OL97: Q&A: Questions about Customizing or Programming Outlook

• Microsoft Outlook 97

SUMMARY

This article answers some of the more commonly asked questions about creating custom Microsoft Outlook 97 forms or programming Outlook either through Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript) or Visual Basic for Applications Automation.

MORE INFORMATION

1. Q. Where do I get started programming Outlook?
   
   A. For more information about available resources for learning how to program with Outlook 97, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:




Q166368 OL97: How to Get Help Programming with Outlook

2. Q. I have created a custom form for my Contacts, Tasks, and so on, but it is not being used when I create a new item, when I open an existing item I had before I created the form, or when I create a new item. Why is my form not being used?
   
   A. To use a custom Outlook form, there are three steps you need to complete.
   
   
   • First, publish the form into the folder or forms library where you will use it. On the custom form's File menu, click Publish Form. The name of the form is also the "Message Class," which is important for the next two steps.
   
   
   
   • Second, make this new form the default form for that folder. Using your right mouse button, click the folder and from the shortcut menu, click Properties. In the "When posting to this folder, use:" list, click to select your custom form. Now new items that you create will use the custom form instead of the default Outlook form.
   
   
   
   • Third, if you have any existing items in the folder that should use this new form, you must change the Message Class field in each of the items in the folder. The Message Class field of an item basically tells Outlook which form to use to display the item. You cannot directly change this field from an Outlook dialog box (since it is considered read-only), but you can use VBScript or Automation code to accomplish this.
   
   
   
   For more information about changing the message class of an item in a folder, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:




Q170301 OL97: How to Update Existing Items to Use a New Custom Form

Q201089 Word Document to Change Outlook Folder Message Class

3. Q. Why can I customize the default pages on the Mail and Post forms, but not Contacts, Tasks, and other forms?
   
   A. This is a limitation of all form types except the message and post forms. You can work around this problem by replicating the fields on a custom form page and hide the default form page, but you may lose some functionality, as described in the answer to the next question.
   
   For more information about this subject, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:




Q160303 OL97: First Tab of Custom Form Cannot Be Modified

4. Q. Outlook forms have a lot of "intellisense" built into them. For example, if I type a person's name in a Contact form, Outlook automatically assigns the proper name to the FileAs field. But when I add these fields to my custom form page, these features do not work anymore. Things like the calendar dropdown control are not available. How come?
   
   A. These features are built into the Outlook program and are not actually part of the fields themselves. Therefore, when you use the fields on a custom form page, these actions do not execute. It may be possible to write VBScript code to accomplish the same task, but depending on exactly what functionality you are trying to replicate, this may involve a lot of programming effort.
   
   For more information about this issue, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:




Q165949 OL97: Calendar Control Not Available to VBScript

5. Q. How can I disable the macro warning dialog?
   
   A. If the form is not located in a trusted location, then Outlook will display the macro warning dialog for your protection against potentially maliciously-written programming code, commonly called macro viruses.
   
   For more information about this issue, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:




Q166780 OL97: Why Outlook Displays a Security Warning Opening an Item

6. Q. I created a custom form and it looks great, but when I close and then re-open the item, or when I send the form to someone else, all of the information I entered into my custom controls is gone. How come?
   
   A. In Outlook, controls on a form are used to display information, but the information is actually stored in fields. Therefore, in order for the values of the controls to be preserved, the control must be bound to an Outlook standard or user-defined field.
   
   For more information about this issue, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:




Q168975 OL97: How to Use Fields and Controls with VBScript

7. Q. How do I get started automating Outlook from another program?
   
   A. For information on automating Outlook from another program, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:




Q168095 OL97: How to Automate Outlook from Another Program

Q170262 HOWTO: Use OLE Automation with Microsoft Outlook 97

Q161012 ACC: Using Automation to Run Microsoft Outlook

8. Q. Why do some items in a folder have different icons? Or, why do some of the items in the folder have an abnormally large size? Or, how come I am running into situations where the Message Class of the item is changing back to the default Message Class? Or, I would like to get a better understanding of how forms really work in Outlook.
   
   A. For more information about these questions, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:




Q176567 OL97: Working with Form Definitions and One-Off Forms

9. Q. How do I modify some sample code that uses one type of folder when I need it to work with another type of folder? Or, how do I programmatically create a new item or reference an existing item?
   
   A. For more information about working with folders and items, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:




Q180696 OL97: Programming Examples for Referencing Items and Folders

10. Q. I am trying to do something, but do not seem to be able to find any information on how to do it. Is it possible?
    
    A. Outlook does not support a "full" object model, such as those in Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel, so what you are trying to do may not be possible. Also, there may be other Outlook design considerations or limitations that may prevent you from using a desired approach in creating a solution.
    
    For more information about some of the more common things that cannot be done with custom forms, VBScript, or Outlook Automation, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:




Q172752 OL97: Outlook 97 Object Model Limitations

11. Q. When importing contacts from an external database, how do I map some of the fields to the user-defined fields that I have set up in a custom Contact form?
    
    A. This is a limitation of the Outlook Import and Export Wizard. If you are familiar with Visual Basic programming, however, you can create a solution that programmatically imports or exports the information.
    
    For more information about this issue, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:




Q161295 OL97: Cannot Import or Export User-defined Contact Fields

Q170320 TITLE : OL97: How to Programmatically Import Outlook Items from Access

12. Q. How do I set a default form for my Inbox?
    
    A. There is no direct way of doing this, but a workaround is to publish the message form to the folder, and then create a new mail item by choosing the form at the bottom of the Compose menu.
    
    For more information about this issue, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:




Q161586 OL97: Cannot Change the Default Mail Message Form

13. Q. How come some of the examples in the VBAOUTL.HLP file do not work?
    
    A. For more information about this issue, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:




Q169751 OL97: Errors in Outlook Visual Basic Help (Vbaoutl.hlp)

14. Q. How do I populate the "From" field on a message form?
    
    A. You must use the SentOnBehalfOfName property of the item, and not the olOriginator constant from the Recipients collection. This property is not read-only as the Vbaoutl.hlp file says.
    
    For more information about this issue, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:




Q168022 OL97: How to Set a Form's From Field Using VBScript

15. Q. How can I programmatically work with the Message area of a form?
    
    A. The key limitation when programmatically setting or changing the body of a message is that you can't format the text of the message. Any changes done using code will be in plain text since the body property is treated like any other field. There is no added functionality that supports using rich text format (RTF). Also, the naming convention may seem confusing, since the field name in the Field Chooser is "Message", whereas programmatically, the property of the item is "Body."
    
    For more information about this issue, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:




Q172755 OL97: Working With the Message or Body of an Outlook Item

Q162995 OL97: VBScript Cannot Access Characters in the Body Property

16. Q. How come when I use a custom control on my Outlook form, none of the events appear to work?
    
    A. Outlook only supports the Click event for controls. Many controls are specifically designed to work with other events, and since these events are not supported by Outlook, the controls may not function in Outlook.
    
    To work around this situation, create a Visual Basic 5.0 ActiveX component (formally called an OLE server application). You start the component by using the CreateOject method in Outlook's object model. The component would display a VB 5.0 form with the appropriate controls, get the information that the user selects or types, and then automate Outlook to send any necessary information back to the Outlook form.
    
    This technique involves many aspects of programming. For information on how to create an ActiveX component, please see your documentation for Visual Basic 5.0.



17. Q. I am programmatically adding an e-mail name in a contact item, but the e-mail address isn[ASCII 146]t automatically resolved and therefore the contact isn't added to the Outlook Address book. Why?
    
    A. This functionality is built into the Outlook user interface and is not accessed by the Outlook object model, so when the email address is added programmatically, the name doesn't automatically get resolved.
    
    For more information about this issue, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:




Q169750 OL97: How to Programmatically Resolve a Contact's E-mail Address

18. Q. When I retrieve appointment (Calendar) items and the folder has recurring appointments, how come the only item retrieved is the initial appointment?
    
    A. You have to set the IncludeRecurrences property of the items collection to true. The default is false, which means that only the original appointment is returned. This is commonly an issue when using the Find or Restrict methods to return a collection of appointment items.
    
    For more information about this issue, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:




Q170789 OL97: How to Retrieve All Recurring Appointments with Code

Q171115 OL97: How to Use the Restrict Method

19. Q. How can I sign or seal a message from VBScript or Outlook Automation?
    
    A. This is currently not possible through the Outlook object model or the Active Messaging object model (MAPI.Session).
    
    For more information about this issue, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:




Q168889 OL97: Cannot Programmatically Sign or Seal a Mail Message

20. Q. How can I tell what version of VBScript a computer is using?
    
    A. You must check the file dates or version of the VBScript DLL files.
    
    For more information about this issue, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:




Q167138 OL97: General Information About Using VBScript with Outlook

21. Q. I created a task or meeting request form with user-defined fields, but when I send the form to someone else, the values in those fields disappear. Why?
    
    A. This is a limitation of Outlook request forms. You can perhaps work around this problem by using extra standard fields in the request item or store the information in a label control on a hidden page of the form.
    
    For more information about this issue, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:




Q168784 OL97: Custom Field Values Lost When Sending Request Form

22. Q. How can I start another program or display a Web page from an Outlook form?
    
    A. You can use the CreateObject method in VBScript to automate an OLE-aware application.
    
    For more information about this issue, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:




Q163769 OL97: How to Start Another Program from an Outlook Form

Q175515 OL97: How to Display a Web Page in an Outlook Form

23. Q. Why doesn't Outlook support Visual Basic for Applications?
    
    A. Outlook's use of VBScript is by design. VBScript is designed for use in "distributed" or "enterprise" applications such as Outlook and Microsoft Internet Explorer. Because VBScript is a fully interpreted programming language, it takes relatively little space to store VBScript code. This is important for an application like Outlook, which is routinely used to send custom forms -- with code -- across a corporate network or internet connection. Also, VBScript does not include some Visual Basic for Applications commands, such as Declare or Shell, making it a more secure programming environment, which is also important for applications that transfer code from person to person.

Additional query words: FAQ OutSol OutSol97

Keywords : kbinterop kbprg
Version : WINDOWS:97
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbinfo