OL98: (CW) Set Up Outlook for Multiple or Roaming Users

ID: Q187784

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Outlook 98
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.

NOTE: These procedures only apply if you have installed Outlook with the Corporate Workgroup/Other option. This option allows you to use Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI) services. To determine your installation type, on the Help Menu click About Microsoft Outlook. In About Microsoft Outlook you should see "Corporate" if you have the Corporate Workgroup installation.

SUMMARY

It is often necessary to have multiple users log on to the same computer or have a roaming user log on to different workstations on the network. In each of these cases, it is preferable that users access their own Microsoft Outlook 98 settings.

This article describes how to set up Outlook to have multiple computer users or in the case of Microsoft Windows NT, roaming workstation users if Windows NT uses roaming profiles.


MORE INFORMATION

The files that store Outlook settings are normally located in the default Windows folder. These files are:

  • Views.dat - stores name space views


  • Outlprnt - stores print style settings


  • <profile name>.fav - stores Outlook Bar settings


  • AutoSignature information files for the various mail formats. These will include, <profile name>.rtf for Outlook Rich Text, <profile name>.txt and <profile name>.htm for Plain Text.


You can move these files to a unique location for each user and change the Windows Registry settings to point to them for anyone who uses the computer.

For multiple users, locate the first three of the above four files in a separate folder for each user.

For roaming users, locate the first three of the four files in a server- based, private user folder. Then, if Windows NT is set up for roaming profiles these files will be available from anywhere the user logs on to the network. See the REFERENCES section below for more information.

How to Change the Registry Settings

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall Windows. 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 online Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe). Note that you should make a backup copy of the registry files before you edit the registry.

There are four tasks to modify the registry to have multiple computer users or in the case of Microsoft Windows NT, roaming workstation users.

  • Backup the registry


  • Modify the Office Explorer key


  • Add a new value of Views to the Office Explorer key


  • Add a new value of Signatures to the Office Explorer key


  • Modify the path to Outlprnt


For Multiple Users, copy the three files
<profile name>.fav
Views.dat
Outlprnt
to a separate folder on the computer for each user.

For Roaming Users, copy the files to a server-based, private folder for each user.

Backup the Registry

  1. Click the Start button and click Run. In the Open box, type "regedit" (without the quotation marks), and click OK.


  2. On the Registry menu, click Export Registry File.


  3. Type a name for the registry file and click Save to save the registry to your desktop.


Modify the Office Explorer Key

  1. Using the Registry editor from above, navigate to the following key in the registry:
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.0\Outlook\Office Explorer


  2. Right-click the Office Explorer key, point to New and click String Value.


  3. Type "Favorites" (without the quotation marks) as the name of the new String Value and press ENTER.


  4. Right-click Favorites, and click Modify.


  5. In the Value Data window of Edit String, type the path to the user's private folder using the following format:
    drive:\<path>\ (for Multiple Users)
    \\<Servername>\<Sharename>\ (for Roaming Users)
    IMPORTANT: The path must end with a trailing backslash, and the user must have read\write permission to the folder and the file.


Add a New Value of Views to the Office Explorer Key

  1. Right-click the Office Explorer key, point to New, and click String Value.


  2. Type "Views" (without the quotation marks) as the name of the new String Value and press ENTER.


  3. Right-click Views, and click Modify.


  4. In the Value Data window of Edit String, type the path to the user's private folder, using the following format:
    drive:\<path>\ (for Multiple Users)
    \\<Servername>\<Sharename>\ (for Roaming Users)
    IMPORTANT: The path must end with a trailing backslash, and the user must have read\write permission to the folder and the file.


Add a New Value of Signatures to the Office Explorer Key



  1. Using the Registry editor from above, navigate to the following key in the registry:
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.0\Outlook\Office Explorer


  2. Right-click the Office Explorer key, point to New and click String Value.


  3. Type "Signatures" (without the quotation marks) as the name of the new String Value and press ENTER.


  4. Right-click Signatures, and click Modify.


  5. In the Value Data window of Edit String, type the path to the user's private folder using the following format:
    drive:\<path>\ (for Multiple Users)
    \\<Servername>\<Sharename>\ (for Roaming Users)
    IMPORTANT: The path must end with a trailing backslash, and the user must have read\write permission to the folder and the file.


NOTE: Since Outlook 98 can use multiple signature files the name of the RTF does not have to match the name of the profile. All RTF files need to be placed into the same directory location.

Modify the Path to Outlprnt

  1. Navigate to the following key in the registry:
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\microsoft\office\8.0\Outlook\printing


  2. Right-click "Print Settings File," and click Modify.


  3. In the Value Data window of Edit String, change the path to the user's private folder using the following format:
    drive:\<path>\Outprnt (for Multiple Users)
    \\<Servername>\<Sharename>\Outprnt (for Roaming Users)
    NOTE: The user must have read\write permission to the folder and the file.


  4. Quit the Registry Editor and Restart Windows.



REFERENCES

For more information on this subject, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

ARTICLE-ID: Q161070
TITLE : Step by Step Roaming Profiles Configuration
ARTICLE-ID: Q161235
TITLE : XL97: How to Use a Toolbar Settings File from a Network Share

Additional query words: 98 roving

Keywords : EvnNtw CfgMSXchg
Version : WINDOWS:
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbhowto


Last Reviewed: October 25, 1999
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