email form won't work

[Ellliots]

This is my first try at a basic form and I'm stumped.

Using Outlook 2003 SP2/Win XP Pro SP2. No Exchange server, just an ISP for
email.

I want to be able to send a standard format email message with specific
items of (variable) information. I've taken the basic email message form and
added several fields. I've included the form definition and have tried
separate (but identical) "compose" and "read" pages and No Separate Read
Page. I've specified a folder for sent messages, and set several message
options.

When I "test" the form by filling it in and sending it, the received message
is the standard Office email form with none of the custom fields (but it does
have the options I specified). The form in the specified folder for sent
messages is the completed custom form.

I'm sure I'm missing something obvious, but after several hours I'm stumped.
HELP please!

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

We can go into all the technical details if you like, but an Outlook custom message form is unlikely to be suitable for what you're trying to do. If you can provide more details on what business goals you're trying to meet with this forms, some alternatives might come to mind.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[Ellliots]

I'm estabishing a formal tasking system wherby I assign specific tasks to
people scattered around the country. The system describes the task, assigns
resources, directs coordingation, gives due dates etc. -- about 12 fields
including 2 large text fields containing a few paragraphs each. I could
easily create a form in Word or something else and attach it to an email, but
I thought it would be simpler to make the email message itself the form and
the tasking document.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

It might be simpler but only if you can guarantee that all the other people are using Outlook *and* that they can follow instructions to publish a custom form so that it has the same message class as the published form that you'll be sending. Otherwise, a Word document probably is a good choice.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[Ellliots]

I'll probably go with another kind of form an attach it to a standard email.

I appreciate you help and am sorry to take more of your time, but I'm
curious though as to why my efforts failed. I've read the Outlook help and
some KB articles on this issue and after a few readings think I understand
the basics. I have included the form definitions in the form, and I have
also tried having no separate read form and alternatively both a submit form
and an identical read form. When I email the completed form to myself at
another email address and receive it in Outlook, all I see are the standard
email message form fields and none of the custom fields.

All the recipients will be using Outlook. If the form definition is sent
with the form, why would they have to publish it?

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Beginning with Outlook 2003 SP2, users can work with most forms only if they are published and not one-off. Checking the "Send form definition" box one-offs the form. The article at http://support.microsoft.com/?id=907985 explains this change in more detail, suggests best practices, and provides registry keys that can return Outlook 2003 to the older, less secure behavior.


--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[Hollis Paul]

When I email the completed form to myself at
another email address and receive it in Outlook, all I see are the standard
email message form fields and none of the custom fields.

Did you send it using the TNEF wrapper? This is invoked by sending using rtf
format. Custom fields generally lose their data if the TNEF wrapper is not
used.

All the recipients will be using Outlook. If the form definition is sent
with the form, why would they have to publish it?

Custom forms generally have code behind them, which will not run if the form
is not published at the recipient. Hence, do not send form with message, but
publish form at destination using the same publish as name as the designer
used.

 

[Ellliots]

I hadn't done that. Tried again forcing rtf format to the send to address.
No change. It's not only the data that's not appearing but also the labels
on the form, the empty/full fields, nothing except what I put in the space on
the standard email message blank where the message goes. I downsized that
space and included it in my form as a field.

 

[Hollis Paul]

alternatively both a submit form
and an identical read form.

I will just bet that this was not the case. The way to get a separate
compose and read form to work is to design the common parts as an
unsplit form, then split the form to design the unique parts. If you
do it that way, the controls will auto-load from the compose form to
the read form. But, if you just copy and paste the controls from the
compose form to the read form, Outlook actually is forced to change the
names on the controls, because you cannot have two controls in the same
name-space with identical names. Hence, the read form will have
controls with 1 appended to the control name, if you paste from the
compose form to the read form. It took me a really long time to figure
that little gotcha out.

The other problem could be that you have not really bound the controls
to fields. Usually, this means custom fields which you create in the
form designs, but there are several unused fields already in the basic
Outlook form that you could have used. You should test by binding one
of your controls to the field named billinginformation and see if the
data comes through when you send data in that field.

This statement of yours " It's not only the data that's not appearing
but also the labels on the form, the empty/full fields, nothing except
what I put in the space on the standard email message blank where the
message goes. I downsized that space and included it in my form as a
field." Makes me think that you have not done the split form correctly.

 

[Ellliots]

First, thanks for you help.

I did bind the fields to the controls. I'm sure I've got the send/read
design issue right. To check, I took a new standard Outlook email message
form, went to design mode, set it so send/receive were the same, included the
form definition with the form, and added one standard Outlook field and one
custom field that I created. I published it to my personal library. I used
the Test feature and sent it to my alternate address using Outlook rtf. I
received the standard outlook email message form with none of the
modification I had made -- no data, no field labels or blank spaces.

I think I'm giving up.

 

[Ellliots]

Many thanks, the article explains exactly what happened to me. Since I can't
rely on all the possible recipients properly publishing the form, I'll go
with an attachment.