Sharing Information with Other Versions or Applications
Microsoft Outlook 2002 users can exchange e-mail messages and scheduling data with users of previous versions of Microsoft e-mail and calendar applications, as well as interact with users of other applications. However, previous versions of Outlook or other applications do not support all Outlook 2002 features.
Sharing information with previous versions of Outlook
Microsoft Outlook 2002 shares information seamlessly with Microsoft Outlook 97, Microsoft Outlook 98, and Microsoft Outlook 2000. Outlook 2002 has the same storage formats, Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI) profiles, and message formats. Consequently, in general you can upgrade gradually to Outlook 2002 without losing e-mail and other message functionality.
There are a few exceptions, described in the following sections.
Offline folder file format
The offline folder file (OST file) in Outlook 97 version 8.03 is different in Outlook 2002, Outlook 2000, and Outlook 98. When you upgrade to Outlook 2002 from versions of Outlook 97 prior to version 8.03, you must recreate the OST file.
HTML-based e-mail
In addition to Rich Text Format (RTF) and plain text (ASCII) format, Outlook 2002, Outlook 2000, and Outlook 98 support HTML-based e-mail. This format allows users to send messages in HTML format.
Outlook 97 supports only RTF and plain text format, but Outlook 2002 converts and stores HTML in RTF so that Outlook 97 users can read the messages. However, the original HTML might not be displayed correctly in RTF.
Online meetings
Outlook 2002 supports online meetings, which can be hosted by using Microsoft NetMeeting® conferencing software or Microsoft Windows NT Server NetShow™ Services. Online meeting requests made by using the Outlook 2002 NetMeeting or NetShow Services features appear as in-person meeting requests to Outlook 97, Outlook 98, and Outlook 2000 users.
If your organization includes Outlook 97, Outlook 98, or Outlook 2000 users, and you schedule an online meeting by using Outlook 2002, you must identify the meeting format in the content of the message as either NetMeeting or NetShow Services.
Stationery and custom signatures
When you upgrade to Outlook 2002, the Outlook 98 Stationery feature is moved to a new location. Outlook 98 and Outlook 2000 user signatures are preserved in Outlook 2002.
Sharing information with Microsoft Exchange Client
Microsoft Outlook 2002 recognizes all Microsoft Exchange Client message properties. Although Outlook users can share information with Microsoft Exchange Client users, Microsoft Exchange Client users might not be able to view or use portions of Outlook 2002 messaging information.
When you install and run Outlook, it recognizes and opens all the Exchange Client e-mail folders defined in the mail profile. Outlook 2002 also creates the Outlookspecific folders: Calendar, Contacts, Journal, Notes, and Tasks.
Outlook 2002 recognizes and maintains all specified folder views in Exchange Client, including custom views. While Outlook can create more advanced custom views than Exchange Client, Outlook and Exchange Client can share public folders that might include custom views.
Limitations when exchanging messages
In a mixed environment, it is recommended that Outlook users be aware that their coworkers who use Microsoft Exchange Client cannot take full advantage of many Outlook 2002 messaging features, including an enhanced standard message form, extended message properties, and folder-level privacy.
Enhanced standard message form
Microsoft Exchange Client users who view messages created in Outlook 2002 see the messages in the Microsoft Exchange Client standard message form, which does not support the advanced features of the Outlook standard message form, such as message expiration. As a result, some of the information in an Outlook message might not be viewable to Microsoft Exchange Client users.
Extended message properties
When a Microsoft Exchange Client user opens an Outlook 2002 message, extended Outlook message properties, such as voting buttons are ignored because they are not recognized by Microsoft Exchange Client. This means that some messages created in Outlook might appear different to Microsoft Exchange Client users. However, Outlook recognizes all Microsoft Exchange Client message properties.
Private items
When an Outlook 2002 user marks an item (such as an e-mail or calendar item) as "Private," other Outlook users cannot view the item. However, Microsoft Exchange Client users can view the item if they have been granted folder access privileges for the folder where the item is stored. Because Outlook folder-level privacy is absolute, the workaround for this functionality difference is to have Outlook users put private items in a separate folder, which they do not share or for which they have set restrictions.
Non-table views
Microsoft Exchange Client users can display Outlook 2002 table views — views that consist only of rows and columns — if the Automatically generate Microsoft Exchange views check box is selected in the Folder Properties dialog box for the Outlook folder. However, Microsoft Exchange Client cannot display Outlook non-table views (such as the day, week, and month views in the calendar), or card, icon, and timeline views.
When Outlook and Microsoft Exchange Client users access the same set of public folders, Microsoft Exchange Client users cannot display any non-table views created by Outlook users.
Saved views
Outlook 2002 and Microsoft Exchange Client use different formats to create saved views. Outlook supports both formats, so Outlook users can use any Microsoft Exchange Client view. By contrast, Microsoft Exchange Client does not support the Outlook format, so Microsoft Exchange Client cannot use Outlook views.
Outlook users can choose to maintain two copies of all saved table views in a folder automatically — one copy in Outlook format and one copy in Microsoft Exchange Client format. This workaround enables Microsoft Exchange Client users to use Outlook forms, although any Outlook-specific view features, such as formula fields, are not included in the Microsoft Exchange Client copy.
Custom field types
Microsoft Exchange Client users cannot view Outlook 2002 custom field types, such as formula and combination fields.
Attachments
Outlook 2002 can open attachments or objects within e-mail messages created by Microsoft Exchange Client users, and Exchange Client users can likewise open attachment or objects in Outlook 2002 messages. Both Outlook and Microsoft Exchange Client users can attach one message to another message.
Outlook users can also attach other Outlook items (such as a contact) to a message. However, Microsoft Exchange Client users receive these items as text-only attachments.
Sending and receiving vCards
Outlook 2002 allows users to send and receive contact information by using the Internet standard vCard format. Microsoft Exchange Client does not support this feature.
Using public folders
Outlook 2002 supports all of the custom public folder view features of Microsoft Exchange Server. In fact, Microsoft Exchange Server does not distinguish between Outlook and Microsoft Exchange Client when users open a public folder. For this reason, Outlook and Microsoft Exchange Client users can gain access to a common set of public folders.
Using other messaging and collaboration features
Some interoperability differences between Outlook 2002 and Microsoft Exchange Client features go beyond the basic capabilities of exchanging e-mail messages and using public folders.
Rules
Microsoft Exchange Client users use the Inbox Assistant to manage rules. By contrast, Outlook 2002 includes an enhanced Rules Wizard. The Outlook Rules Wizard allows users to manage Inbox Assistant rules (server-side rules) in addition to their Outlook rules (client-side rules). The Rules Wizard also allows users to convert Inbox Assistant rules into Outlook rules.
Each time that the Rules Wizard is started, it checks for active Inbox Assistant rules on the user's computer. If any Inbox Assistant rules exist, the Rules Wizard gives the user the option to convert them automatically to Outlook rules. After an Inbox Assistant rule has been converted to an Outlook rule, users can modify the Outlook rule by using the Rules Wizard.
Forms
Forms created by using the Outlook 2002 forms design environment can be used only by Outlook users. Forms created by using Electronic Forms Designer can be used by both Outlook and Microsoft Exchange Client users. Forms implemented using Exchange Server 5.5 HTML interfaces can be used by Outlook, but not by Microsoft Exchange Client. Developers can create forms by using the tool that is appropriate for the mix of operating systems in a specific organization.
Microsoft Exchange Server provides an alternative means of creating forms to use in collaborative applications. It does this by using Active Server Pages (ASP pages) and the Microsoft Exchange Collaboration Data Objects (CDO) interface to script forms that are displayed as HTML in a Web browser. Outlook supports Microsoft Exchange Server HTML forms. These features provide Microsoft Exchange sites with an option for developing electronic forms that can be deployed across all operating systems.
WordMail
To use WordMail as their Outlook 2002 editor, Outlook 2002 users must have Word 2002 installed. However, Outlook 2002 users can receive and read e-mail messages composed with other versions of Word.
Voting
By using Outlook 2002, users can easily create and send ballot messages to other Outlook users, and then they can track the voting responses automatically in Outlook. An Outlook user specifies the voting choices when creating the message and then sends the message to other users. When recipients using Outlook receive a voting message, the selections they can vote for appear as buttons in the Outlook message However, when Microsoft Exchange Client users receive voting messages from Outlook users, they receive only the text of the Subject line and the body of the voting message. No voting buttons are displayed.
Microsoft Exchange Client preview pane
Outlook 2002 has a built-in preview pane. The Microsoft Exchange Client preview pane is not compatible with Outlook.
Task delegation
When an Outlook 2002 user delegates a task to a user who is running Microsoft Exchange Client, the recipient receives only an e-mail message that lists the description of the task, start and end dates, and other information as text in the body of the message.
Toolbox The Microsoft Office Resource Kit for Office 97/98 provides additional file sharing information for Microsoft Exchange Client, including information about using public folders, converting rules to use with the Rules Wizard, and exchanging forms. For more information, see Microsoft Office Resource Kit for Office 97/98.
Sharing information with Microsoft Schedule+
Microsoft Outlook 2002 users and users of all previous versions of Microsoft Schedule+ can share calendar and group scheduling information such as calendar free/busy status information, and meeting request messages. However, Schedule+ users might not be able to view or use some Outlook 2002 message or calendar features.
For most organizations, viewing free/busy status and exchanging meeting requests are essential scheduling tasks. Outlook 2002 and Schedule+ share information completely in both of these key areas.
Exchanging meeting requests
Outlook 2002 and Schedule+ 1.0 and Schedule+ 7.x users can freely exchange meeting messages across the Microsoft Windows and Macintosh operating environments. Although Outlook 2002 users and Schedule+ 1.0 users can freely exchange meeting requests and responses, Schedule+ 1.0 does not recognize the advanced features of Outlook such as attachments, the meeting location field, and recurring meetings. As a result, when a Schedule+ 1.0 user receives a meeting message from an Outlook user, Schedule+ 1.0 ignores any Outlook-specific message features it does not recognize. For example, if an Outlook user sends a recurring meeting request to a Schedule+ 1.0 user, the Schedule+ user receives only the first meeting request.
Viewing free/busy status
When users publish their free/busy status, other users can view the free/busy status in Meeting Planner. By having appropriate permission, Outlook 2002 and Schedule+ 7.x and Schedule+ 1.0 users can view each other's free/busy status. Permission is not needed to view the free/busy status of other users.
In addition to designating free/busy status, Outlook 2002 users can designate tentative and out-of-office status that other Outlook users can view. However, when Schedule+ users view an Outlook calendar, tentative status appears as free status, and out-of-office status appears as busy status.
Outlook differs slightly from Schedule+ in how it handles unpublished free/busy status. When Schedule+ users choose not to publish their free/busy status, other Schedule+ users can still view the free/busy status in Meeting Planner — provided they have read permission. However, when Outlook users choose not to publish their free/busy status, no one can view their free/busy status in Meeting Planner, but they can open calendars to view unpublished free/busy status, provided they have read permission to the users' calendar.
Viewing free/busy details
Outlook 2002 users on Microsoft Exchange Server can view the free/busy details of Schedule+ users who are on Microsoft Exchange Server, but they cannot view the details of users on Microsoft Mail Server. Schedule+ 7.x users can view the free/busy details of Outlook users when all users are on Microsoft Exchange Server, and the necessary Windows 16-bit or 32-bit driver is installed. Schedule+ 1.0 users cannot view free/busy details for Outlook users.
Outlook users who have Read Only permission for other user calendars can see when those users are free or busy, and they can view the details of scheduled appointments and activities in Meeting Planner.
Delegating e-mail messages and scheduling tasks
In Outlook 2002, you can give others permission to read or modify your folders, and you can delegate your e-mail messages and scheduling tasks to other users. Delegates can create, send, and reply to messages; and they can request meetings and delegate tasks on your behalf.
A delegate relationship requires that both users run the same scheduling client. For example, Outlook users can be delegates only for other Outlook users. Outlook users who want to participate in delegate relationships must keep all their primary folders, such as Calendar and Inbox, on the server instead of on their local computers.
Schedule+ 7.x users can designate other users to be their delegate owners. As a delegate owner, a user has all the capabilities of a delegate and can also designate additional delegates for the owner's schedule. Like Schedule+ 7.x users, Outlook folder owners can enable their delegates to give other users the necessary permission for gaining access to the owner's folders. However, Outlook does not allow a delegate to designate additional delegates for the owner's folders. To designate a delegate in Outlook, you must be logged on as the folder (account) owner.
Using direct booking
Outlook 2002 users with the appropriate permission can use the direct booking feature to book appointments directly into an Outlook or Schedule+ Calendar. However, Schedule+ 1.0 and Schedule+ 7.x users cannot book appointments directly into Outlook 2002 Calendars.
With direct booking, no meeting request is actually sent to a user or resource such as a conference room. The client software of the meeting organizer adds the meeting directly to the resource calendar. If the direct booking fails for an Outlook 2002 user, the user is informed, and no meeting request is sent. If the direct booking fails for a Schedule+ user, a meeting request is sent. If no one responds to the meeting request, the resource is not booked.
Because a directly booked resource is unlikely to receive many meeting requests, you are not required to assign a delegate to the resource or to have a continuously running computer logged into the account of the resource to process incoming meeting requests. However, if a user sends a meeting request to the resource instead of booking an appointment, the meeting request is not noticed until a user logs on to the account of the resource. With appropriate permission, an Outlook user can open the Calendar of a resource and modify it directly — if necessary.
Note A Schedule+ user can read the calendar of an Outlook user, but cannot add to it or edit it — regardless of the permissions that the Outlook user grants.
Working with tasks
Outlook 2002 gives users new task features that are not available in Schedule+ 7.x or Schedule+ 1.0. For example, Outlook provides additional views for task items, making it easier for users to manage tasks in a way that best suits their needs. Also, Outlook enables users to delegate tasks to other users. When Outlook users delegate a task to other Outlook users, all of the task information (such as start date, end date, and status) is sent as a special task request message to the recipients, who can add it to their own task lists automatically.
After Outlook 2002 is installed, users can import their Schedule+ 7.x or Schedule+ 1.0 task data at any time by using the Import and Export command on the Outlook File menu. By default, Outlook imports Schedule+ task information into the Outlook Tasks folder. Users can choose to ignore or replace any duplicate entries encountered during the import process.
Working with contacts
Outlook 2002 provides a Contacts feature that helps users keep their business and personal contact information up to date. Although Schedule+ 7.x includes some contact features, many of the Outlook contact management enhancements, such as additional contact views, are not available in Schedule+ 7.x.
The enhanced Contacts feature enables Outlook users to include e-mail addresses with their contacts. Outlook users can import all Schedule+ 7.x contacts, as well as contacts stored in Microsoft Exchange Client personal address books (PABs). In addition, Outlook users can maintain contacts as their personal e-mail address books, so they do not need to maintain contact names and e-mail addresses in two separate places.
After installing Outlook 2002, users can import their Schedule+ contact data at any time by using the Import and Export command on the Outlook File menu. By default, Outlook imports Schedule+ contact information into the Outlook Contacts folder. Users can choose to ignore or replace any duplicate entries encountered during the import process. The Outlook Import Wizard also imports Microsoft Exchange Client PABs.
Sharing information with Microsoft Project
Microsoft Project 2000 and Microsoft Project 98 can work with Microsoft Outlook 2002 to provide task scheduling for your users. Microsoft Project users can assign tasks to Outlook 2002 users. When the Outlook recipients accept the tasks, Microsoft Project adds the tasks to Outlook Tasks automatically. Users can also create Outlook reminders from within Microsoft Project 2000, and they can add Microsoft Project 2000 and 98 items to the Outlook Journal.
To use the workgroup features of Microsoft Project with Outlook 2002, you must configure Microsoft Project for a workgroup. These workgroup configurations allow team members to view the custom e-mail messages, such as team status reports, generated in Microsoft Project. Project managers can use the TeamAssign feature to send custom e-mail messages, and to assign project tasks to the team members who receive messages in the Outlook Inbox.
After each team member accepts a task and sends the response to the project manager, the task is logged automatically in the Outlook Task list of the team member. Project tasks are grouped under a new category that corresponds to the project name. Each team member can keep track of the task status in the Outlook Task list.
Microsoft Project adds a new menu command called New TeamStatus Report to the Outlook Tasks menu. This feature allows team members to generate and submit TeamStatus reports without waiting for the project manager to ask for them.
When the team member chooses the New TeamStatus Report command, a custom TeamStatus e-mail message is created and stored in the Outlook Inbox. If the team member is tracking the task status in the task list, the status information is added automatically to the TeamStatus report. Users can just open the report and send it to the project manager. In addition, they can use the TeamStatus message to track the task status, and to save and store the message in the Inbox until they are ready to submit it to the project manager.
Note You must configure Microsoft Project 2000 and Microsoft Project 98 for workgroups before you can take advantage of the interactions between Microsoft Project and Outlook 2002. For more information, see:
- "Install the Workgroup Message Handler" in the Microsoft Project 2000 online document C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\1033\Prjsetup.htm.
- "Install the Workgroup Message Handler" in the Microsoft Project 98 online document C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Setup.wri.
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