The Mechanics of Form Creation

This section guides you through the nuts-and-bolts aspects of creating a form using Microsoft® Outlook®. These topics focus on the form's user interface; for information on creating a form's script, see Manipulating Outlook Form Script.

Obtaining Online Help

For more information on developing forms with Microsoft Outlook 98, you can install a Visual Basic® Help file from your distribution CD or from the Web. Follow these steps:

To install the Microsoft Outlook Visual Basic Reference

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon.
3. On the Install/Uninstall page, click Microsoft Outlook 98, and click Add/Remove. The Maintenance Wizard appears.
4. In the Maintenance Wizard, click Add New Components.
5. The Outlook 98 Active Setup dialog box may appear, which requests that you close certain programs running on your computer. To continue the Help-file setup, save your data for those programs, close them, and click OK in this dialog box.
6. Depending on the source of your initial installation of Microsoft Outlook, click Install From Web or Install From CD.
7. Click Yes to allow Active Setup to determine the Outlook components installed on your computer.
8. Select the Development Tools check box and click Next.
9. Click a Download Site near you, and click Install Now.
10. When the download is complete, quit all programs and restart your computer.

One of the files that should now be installed is a Help file for the Microsoft Outlook object library. Follow these steps to open this file:

To open the Microsoft Outlook Visual Basic reference

1. Open a Microsoft Outlook form by following the steps in Opening a Form in Design Mode.
2. On the Tools menu, point to Forms, and then click Design This Form.
3. On the Form menu, click View Code.
4. On the Help menu, click Microsoft Outlook Object Library Help.

The following is an alternative procedure you can use to open this file. You may need to use this in certain situations when running Microsoft Outlook offline:

To open the Microsoft Outlook Visual Basic reference

1. Start Microsoft Outlook.
2. On the Help menu, click Contents and Index.
3. Double-click the book icon labeled Microsoft Outlook Object Library Help.

Additional References

For more information about creating forms or other applications with Microsoft Outlook 98, see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: