How to Use Outlook Web Features

Managing Communications on Your Intranet

Microsoft Outlook 2000 provides the following ways to manage information from the Internet or your intranet. Users can use the Contacts folder to do the following:

• Keep track of contacts’ Web sites.
• Open the Web history folder from within Outlook 2000.
• Share a catalog of Web sites in a public folder.

Browse Web pages in Outlook

In Outlook 2000, you can select a Web page from the Favorites menu or use the Web toolbar to enter a URL and display a Web page in Outlook. Or you can send the Web page that you are currently viewing in Outlook as the body of an e-mail message by clicking Send Web Page by E-Mail on the Actions menu.

System Policy Tip If you do not want your users browsing the Web from Outlook 2000, you can disable commands on the Web toolbar by using a system policy. In the System Policy Editor, disable the commands in the Microsoft Outlook 2000\ Disable items in user interface\Predefined category that you do not want available to your users. For more information, see Using the System Policy Editor.

Create home pages for folders

Because you can view Web pages in Outlook 2000, it is easy to create a home page for a public folder. A folder home page can be used to provide the following:

• Information about the purpose and use of a public folder.
• A primary or secondary customizable view of the folder contents.

To add a folder home page in Outlook 2000

1. In the Outlook Folder list, right-click the folder, and then click Properties.
2. In the Properties dialog box, click the Home Page tab.
3. Select all the options that you want to set up the home page.

System Policy Tip You can specify folder home pages for your users by setting a system policy. You can also disable folder home pages through a system policy. In the System Policy Editor, set the policies in the Microsoft Outlook 2000\Miscellaneous\Folder Home Pages for Outlook special folders category to specify folder home pages options for your users.

Store URLs on the Outlook Bar

To keep track of interesting or important Web sites, you can add URLs to the Outlook Bar. You can also send a script in an e-mail message that automatically adds a URL to the Outlook Bar of every recipient.

Customizing the Outlook Bar

You can customize the Outlook Bar to include the shortcuts your users need either by customizing the Outlbar.inf file or by using the Outlook 2000 object model to programmatically create Outlook Bar shortcuts.

If you have not deployed Outlook 2000, and you want to add a shortcut to a Web page when you deploy the application, you can customize the Outlbar.inf file. The Outlbar.inf file is stored in the Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\1033 folder. After you customize the file, replace the existing Outlbar.inf file on your administrative installation point with your new Outlbar.inf file, and then deploy Outlook 2000.

Outlook Bar groups are stored in an FAV file located in the Application Data folder. When Outlook 2000 detects that the Outlook Bar needs to be refreshed (for example, during Setup), it follows instructions in the Outlbar.inf file and then installs Outlook Bar groups and shortcuts accordingly. If the user already has an FAV file (from Outlook 97/98), the new Outlook Bar shortcut does not appear until the Outlook Bar is recreated.

To add a URL to the Outlook Bar

1. In Outlook 2000, use the Address box on the Web toolbar to go to the Web page that you want to add.
2. On the File menu, click New, and then click Outlook Bar Shortcut to Web Page.

When you click the URL in the Outlook Bar, the Web page appears in the right pane of the Outlook 2000 window.

System Policy Tip If you do not want your users to create Outlook Bar shortcuts to Web pages, you can disable this command by using a system policy. In the Microsoft Outlook 2000\Disable items in user interface\Predefined category, select the Disable command bar buttons and menu items policy. Then in the Settings for Disable command bar buttons and menu items area, select All folders: File | New | Outlook Bar shortcut to web page. For more information, see Using the System Policy Editor..

Save Web page addresses in Contacts

Outlook 2000 can store an Internet address for each contact in the Contacts folder so that you can go directly to a contact’s Web page from Outlook 2000. This feature is useful in individual contact lists, but it can also be used by a workgroup to keep track of important customer information.

For example, a sales department can maintain a list of customers in a public folder. The public folder can include a custom view that shows each customer name, business phone number, e-mail address, and Web site address.

To create a list of contacts’ Web addresses in a public folder

1. Create a new public folder, and then configure it to contain the information for your contacts.
2. Create or modify a view to show only the Full Name, Business Phone, E-mail address, and Web Page fields.
3. Add or import contacts to the public folder.

Toolbox The Microsoft Office 97/98 Resource Kit provides additional information about using public folders. This archive edition is included in its entirety as a downloadable CHM file. See the Office 97 Resource Kit Documentation download for more information.