The UsefulTechnology Blog : Exchange Server

The End: this blog leaps over to Windows Live Spaces

Allister_Frost — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 11:00:00 GMT

I've decided to move my blog to a new home on Windows Live Spaces. I hope you'll move with me.

My new blog URL is http://usefultechnologyblog.spaces.live.com/.

To subscribe to the new RSS feed, simply click this link: http://usefultechnologyblog.spaces.live.com/feed.rss.

Thanks for being with me on TechNet. See you on the other side.

My Blogcasts on Soapbox

Allister_Frost — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 14:36:00 GMT

I've been playing with the new Soapbox on MSN Video service. It's pretty cool. I never really got into YouTube but I can see how useful it will be to be able to restrict access to my videos on Soapbox based on my existing Windows Live Messenger contact lists. I've uploaded 5 of my Outlook 2003 blogcasts as a test. You can find them by searching on Soapbox for "UsefulTechnology". Or by clicking any of the links that follow:

I've also embedded a player for the first blogcast below to make life easy. Let me know what you think.

Video: Outlook 2003 General Tips

The Joy of Finding Big Things (in Outlook 2007)

Allister_Frost — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 22:42:00 GMT

My former boss, Bruce Lynn, asked me this weekend how he could locate all the large (>200kb) entries in his Outlook calendar so he could delete them to free up some space in his mailstore. He couldn't figure out how to do this but knew it must be easy. If you find your mailstore is running short on space it's well worth doing this every once in a while, even if just to delete any large attachments that are no longer needed inside historical calendar appointments.

To do this in Outlook 2003 you need to customise your calendar view as follows:

In your calendar, VIEW > CURRENT VIEW > ALL APPOINTMENTS
Right click on the column header row (where you see Subject, Location etc...) and choose Customize current view
Now add a filter where size is greater than 200 (under the more choices tab)
Optional: Add another filter if you want to see only appointments in the past (Advanced tab > End / on or before / today)
Click OK
Now delete what you don’t want
To return to your normal view choose VIEW > CURRENT VIEW > DAY/WEEK/MONTH

It's wonderfully simple in Outlook 2007 though:

In your calendar, type size:>200000 in the quick search box
Delete what you don’t want

Just one example of the power of the new search capabilities in the 2007 Office system. And, of course, this works in all views (mail, tasks, calendar etc) and is a beautifully simple way to cleanse your mailbox of unwanted big stuff.

Add some hyperlink action to your emails

Allister_Frost — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 02:14:00 GMT

Bloggers know how important it is to include relevant hyperlinks in their posts ;-)

They can come in pretty handy in emails too. Instead of pasting a lengthy and ugly URL into an email you can add a hyperlink to any part of your email text.

So, instead of this:

The UsefulTechnology blog (http://blogs.technet.com/UsefulTechnology/) is really quite useful.

...you can do this:

The UsefulTechnology blog is really quite useful.

Much neater. And it's fast too. Especially if you know the magic keyboard shortcut: CTRL+K. Just highlight your text (or place your cursor anywhere on a word you'd like to turn into a hyperlink) and press CTRL+K. Type your URL in the Address field, then press OK. Easy as pie.

From Zero to Hero with Outlook

Allister_Frost — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 10:30:00 GMT

I have my annual performance review in half an hour. This reminds me of a great little non-technical tip that may help you get even more value out of Microsoft Outlook.

Every time you receive an email thanking or praising you for some work that you have done, save it in a special folder called (something like) "Hero". When the time comes round to review your performance, or perhaps when you simply need a motivational boost, take a look in that folder to remind yourself of all the great things that you've done. It's surprising how many things you do that make a big difference to someone else's life. And if you don't save these reminders, chances are that you'll forget all about them.

And remember, giving some love is even more fun than receiving it. So, if your Hero folder is looking a little bare, take 5 minutes now to email a quick thank you to someone who has made your life easier. And, before you know it, you might have something extra in return to file in your own Hero folder.

Known Issues in Outlook 2007 Beta 2

Allister_Frost — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 10:01:00 GMT

Slipstick features a comprehensive article detailing the latest known issues that people encounter while testing Outlook 2007 Beta 2. The most common problems I hear about are caused by incompatible add-ins which can be disabled in the new Tools > Trust Center window. If Outlook crashes while you are trying to disable an add-in (this is known as Sod's Law) you can edit the Load Behaviour for questionable add-ins in the registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\Addins. Change the Load Behaviour value from 3 (active) to 2 (inactive). Any add-ins you see with a load behaviour of 9 have already been fully disabled.

Disclaimer Thingy: As always, Beta software should only be used for testing purposes and I don't recommend you use this on a production computer (i.e. a PC that you rely on!). Here at Microsoft we "eat our own dogfood" and experience firsthand the joys of using pre-release software on our day-to-day work machines. Having tens of thousands of colleagues complaining about a not-yet-perfect feature provides a pretty compelling incentive to the developers to fix things fast! Oh, and editing the registry should only be done if you really know what you're doing and have the necessary safety net (i.e. a backup) and protective underwear in place.

The Mysterious World of Extend Mode in Word and Outlook

Allister_Frost — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 16:11:00 GMT

The Extend Mode in Microsoft Word is an artefact of the early computing era before the mouse was invented (and the natural evolution of that gunky stuff that builds up on your mouse's bottom). Few computer users make use of this feature today because they've learned how to scoot around their documents with the mouse and on-screen scroll bars. But the Extend Mode can still come in handy every once in a while when you need to select sections of text.

This works in both Microsoft Word and Microsoft Outlook (if you use Word as your email editor). To enable the Extend Mode, press F8. Now try moving the cursor using the cursor control keys (not the mouse) and you'll see a selection appear from the point where you first activated the Extend Mode. If you wanted, for example, to select all the text from your current cursor position to the word "catapult" you would turn on Extend Mode by pressing F8 then press CTRL+F (for Find) then type in the word Catapult then press Enter. Finally press Cancel to close the Find box and your text is selected. To turn off Extend Mode simply press the Esc key.

Using the Extend Mode can feel a bit clanky at first but with practice it can be a useful extension (sorry...) to your keyboard and mouse navigation tools. Give it a try.

Changing Meeting Attendees' Type

Allister_Frost — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 09:15:00 GMT

That is, without doubt, the most boring and uninspiring title that I've ever come up with for a blog entry. Sorry. I just couldn't think of a better way of describing this fairly ordinary, but still rather useful, tip.

As you may know, when inviting people to a meeting you can decide whether they are required attendees, optional attendees or a resource (i.e. not a human being, but a meeting room or other asset like a projector that your company has registered in active directory and made available for booking through Exchange Server). In email parlance, setting someone as 'Required' is the equivalent of sending an email "To" them, while being 'Optional' is the same as being CC'ed. Finally, being labelled a resource means that the meeting requests will be BCC'ed to you.

But you may have noticed that Outlook only presents a To... line when creating a new meeting request. So how do you change someone from Required (i.e. 'To') to Optional (i.e. 'CC')?

There are two ways. The first and most widely used is to press the scheduling button (in Outlook 2007; use the scheduling tab in Outlook 2003) which will present you with a shared calendar view (if available) of all participants' availability. Next to each person's name will be a small icon showing them as a required attendee (up arrow in a red circle), optional attendee (i symbol in a blue circle) or resource (house symbol in a green circle). Right-clicking on these icons allows you to change each invitee's type.

The second way is simpler and quicker. But also less commonly used. Simply hit the To... button in your meeting request (number 1 in the image below) and then enter the names of the people or resources that you wish to attend your meeting in any of the three text boxes (number 2 below). Using this technique makes it much easier to move people from one type to another and gives the added advantage of allowing you to search through your Global Address List or Contacts using the Search options.

Publishing Your Calendar for the World to See

Allister_Frost — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 11:03:00 GMT

Earlier this week I blogged about Outlook 2007's new 'Send a Calendar via Email' feature. An even more powerful calendar feature allows you to Publish your Calendar to the Microsoft Office Online Beta* service. After you first use this feature Outlook 2007 will upload as much (or as little) of your calendar as you wish so that it can be viewed by others. You decide who can see your calendar and can use the same calendar disclosure options so you only reveal the information that you are prepared to share:

It's also up to you to decide the date range that you wish to publish. Better still, anyone else using a compatible email client like Outlook 2007 can open your calendar directly into their client to compare alongside their own. Those without a compatible client can view published calendars online with their web browser.

I was about to write up the procedure for publishing your calendar in Outlook 2007 when I found this site (you must register as a Beta tester to access this) with comprehensive details. There are even some sample unrestricted calendars (i.e. that anyone can access) for things like the PGA European Tour 2006 and Famous People's Birthdays at this location (also only for Beta testers).

How could you use this? This is great for groups of friends who want to organise a party or day out. As long as everyone's calendars are up to date you can instantly see who's available when. Or you could use this between businesses to reduce the risk of requesting a meeting at a time that is inconvenient for any of the invited participants. Or just share your work calendar with your spouse so they know what time you'll be home for dinner. Useful stuff indeed!

* Note that this service and Outlook 2007 are in Beta state at this time so the functionality is not yet finalised and some features are not yet completed.

The Best Microsoft Outlook Tip in the World... ever!

Allister_Frost — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 15:00:00 GMT

In this, my final posting as Exchange/Outlook Product Manager for the UK, I would like to share with you the most powerful productivity tool in Outlook: the delete key. I'll also share a simple workflow you can use right away to help maintain an empty Inbox while staying on top of important information. I hope you find this useful.

As email volumes continue to grow every email user feels the pressure to stay on top of their workload. But for many, reading every email and diligent filing every message is no longer a viable solution in this data-filled age. We need a new deal. We need more powerful tools to eradicate email-borne stress from our lives.

We need "The Delete Key".

Take this key as my gift to you. It is coloured green intentionally. Think of this button as your green light to a happier, more productive future. Use it wisely and it will pay rich dividends. Here, in true Useful Technology Blog style, is how you can make this key your new best friend:

Set aside time each day to sort through your emails. During this time you will work only towards emptying your inbox. This is known as email triage. You won't action every email at this time but, after completing this triage stage, you will know for sure what workload awaits you.
Sort your emails by conversations with the newest email at the top. Now start at the top. Leave all calendar meeting requests until you have cleared all emails. How can you accept a meeting request until you know what the rest of your workload looks like?
Review your emails in strict date order. No cheating. This is important so I'll say it again: No cheating. You cannot look at the next email until you have decided what to do with the top one. If you break this rule you'll re-enter a dangerous spiral of inefficiency and procrastination.
Now you are ready to empty your inbox. With one hand on your mouse and the other on the delete key, follow this simple system. Looking at email number one, ask yourself:

QUESTION ONE: Does this email relate to a meaningful personal objective?
- If yes, proceed to Question two
- If no, PRESS DELETE until the entire conversation thread is removed
QUESTION TWO: Is this email actionable?
- If yes, decide whether to DO IT (if it will take less than 2 minutes), DEFER IT (create a task using CTRL+SHIFT+V, T) or DELEGATE IT (either forward the email to someone else to action or create an assigned task)
- If no, decide whether to DELETE IT (press delete), HOLD IT in a holding folder for later attention when you have some spare time (I call this folder 'not actionable' while others call it 'Someday maybe') or FILE IT (into a deeper folder so you can refer to it at a later date if needed).

If you follow this time-tested process diligently I guarantee you will be pleasantly surprised to discover how much of your email you can simply delete. The rest you will have sorted into manageable tasks. Now, after adding your own tasks into Outlook (this is crucially important otherwise your working life would be solely driven by the emails you receive) you will have a complete log of all the things you have decided to do and their deadlines. You can now look at your calendar and those outstanding meeting requests and decide if you would like to accept these appointments. Again, if they don't relate to a meaningful personal objective or are not sufficiently action-oriented it's OK to decline meeting requests. You are, after all, in complete control of your time so don't feel bullied to surrender it without good reason.

Back in the early 1990's my boss would return to the office after a holiday and ceremoniously empty his (at this time paper-filled) in-tray into the bin. He was so right when he said "If it's important, they'll let me know." By deleting extraneous information and concentrating only on what is important to you and your personal objectives you can regain control over the email monster and achieve a happier and more fulfilling work-life balance.

Good luck.

New job? Start afresh!

Allister_Frost — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 12:11:00 GMT

I'm moving to a new role at Microsoft on Monday. Which, of course, means new things to learn, new tasks to work on and new people to get to know.

Because I'll no longer need to email many of my existing contacts, now is a great time to spring clean my Outlook world by clearing out my address history (the autocomplete cache that remembers who I've emailed in the past).

Here's how: Open the folder at c:\Documents and Settings\user name\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook in Windows Explorer, then delete the profile_name.nk2 file.

Now, when I start my new job Outlook will no longer prompt me to add recipient names that relate to my old job. Slick! Now for the hard bit: learning how to do the new job...

Do you often send the same emails?

Allister_Frost — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 15:10:00 GMT

If you routinely send similar emails to the same people (like a sales report every morning) you can speed up the process by adding a button to one of your toolbars that creates a new email message and pre-populates the address field and subject line. To do this:

Click the Toolbar Options arrow at the end of one of Outlook's toolbars.
Click on Add or Remove Buttons then Customize
Click on the Commands tab and in the Categories list click Actions
In the Commands list click New Mail Message and drag it onto the toolbar where you'd like it to appear.
Right-click on the button you've just created and customize as you wish (e.g. change the name, change the view to Text Only or edit the Button Image)
Right-click again on the button and choose Assign Hyperlink then Open
Type a hyperlink along these lines mailto:TheBigBoss?subject=Daily Sales Report where TheBigBoss is the name or distribution group to whom you send the email and Daily Sales Report is the subject line of your email.
Click Close on the Customize window
Test your new button

You could add a keyboard shortcut to this button if you wish to make things even speedier! Another way of doing this would be to create a custom form but the simple hyperlink route is adequate for most users.

Getting Outlook help from Newsgroups

Allister_Frost — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 09:50:00 GMT

While Outlook 2007 will provide some fantastic new features that enable you to view RSS feeds directly inside Outlook, Outlook 2003 provides no such capability without an additional add-on like the free RSS Popper. Another source of great information comes from Newsgroups which are populated by MVP (Most Valued Professionals) who are recognised by Microsoft as really knowing their stuff. Again, Outlook cannot read these natively but add-ons like NewsLook can provide this capability, for a fee.

Anyone using Windows has a licence to use Outlook Express which does include a News Reader. You can even add a button inside Outlook to allow you to launch this News Reader without having to track down that launch icon for Outlook Express. Here's how:

Click the Toolbar Options arrow at the end of one of Outlook's toolbars.
Click on Add or Remove Buttons then Customize
Click on the Commands tab and in the Categories list click Go
In the Commands list click News and drag it onto the toolbar where you'd like it to appear.
Click Close and now click your shiny new News button

Now you need to subscribe to some useful Newsgroups. Just search for any newsgroups that contain microsoft.public.outlook and pick the ones that are of most interest to you. Remember, if you post a question to a newsgroup, don't disclose your email address but do provide precise details of your problem and the software that you are using. If you ask the question nicely, a Microsoft Outlook guru will almost certainly respond nicely!

Sample Add-Ins for Outlook 2007 Beta 2

Allister_Frost — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 18:11:00 GMT

There are some nice new sample add-ins for Outlook 2007 Beta 2 from MSDN at http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/ms778811(office.12).aspx which demonstrate the additional power available to developers in the new product.

If you're running the Beta 2 version of Outlook you might like to take a look. These MSDN pages (1,2) also contain recently released details of what's new for developers in Outlook 2007.

Adding contact pictures to Outlook

Allister_Frost — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 05:22:00 GMT

Anyone with a Windows Mobile 5 device (SmartPhone or PDA) will have seen how incredibly useful Contact pictures become. Each time you receive an email from someone on your contact list for whom you have a contact picture, a thumbnail of their photo will appear. In Outlook 2007, this capability is also embedded in the main Outlook client so you also get to see a picture of the sender whenever you have their photo on file in their contact information.

If you're planning on upgrading to either of these technologies now is a good time to start collecting contact photos. SmartPhones make this easy to do by allowing you to photograph someone and then assign that picture to a contact. Then when you synchronise with Outlook the pictures get brought in to the main client and become accessible from anywhere.

To add a picture to a contact, first open the contact you wish to update in Outlook and click the Add Picture button. Now locate the picture file you wish to use and click OK. Outlook automatically resizes the picture to the correct resolution. If you later need to change a picture you can do so by simply double-clicking the picture.

Contacts photos will very soon be a standard feature of many applications. Spending a little time now updating your personal "rogue's gallery" will pay dividends very soon.