Exchange and Outlook : Constructing Collaborative Solutions

by Semeniuk, Joel

• ISBN13: 9781578702527
• ISBN10: 1578702526
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-06-01
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

Exchange Server is Microsoft's flagship project. It is common for firms to choose Windows over other Operating Systems just so they can use Exchange Server. Most enterprise installations, especially those with remote or mobile employees, create custom collaborative Outlook and Exchange applications for groupware, salesforce automation and project management. Exchange & Outlook Programming is divided into four sections that build upon one another, first by establishing a base ("Why build collaborative solutions"?), then by laying out the tools that can be used to build collaborative solutions. The third section helps to establish how we should plan and design effective collaborative solutions. Finally, the fourth section provides insight and knowledge on the exact methods of using our tools to develop and rollout typical workflow/collaborative solutions.

Table of Contents

Introduction	xv
Part I What Kind of Puzzles Can We Build-Collaborative Possibilities	1	(36)
Overview of Collaborative Development	3	(14)
Why You Should Collaborate	3	(5)
Managing Information Correctly	5	(2)
The Signal-to-Noise Ratio of Information	7	(1)
Defining Collaboration	8	(1)
Collaborative Possibilities	9	(5)
Instant Routing and Approval	11	(1)
Entering Data Once	12	(1)
Getting at Data-Fast!	13	(1)
Future of Collaboration	14	(2)
Our Next Steps	16	(1)
Chapter Summary	16	(1)
Typical Collaborative Development Examples	17	(20)
Email-Based Solutions	18	(3)
Tracking Solutions	21	(3)
Workflow Solutions	24	(4)
Real-Time Solutions	28	(2)
Knowledge Management	30	(2)
Making the Decision	32	(1)
Collaboration as a Concept	33	(3)
Chapter Summary	36	(1)
Part II Pieces of the Puzzle-The Components of Collaboration	37	(348)
Overview of Collaborative Tools and Techniques	39	(46)
The Base Products	40	(28)
Microsoft Exchange	40	(17)
Microsoft SQL Server	57	(4)
Internet Information Server	61	(3)
Microsoft Outlook	64	(3)
Windows CE	67	(1)
Ties That Bind	68	(11)
COM, DCOM, and COM+	69	(2)
Collaborative Programming Interfaces	71	(4)
Development Tools and Platforms	75	(4)
Significant Others	79	(3)
Microsoft Chat	79	(1)
MSN Messenger	79	(2)
Microsoft NetMeeting	81	(1)
Chapter Summary	82	(3)
The Heart of Collaboration: Microsoft Exchange Server	85	(40)
The Importance of Architecture	85	(1)
Setting Up a Collaborative Development Environment	86	(3)
The Microsoft Exchange Architecture	89	(8)
The System Attendant Service	90	(2)
The Information Store Service	92	(1)
The Directory Service	93	(1)
The Message Transfer Agent Service	94	(1)
The Microsoft Exchange Event Service	94	(1)
The Microsoft Exchange Chat Service	95	(1)
The Microsoft Exchange Key Management Service	95	(1)
Other Microsoft Exchange Services	96	(1)
Installing and Configuring Additional Collaborative Components	97	(8)
Outlook Web Access	98	(2)
Key Management Server	100	(3)
Chat Server	103	(2)
Exchange Public Folders	105	(15)
Creating and Structuring Exchange Public Folders	106	(6)
Adding the Public Folder to the Global Address List	112	(1)
Implementing Security on Exchange Public Folders	113	(3)
Offline Public Folders	116	(2)
Public Folder Content Moderation	118	(2)
Preparing for Outlook Forms Development	120	(1)
Form Libraries	120	(1)
Configuring an Organization Forms Library	120	(1)
The Exchange Event Service	121	(2)
Chapter Summary	123	(2)
Microsoft Outlook 2000 Collaborative Basics	125	(30)
Outlook 2000's Out-of-the-Box Collaboration	126	(14)
Appointment Management	126	(5)
Contact Management	131	(4)
Task Management	135	(3)
Journal Management	138	(2)
Organizing Information	140	(14)
Rules	140	(3)
Folders and Fields	143	(1)
Views	144	(10)
Chapter Summary	154	(1)
Microsoft Outlook 2000 Forms Development	155	(40)
Overview of the Forms Development Process	155	(2)
Outlook Items and Forms	157	(5)
Customizing Outlook Forms	162	(1)
Choosing the Correct Standard Form	162	(1)
Customizing a Form	163	(1)
Creating a New Form	163	(1)
Customizing Outlook Forms	163	(9)
Fields and Controls	172	(9)
Built-In Fields	172	(1)
Custom Fields	173	(1)
Using Controls	174	(7)
Using VBScript in Outlook Forms	181	(8)
The VBScript Development Environment	182	(5)
Uses of Visual Script	187	(2)
Testing Outlook Forms	189	(2)
Deploying Outlook Forms	191	(2)
Chapter Summary	193	(2)
Microsoft Outlook 2000 VBA	195	(26)
What Is VBA?	196	(1)
When to Use VBA	196	(2)
The Outlook VBA Development Environment	198	(2)
The Outlook Visual Basic Editor	198	(2)
Outlook VBA Projects	200	(1)
Outlook VBA Hello World	200	(4)
Outlook Objects and Events	204	(7)
Where to Find Objects and Events	204	(2)
Declaring and Using Outlook Objects and Events	206	(2)
Event Handling	208	(3)
Working with the Outlook Interface	211	(3)
Distributing Your Project	214	(1)
Additional Examples	215	(1)
Makeshift List Server	215	(1)
Additional Examples	215	(4)
Centralized Category Management	217	(2)
Chapter Summary	219	(2)
Visual Basic, CDO, and MAPI	221	(40)
Visual Basic's Role in Building Collaborative Applications	221	(13)
Message Processors	224	(4)
ActiveX Controls for Outlook Forms	228	(4)
COM DLLs for VBScript and Active Server Pages	232	(1)
COM Add-Ins	233	(1)
Understanding CDO and MAPI	234	(7)
Relationship between Outlook, CDO, CDONTS, and MAPI	236	(1)
Deciding Which Messaging Tools to Use	237	(4)
Programming with CDO	241	(17)
The CDO Object Model	241	(3)
Common CDO Tasks	244	(14)
Server-/Client-Side Applications	258	(1)
Chapter Summary	259	(2)
Microsoft Office Integration	261	(36)
An Argument for Integration	261	(4)
Office Documents for Transmitting Information	265	(16)
Our Simple Example	266	(1)
Creating the Templates	266	(7)
Transferring the Files	273	(5)
Processing the Files	278	(3)
Office as a Report Generator	281	(14)
General Information About MS Office Automation	282	(5)
Creating Word Documents from VB/VBA/VBS	287	(2)
Creating Other Office Documents	289	(4)
Creating Your Data Entry Form	293	(2)
Chapter Summary	295	(1)
For More Information	296	(1)
Outlook Web Access	297	(26)
Overview of Outlook Web Access	297	(7)
What You Can Do with OWA	298	(3)
How OWA Works	301	(1)
Flow of Outlook Web Access	301	(3)
Converting Outlook Forms for Use in OWA	304	(5)
The Conversion Wizard	304	(2)
What Works and What Doesn't	306	(3)
Customizing and Adding to OWA	309	(12)
Customizing the Visual Appearance	309	(5)
Adding Your Own Code	314	(5)
Adding Non-Exchange Content to OWA	319	(2)
Chapter Summary	321	(2)
Team Folders	323	(26)
Outlook Today	323	(5)
Changing the URL of the Outlook Today Page	325	(3)
Restoring the Default Outlook Today Page	328	(1)
Creating Your Own Outlook Today Page	328	(9)
Style Sheets	329	(1)
Using the ActiveX Controls	330	(7)
Folder Home Pages	337	(2)
Setting the URL for a Folder Home Page	337	(1)
Building a Folder Home Page	338	(1)
Browser Technology Differences	338	(1)
Team Folders	339	(8)
Setting Up a Team Folders Solution	340	(1)
The Outlook View Control	341	(4)
Customizing Team Folders	345	(2)
Chapter Summary	347	(2)
The Digital Dashboard	349	(36)
Overview of Digital Dashboards	349	(7)
Dashboard Content	350	(4)
Dashboard Structure	354	(1)
Common Dashboard Components	355	(1)
Basics of Building a Dashboard	356	(13)
Layout	357	(2)
Using FrontPage 2000 to Add the Outlook Controls	359	(2)
Proper Nugget Structure	361	(2)
Implementing the Show and Hide Functionality	363	(6)
Advanced Dashboard Work	369	(11)
Linking to Outlook Folders and Items	369	(1)
Accessing CDO and Outlook from Within Your Dashboard	370	(2)
Saving/Retrieving User Preferences	372	(2)
Personalization	374	(1)
Creating More Nuggets	375	(3)
Integration with Team Folders	378	(1)
Using ASP with a Digital Dashboard	379	(1)
Deployment	380	(3)
Chapter Summary	383	(2)
Part III Putting the Pieces Together-Developing Collaborative Solutions	385	(92)
Designing and Building Tracking Solutions	387	(32)
Review the Design	389	(1)
Creating the Folders and Fields for the Sample	390	(2)
Customizing the Outlook Contact Form	392	(8)
Reviewing the Client Contact Form	392	(1)
Creating a New Contact	393	(1)
Adding New Controls	394	(1)
Adding a Tab	395	(5)
Building the Folder Event Agent	400	(13)
Understanding How the Exchange Event Service Works	400	(1)
Preparing to Write the Script	401	(3)
Creating the Script	404	(9)
Completing Outlook Client Configurations	413	(4)
Modifying the Default Post Form	414	(1)
Creating the Outlook Folder Views	414	(2)
Configuring the Client Contacts Folder for Offline Access	416	(1)
Chapter Summary	417	(2)
Designing and Building Workflow Solutions	419	(30)
Review the Design	420	(3)
Implementing Simple Workflow	423	(21)
Implementing Simple Document Workflow	423	(2)
Implementing Travel Request Workflow	425	(6)
How the Routing Wizard Works	431	(13)
Building More Complex Workflow Solutions	444	(2)
Using AgentEd	444	(1)
Using Off-the-Shelf Solutions	445	(1)
The Exchange 2000 Solution	446	(1)
Chapter Summary	447	(2)
Designing and Building Knowledge Management Solutions	449	(28)
Storing Knowledge--Team Folders Revisited	450	(7)
Create a New Team Folder Template	456	(1)
Customize the Team Folder Wizard	457	(1)
Using Distribution Lists for Knowledge Management	457	(5)
Archiving Information	458	(1)
Distribution List Best Practices	459	(1)
Managing Distribution Lists	460	(2)
Indexing Your Knowledge--Using Site Server	462	(10)
Putting the Pieces Together	472	(3)
Chapter Summary	475	(2)
A The CDO Object Model	477	(34)
Session Object	477	(6)
Session Properties	477	(2)
Session Methods	479	(4)
InfoStores Collection	483	(2)
InfoStore Object	483	(1)
InfoStore Properties	483	(1)
InfoStore Methods	484	(1)
AddressLists Collection	485	(1)
AddressList Object	485	(1)
AddressList Properties	485	(1)
AddressList Methods	486	(1)
AddressEntries Collection	486	(1)
Folder Object	487	(2)
Folder Properties	487	(1)
Folder Methods	488	(1)
Folders Collection	489	(1)
Messages Collection	490	(1)
Message Object	490	(4)
Message Properties	490	(2)
Message Methods	492	(2)
Field Object	494	(1)
Field Properties	494	(1)
Field Methods	494	(1)
Recipients Collection	494	(4)
Recipient Properties	496	(1)
Recipient Methods	497	(1)
Attachments Collection	498	(1)
Attachment Object	498	(2)
Attachment Properties	499	(1)
Attachment Methods	499	(1)
AddressEntry Object	500	(1)
AddressEntry Properties	500	(1)
AddressEntry Methods	501	(1)
MessageFilter Object	501	(2)
MessageFilter Properties	501	(2)
AppointmentItem Object	503	(3)
AppointmentItem Properties	504	(1)
AppointmentItem Methods	505	(1)
MeetingItem Object	506	(1)
MeetingItem Properties	506	(1)
MeetingItem Methods	506	(1)
RecurrencePattern Object	507	(1)
RecurrencePattern Properties	507	(1)
Setting Up Your Project to Use CDO	508	(1)
Using the Object Browser to Explore the CDO Library	509	(1)
CDO in Exchange 2000 and Windows 2000	510	(1)
Summary	510	(1)
B Handling Common Errors in CDO	511	(8)
Trapping Errors in Your Code	511	(2)
Common CDO Errors	513	(5)
Logging In	514	(3)
Accessing Folders, Items, and Properties	517	(1)
Working with Recipients	517	(1)
Sending, Saving, Copying, and Moving Items	518	(1)
Appendix Summary	518	(1)
C Real-Time Collaborative Possibilities with Exchange 2000	519	(4)
Enhanced Chat Services	519	(1)
Instant Messaging Services	520	(1)
Data Conferencing and Application Sharing	520	(1)
Summary	521	(2)
Index	523