XCLN: How to Configure Default Free/Busy Options

ID: Q197712

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Outlook Windows 95/98 client, versions 8.0, 8.01, 8.02, 8.03, 8.5, 9.0
Microsoft Outlook Windows NT client, versions 8.0, 8.01, 8.02, 8.03, 8.5, 9.0

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SUMMARY

In Microsoft Outlook, two options are available for configuring how much and how often Calendar Free/Busy information is published to a Microsoft Exchange Server computer. This article explains how to modify an Outlook.prf file so that you can specify default values for these two options.

This customized .prf file can then be used by Profgen.exe and/or Newprof.exe to create a new profile using these default values.

MORE INFORMATION

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

The Microsoft Outlook client allows a user to specify how many months of free/busy data should be published on the server, and how often (in minutes) to update the information on the server. These values are stored as part of a user's profile in the following registry key:

Windows 95 or Windows 98


HKEY_CURRENT_USER
 \Software
  \Microsoft
   \Windows Messaging Subsystem
    \Profiles
     \<profile name>
      \0a0d020000000000c000000000000046

Windows NT


HKEY_CURRENT_USER
 \Software
  \Microsoft
   \Windows NT
    \CurrentVersion
     \Windows Messaging Subsystem
      \Profiles
       \<profile name>
       \0a0d020000000000c000000000000046

To specify the number of months to publish Free/Busy information, change the following registry value to a value between 0 and 12:

 
   Value Name: 0003033d
   Value Type: REG_BINARY
   Value Range: 00 00 00 00 (0) to 0c 00 00 00 (12)

To specify the update interval to publish Free/Busy information, change the following Registry value to a value between 60 and 5940 seconds:


   Value Name: 00030331
   Value Type: REG_BINARY
   Value Range: 3c 00 00 00 (60)  to  34 17 00 00 (5940)

For example, to specify an update interval of 60 minutes:

60 min. * 60 secs. = 3600 (decimal) = E10 (hex) = 10 0e 00 00

If you wish to include these values in a .prf file, you must reverse the order of the numbers. For example, the above value would be represented as 0x00000e10. The following shows how these values would be entered in a .prf file:


   [Service List]
   Service1=Microsoft Outlook Client
   
   [Service1]
   NumberOfMonthsFB=0x0000000c
   FrequencyToPublishFB=0x00000e10
   
   [Microsoft Outlook Client]
   SectionGUID=0a0d020000000000c000000000000046
   
   NumberOfMonthsFB=PT_LONG,0x0330
   ; -- Number of months of Calendar data to publish to the server
   
   FrequencyToPublishFB=PT_LONG,0x0331
   ; -- Frequency in seconds to publish Calendar data to server

Outlook 2000 writes these values to the following registry locations:


HKEY_CURRENT_USER
 \Software
  \Microsoft
   \Office
    \9.0
     \Outlook
      \Preferences

   Value Name: FBPublishRange
   Value Type: DWORD

HKEY_CURRENT_USER
 \Software
  \Microsoft
   \Office
    \9.0
     \Outlook
      \Preferences

   Value Name: FBUpdateSecs
   Value Type: DWORD
   Value Data: <interval in seconds>

Additional query words: f/b freebusy outlook.prf

Keywords :
Version : WINDOWS:8.0,8.01,8.02,8.03,8.5,9.0
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbhowto