Topics related to Outlook and Entourage

Outlook can transfer old items to a storage file by using the AutoArchive feature.  Items are considered old when they reach the age that you specify.  With the AutoArchive feature you can either delete or move old items.  The AutoArchive feature runs automatically whenever you start Outlook.  Outlook checks the AutoArchive properties of each folder by date and moves old items to your archive file (located on your local hard drive).  Items that are moved to the Deleted items folder are deleted. 

By default, several Outlook folders are set up with the AutoArchive feature turned on. The following is a list of the folders that have the AutoArchive feature turned on and of each folder’s default aging period:

The Inbox, the Notes, the Contacts, and the Drafts folders do not have the AutoArchive feature turned on automatically. You cannot use the AutoArchive feature with the Contacts folder, and the Contacts folder does not have an archive property. 

How to Turn On the AutoArchive Feature

Now that you have turned on the AutoArchive feature, you must set the AutoArchive properties for each folder.

How to Set the AutoArchive Properties for a Folder

Configuring Spam Assassin to put all email designated as spam into the Junk E-Mail will cause performance issues for Outlook on a PC.  A copy of mail on the Exchange Server is stored on the local hard drive for offline use in an OST file.  If the Junk E-Mail folder is large and continuously updating, so will the OST file.   When the OST file gets too big, Outlook will have a problem opening or freeze while starting up.  Even if Outlook opens, typical operations like opening, reading, and deleting emails will be affected. 

It is recommended that users configure Spam Assassin to delete mail at some spam score to minimize the amount of mail that is delivered to the Junk E-Mail folder.  A Spam Assassin setting of Moderate will delete e-mail with a spam score 20 or higher.  Settings of strong or aggressive will delete mail with lower scores.  We have never seen a legitimate e-mail with a score higher than 13.

When you type addresses into the To:/Cc:/Bcc: fields, Outlook remembers this information and AutoCompletes this information in the future when you begin to type the same string of letters.  If you change computers, recover from a problem, or simply reinstall Outlook, you can bring this AutoComplete information (much like a History list in a web browser) from your old version of Outlook to the new version.  Simply follow Microsoft’s suggestions here:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/HA011394511033.aspx

Tags: AutoComplete, Outlook

As of (approximately) 12:30pm today (March 17th 2008) Sending/Receiving EMail became functional within Outlook and Entourage clients using Exchange.

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We are experiencing technical difficulties sending and receiving email via Outlook and Entourage. This is being addresses at this time and a resolution is expected soon.

Messages which have been queued to send be delivered to their destination as soon as the problem has been resolved.

By default, the Outlook Calendar is divided into 30-minute time increments. You can adjust the time increments to something that is more fitting to your requirements. To do this:

1. Open your Outlook Calendar

2. Select Day or Work Week view.

3. Right click on the list of times and select the appropriate increment

Your calendar view is adjusted to reflect the new increments.

When you are online (connected to the network), Outlook constantly communicates with Exchange server and updates your mail, contacts, calendar and other folders. Outlook will also check recipient names against the Global Address List on the server and complete them as needed.

However, when your computer loses network connectivity (especially at home), your Outlook will go to an offline mode, if that is how it is configured. When you are offline, in the lower right hand corner of your Outlook screen you will see either Offline or Disconnected displayed. Please note that it is extremely important for you to turn on caching for the offline mode to work properly. You can read more about it here. Continue Reading »

It appears that some of your calendars have wrong permissions which allows other outlook users to view your entire schedule and in a few cases edit them also. This is the result of a wrong permission setting for the Default user. In few cases you may see an entry for Anonymous user. This gives web access to your calendar to even non-outlook users who know exactly how to look for outlook calendars on the web. The Default user should have no permissions. To change the Default user to Permission level none follow instructions below: Continue Reading »

Sharing a folder allows another user to read or delete messages in that folder. You can share a mailbox, calendar or Address Book. Below these instructions is information on how to connect to something that someone has shared to you.

NOTE: Mac users can connect to your INBOX, Calendar or Address Book. They cannot connect to other mailboxes you’ve shared. Continue Reading »

Cached Exchange Mode saves a copy of your mailbox on your computer. This copy provides quick access to your data. If email problems occur on the Exchange server or you need to work off-line, you still have access to your stored copy of your Exchange email folders. Any changes you make when not connected to the Exchange server will be re-synchronized as soon as you re-connect. Continue Reading »

For Outlook users, it is important to know that your local Outlook Personal Folders (which are stored on your hard disk) cannot be backed up while Outlook is running. It is important to close Outlook before your scheduled backup. For most laptop users this is at noon and for others it is at night or at some other agreed-upon time. If you are not sure when your backups are scheduled to run, please check with your Desktop Support Specialist or ITS Operations at x4100.

Since the Exchange server allows you a quota of 2GB, we advise you to save most data in your Exchange folders which are stored on the Exchange Server, rather than your Personal Folders. This gives you the benefit of ensuring that they are backed up by our central systems and they can be accessed from any location. Please contact Desktop Support for assistance in creating new folders and moving email into them.

Entourage users do not have to worry about local backup issues. However, they are likewise advised to consider moving locally stored email to their Exchange folders for the above reasons.