannot set a reminder for these follow-up flags. These flags simply provide a visual indicator of which items in the mailbox a user has marked as needing further action. Note This feature is not available with Outlook Web Access Basic.
To flag a message for follow-up
Note You must use the shortcut menu to clear a flag.
Shortcut menus are now available in Outlook Web Access. You can right-click on messages, folders, and other objects to display shortcut menus from which you can select relevant commands (Figure 2.10). Note This feature is not available with Outlook Web Access Basic.
Figure 2.10 Message shortcut menu The following sections list the new commands featured in the message and folder shortcut menus. Message Shortcut Menu When you right-click a message in the message list, the following commands are available:
Folder Shortcut Menu When you right-click a folder in the folder list, the following commands are available:
Setting the Number of Messages Displayed per Page Exchange 2003 Outlook Web Access users can specify how many items are listed in a view, such as the number of messages listed when viewing a mail folder. By default, twenty-five items are listed. You can view as few as five to as many as one hundred items at a time. For users connecting to Outlook Web Access using a dial-up modem, the number of items should be set to 25 or fewer to maximize performance. This option also affects the number of contacts and tasks that display per page. To set the number of items listed in a view
With the version of Outlook Web Access that shipped with Exchange 2000, every time a user deletes, moves, or copies a message, the server refreshes the entire view. For example, if a user has twenty-five messages in their Inbox, and the user then deletes a message, Outlook Web Access deletes the message, and then refreshes the view so that twenty-five messages are again listed. With the version of Outlook Web Access that ships with Exchange 2003, deleted or moved items are still removed from the message list, but the refresh of the entire list (in other words, the addition of new items to the view) is deferred until twenty percent of the items are deleted or moved. Reducing the number of refresh requests helps to reduce network traffic and enhances the overall user experience. The twenty percent threshold is based on the total number of items set to display per page (as set by the user in Outlook Web Access Options), not the actual messages count on a page. For example, if a user requests one hundred messages to display per page, the message list does not automatically refresh until twenty-one messages are deleted. Note This feature is not available with Outlook Web Access Basic.
Accessing Search Folders (Saved Searches) In Outlook 2003, you can create special Search Folders that are saved searches for specific content in your mailbox. For example, you can perform a search that finds messages from a particular sender, and then save the search results as a Search Folder for later use. Search Folders appear in a special section of the Outlook Folder List. In Outlook Web Access, Search Folders appears in the Folders pane. Search folders only appear in Outlook Web Access if a user creates them while running Outlook 2003 in online mode against an Exchange 2003 server. You cannot create search folders in Outlook Web Access. Note This feature is not available with Outlook Web Access Basic.
If you configured Outlook Web Access to notify you of new e-mail or reminders, the Navigation Pane now notifies you when new items arrive in your Inbox or active reminders are waiting to be dismissed or set to snooze. To configure notifications, click Options, and then select the appropriate options under Messaging Options and Reminder Options. Note This feature is not available with Outlook Web Access Basic.
Public folders are now displayed in their own window. In the Navigation Pane, click Public Folders to launch a new browser window that contains only public folders. Note This feature is not available with Outlook Web Access Basic.
The Log Off feature has been moved from the Navigation Pane. It is now located on the right side of the toolbar. Outlook Web Access now supports more keyboard shortcuts. Table 2.4 lists the supported shortcuts. Note This feature is not available with Outlook Web Access Basic.
Table 2.4 Keyboard shortcuts for Outlook Web Access
In Outlook Web Access, you can now create and manage server-based rules for the most common mail-management scenarios, such as moving e-mail from a particular sender or with a particular subject to a specific folder. Outlook Web Access allows users to edit simple server-side rules created in any version of Outlook. If an Outlook-created rule is too complex for Outlook Web Access to render it properly, the rule appears shaded in the Outlook Web Access user interface for rules management. Although these rules cannot be edited, they still function. One or more of the following criteria are used to define the rule in Outlook Web Access:
Based on these criteria, the following actions can be specified:
In addition to creating a new rule, users can create a rule from within an e-mail message, which creates the rule parameters with information from the message, such as the subject and sender information. This allows uses to quickly and easily create rules. Warning Because of interoperability limitations with Outlook, before an Outlook Web Access user can create or modify any rules, Outlook Web Access deletes any rules that have been disabled through Outlook. This does not happen automatically. When you modify a rule, you receive a warning indicating that disabled rules will be deleted if you proceed.
If you modify rules from Outlook Web Access, the next time you use Outlook, you may be prompted to choose between client and server-side rules. To retain the rules that you created in Outlook Web Access, select server-side rules. Note This feature is not available with Outlook Web Access Basic.
To create a new rule from Outlook Web Access
To create a new rule from within a message
Outlook Web Access now includes a spelling checker. The spelling checker is built into Exchange 2003, so users do not need to run any client-side code or download additional software. The spelling checker feature is available whenever users compose a message. The following languages are supported for Exchange 2003:
Users select the language for the spelling checker to use. When spelling checker is first run, users are prompted to select the preferred language. The language can also be configured at any time. Note This feature is not available with Outlook Web Access Basic.
To set the spelling checker language
Figure 2.11 The Go to options button
To check the spelling in a message
Figure 2.12 The Spelling button The version of Outlook Web Access that shipped with Exchange 2000 did not support tasks. Although you could view existing tasks, they were displayed as e-mail messages and could not be edited. In Exchange 2003, Outlook Web Access now supports tasks (Figure 2.13). You can create and manage new tasks or manage tasks that have already been created in Outlook.
Figure 2.13 Outlook Web Access Tasks view Some of the task features that are now available include:
To work with tasks in Outlook Web Access
If you have worked with tasks in Microsoft Outlook, the new task support in Outlook Web Access should be very familiar. In Outlook, when a user attempts to delete a recurring task, the user must decide whether to delete a single occurrence or the entire recurring series. In Outlook Web Access, the delete command always deletes the entire task series. However, you can skip an individual occurrence by clicking the Skip Occurrence button on the Task toolbar. Task Requests Not Supported In Outlook, you can use the Task Request feature to assign tasks to other users. Outlook Web Access does not support this feature. Furthermore, in Outlook Web Access, users cannot process Task Requests sent from Outlook or update any delegated tasks they have already accepted in Outlook. Outlook Web Access does allow you to delete Task Requests or previously accepted delegated tasks; however, the task assigner does not receive notification that the deletion occurred. With Outlook Web Access for Exchange Server 2003, you can create a personal signature that can be added to outgoing messages automatically or inserted into individual messages manually. To customize your signature, you can modify the font color, style, and alignment. Note You can only have text for signatures in Outlook Web Access Basic.
To create your signature In Outlook Web Access, in the Navigation Pane, click Options. If the Navigation Pane is collapsed, click the Go to options button.
To add your signature to all outgoing messages automatically
To insert your signature into a specific message
Outlook Web Access now allows you to view user name properties that were resolved from the Exchange global address list (GAL). The property information is a subset of what is displayed in Microsoft Outlook. The following properties are displayed in Outlook Web Access:
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