How to use shared Contacts folder as an OAB?

[Alan]

Hello,

We have many functional mailboxes called, e.g., Sales, Info, all of
which have large Contacts folders.

When composing a message, how can delegates select recipients from the
shared Contacts folder?

In the folder list, the option to add shared Contacts folders as OABs
is missing. They can do it the other way around, i.e., create a
message from the Contacts folder, or use OWA but that's not very
practical...

Thanks in advance for any pointers. We're just migrating to Exchange
and want to avoid using PFs.

- Alan.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

The process of adding another user's Contacts folder to your own address book display is somewhat involved. You will need to be able to create -- at least temporarily -- an Outlook profile that opens another user's mailbox as the primary mailbox. Proceed with these steps while logged in under your own Windows account, not the other user's:

1. Create an Outlook profile that connects directly to the other user's mailbox, not your own. If you are using Outlook 2003, do not select the option to use Cached Exchange mode. Start Outlook with that profile.

2. On the Properties dialog for the other user's Contacts folder, make sure that it's set to display in the Outlook Address Book and give it a display name other than contacts, such as Joe's Contacts.

3. Close Outlook.

4. In Control Panel | Mail, edit the *same profile* (i.e. the one from Step 1) to change the mailbox from the other user's to your own.

5. Still working with the same profile, on the Advanced tab of the Exchange Server service, add the other user's mailbox as a secondary mailbox.

6. Restart Outlook, and you should see the Joe's Contacts in your Outlook Address Book as well as your own Contacts folder.

7. (Optional) If you are using Outlook 2003, you can now change the settings for your Exchange account to use Cached Exchange mode.

Note that Outlook 2007 does not support this procedure.

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

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

 

[Alan]

Wow, what a tip! Thank you very much indeed. We've 1,000+ users who
will benefit from this. Fortunately, they'll be using Office XP.

 

[Alan]

Work fine. Just tried it using Outlook 2007 and it still works as
advertised. I'm trying against an E2K server but that shouldn't make a
difference.

Thanks again!

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Very interesting! It did not work for me in OL2007, but maybe that was during the beta. I'm not sure I've tried it since RTM. Thanks for sharing your experience!

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

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

 

[Alan]

Hmmmm... do you think that the operation could be done semi-
automatically using two PRF files in sequence? Just trying it out
using your book for help.

BTW we need a book on programming CDO add-ins for Outlook! I've
nothing against VBA but distribution is a big downside.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

No, that's way beyond the capability of .prf files, although I think the third-party Policy Manager might be able to do it.

CDO 1.21 is a dead end. It hasn't changed in years and is not even included in Outlook 2007; it's available only as a separate download. A number of books cover Outlook add-in creation.
--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

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