OL97: Sharing Information Using Microsoft Mail

• Microsoft Outlook 97
• Microsoft Schedule+ for Windows, version 7.0

SUMMARY

Microsoft Outlook 97 cannot share information, such as Outlook calendars, contacts, and tasks, when using the Microsoft Mail information service. In this case, you can use Microsoft Schedule+ for Windows version 7.0 with Outlook to share contact, calendar, and task information. Net Folders" feature.

MORE INFORMATION

Microsoft Mail (MS Mail or SFS) and Workgroup Mail (WGPO) provide a shared set of folders called Microsoft Mail Shared Folders. The Workgroup Mail that ships with Windows for Workgroups 3.11 does not provide these folders.

Outlook folders that contain contact, calendar, task, notes, or journal items require a specific level of MAPI storage. The Microsoft Mail Shared Folders do not support this level of storage.

Because MS Mail cannot store this MAPI information, you can create only a mail item in the Microsoft Mail Shared folders. You cannot create calendar, contact, task, note, or journal items in the Mail Shared Folders without receiving the following error:

   Unable to create the folder. A folder of that type cannot be
   created here.

Using Microsoft Exchange Server enables you to share all Outlook items. It also provides a feature called Public Folders that you can use with custom forms and any type of Outlook folder item to share information.

Viewing Free/Busy Time and Meeting Requests

With Outlook, you can to view free/busy time using the MS Mail service. When creating an appointment or meeting from within Outlook, you can choose the Meeting Planner tab, and view free/busy time for attendees by typing their name in the space provided. You cannot view details or calendar information for users, but you can see whether they are available. In many cases, this is all the functionality you need.

Follow these steps to view free/busy time:

1. On the Outlook Calendar menu, click New Meeting Request or New Appointment.

2. In the Appointment dialog box, click the Meeting Planner tab.

3. Click to select Show Attendee Availability.

4. In the "Type attendee name here" box, type the desired user name.

Using Schedule+ as Primary Calendar

Outlook provides an option that enables you to use or continue using Schedule+ along with Outlook. Using both programs, you can take advantage of Schedule+ for group (shared information) features, and Outlook for personal information management. You provide this ability by enabling Schedule+ as your primary calendar. Using Schedule+ as your primary calendar will not prohibit you from maintaining personal calendar and contact information in Outlook, but that information is not available to other users.

Follow these steps to enable Schedule+ as your Primary Calendar:

1. On the Outlook Tools menu, click Options.

2. In the Options dialog box, click the Calendar tab.

3. At the bottom of the dialog box, click to select "Use Schedule+ 95 as my Primary Calendar."

Outlook ships with some support for Schedule+ 95, but this support does not provide the full functionality of Schedule+ and is not enough to enable the option to use Schedule+ as your primary calendar.

Sharing Information Using Schedule+

Using Schedule+ as primary calendar option in Outlook places a button on the right side of your toolbar that activates the Schedule+ program. Once inside Schedule+, you can maintain calendar, contact, and task information. On the Schedule+ Tools menu, you can click Set Access Permissions and set permissions for users to share the Schedule information. Once you set permissions, any user can access your schedule by following these steps:

1. On the Schedule+ File menu, point to Open, and then click Other's Appointment Book.

2. In the Address Book list, click to select the user for whom you want to see calendar information. Keep in mind that this is only possible if that user is using Schedule+ and has granted you access permissions.

Using Outlook for Personal Information Management

By clicking the icons on the Outlook bar, you can create appointments, contacts, and tasks for personal information management, just as you can with Schedule+. The difference is that the information you create in your calendar, contact, or task folders in Outlook is not available to other users. For example, if you want to keep a contact list of your friends and family, you can click the Contacts folder and create a contact for each person. This information is not available to your coworkers, but you can use it to Mail Merge from Microsoft Word, write personal letters, or journal e-mail messages to that person.