Questions about creating forms

[Rob A]

Hi,
I am looking to hire someone to create some forms for me. Where is a good
source to look for someone. Also, if they are created who owns the
copyright?

Thanks

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

There's a mailing list for Outlook developers -- outlook-dev-hire at yahoogroups.com. Who owns the form and its code is for you to negotiate with the person who creates it.

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

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
http://www.outlookcode.com/article.aspx?id=54

 

[Rob A]

I subscribed to the group and waited forever to approved. Any other
suggestions. Giving away money shouldn't be this hard.


There's a mailing list for Outlook developers -- outlook-dev-hire at
yahoogroups.com. Who owns the form and its code is for you to negotiate with
the person who creates it.

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

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
http://www.outlookcode.com/article.aspx?id=54

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

You don't need to be a member of the group to send a project request to it, but I'll check to see if there are any approvals or messages pending. Give the moderator a reasonable amount of time (24-48 hours) to respond.

There aren't that many people doing Outlook form development work. Everyone I know usually has opportunities than they can handle.
--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
http://www.outlookcode.com/article.aspx?id=54

 

[Rob A]

Got it.
I assumed the membership was an automated thing. I walked right into yours.

Sounds like outlook form work is an opportunity waiting to be capitalized
on.
Also the cost of getting done will be high. Oh well,all part of the cycles.

Thoughts on students at cert schools as a possible resource to get my work
done.

What qualifications shold I look for?
A software engineer?
A Grad Student?

With over 6 billion people ya gotta believe...


BTW Thanks for all your help. Sometimes we forget we are talking to people
that do not have to help.



You don't need to be a member of the group to send a project request to it,
but I'll check to see if there are any approvals or messages pending. Give
the moderator a reasonable amount of time (24-48 hours) to respond.

There aren't that many people doing Outlook form development work. Everyone
I know usually has opportunities than they can handle.
--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
http://www.outlookcode.com/article.aspx?id=54

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

I hired an English major with some good general programming skills work to me one summer doing general office correspondence, ASP.NET work, and a little bit of Outlook forms. The forms were by far the hardest -- more grunt work pushing pixels around, no decent IDE, lots of undocumented quirks.

The biggest growth opportunity, IMO, is going to come in the next few years as organizations that are using Outlook forms in an Exchange environment start migrating those forms to Outlook form regions, InfoPath forms, and who knows what else, often with either SharePoint or SQL on the back end. There will still be a demand in smaller companies, I think for a smattering of Outlook custom forms, but those are often the most difficult clients to deal with, because they're not used to specifying their requirements as precisely as someone in a more hierarchical organization might be. (Present company included, I'm sure.) A certain ability to think outside the box and experiment would be more valuable than standard software engineering skills, given how quirky Outlook forms are and how often you need to come up with a clever workaround.

I saw that your requests did reach the list. List membership itself requires approval and is open only to established developers.
--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
http://www.outlookcode.com/article.aspx?id=54

 

[Hollis Paul]

Sounds like outlook form work is an opportunity waiting to be capitalized
on.
Also the cost of getting done will be high. Oh well,all part of the cycles.

Outlook form work is a dying opportunity. It originally was done in
VBScript, COM add-ins, and VBA. Microsoft is abandoning both VBA and COM
add-ins in favor of .net whatever. I, for one, have decided not to continue
the development path into .net.

Aside from that, Microsoft has incorporated almost all the major features
that we were originally programming into Outlook itself or BCM. What we see
now is managers trying to brand their messages, or coloring the tabs like
their current paper filing system so the secretaries will not make so many
mistakes. Doing that kind of work amounts to taking advantage of terminally
stupid people. Society frowns upon it.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Arggh. I mean present company excluded. I'm sure your specs will be just great, Rob.

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

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
http://www.outlookcode.com/article.aspx?id=54

I hired an English major with some good general programming skills work to me one summer doing general office correspondence, ASP.NET work, and a little bit of Outlook forms. The forms were by far the hardest -- more grunt work pushing pixels around, no decent IDE, lots of undocumented quirks.

The biggest growth opportunity, IMO, is going to come in the next few years as organizations that are using Outlook forms in an Exchange environment start migrating those forms to Outlook form regions, InfoPath forms, and who knows what else, often with either SharePoint or SQL on the back end. There will still be a demand in smaller companies, I think for a smattering of Outlook custom forms, but those are often the most difficult clients to deal with, because they're not used to specifying their requirements as precisely as someone in a more hierarchical organization might be. (Present company included, I'm sure.) A certain ability to think outside the box and experiment would be more valuable than standard software engineering skills, given how quirky Outlook forms are and how often you need to come up with a clever workaround.

I saw that your requests did reach the list. List membership itself requires approval and is open only to established developers.
--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
http://www.outlookcode.com/article.aspx?id=54

 

[Rob A]

I was simply looking for 4 forms, two for contact info and two that would
streamiline redundant processes. I didn't realize society would frown on it.

 

[Rob A]

good comeback, sue, i know exactly what i want.


Arggh. I mean present company excluded. I'm sure your specs will be just
great, Rob.

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

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
http://www.outlookcode.com/article.aspx?id=54

I hired an English major with some good general programming skills work to
me one summer doing general office correspondence, ASP.NET work, and a
little bit of Outlook forms. The forms were by far the hardest -- more grunt
work pushing pixels around, no decent IDE, lots of undocumented quirks.

The biggest growth opportunity, IMO, is going to come in the next few years
as organizations that are using Outlook forms in an Exchange environment
start migrating those forms to Outlook form regions, InfoPath forms, and who
knows what else, often with either SharePoint or SQL on the back end. There
will still be a demand in smaller companies, I think for a smattering of
Outlook custom forms, but those are often the most difficult clients to deal
with, because they're not used to specifying their requirements as precisely
as someone in a more hierarchical organization might be. (Present company
included, I'm sure.) A certain ability to think outside the box and
experiment would be more valuable than standard software engineering skills,
given how quirky Outlook forms are and how often you need to come up with a
clever workaround.

I saw that your requests did reach the list. List membership itself requires
approval and is open only to established developers.
--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
http://www.outlookcode.com/article.aspx?id=54

 

[Hollis Paul]

I was simply looking for 4 forms, two for contact info and two that would
streamiline redundant processes. I didn't realize society would frown on it.

Society probably doesn't frown on your wants. Just on consultants charging
big bucks to make frivolous changes to forms. Society frowns on attorneys
bringing frivolous lawsuits, and judges suing a small ma n pop dry cleaner for
losing the judges favorite pants when they also claim satisfaction guaranteed.
The defendants should argue that the claim only applies to returned goods.
Since the pants were lost, there is no satisfaction claim in effect. Or young
relatives abusing their elders and purloining or misusing their meager
savings.

As long as you aren't wanting to put toe-nail polish on your form's tabs, you
are safe from societal frowns.

But, if you want to modify custom forms that are out there in the public
domain, have a look at this page.

viewing journal items

attached is a pst for the two forms that will allow workgroups to see all the
journal items made for a contact, not just the journal items of the current
user as they now have it.

http://www.outlookexchange.com/articles/home/outlookcodeexample.asp#35


stuffing formfields of a letter/memo

attached is a zip file that contains an example of stuffing the formfields of
a letter/memo with outlook contact item data and printing it from a button on
the custom contact item.

http://www.outlookexchange.com/articles/home/outlookcodeexample.asp#60


select a specific contact from all contacts.

the custom form allows the selection of a specific contact from all the items
for a company in the contact folder. also attached is a text file that
describes how it might be set up in a folder, and then presents a brief
functional description of the various subroutines.

http://www.outlookexchange.com/articles/home/outlookcodeexample.asp#33


There are many others listed on that page. Sue probably has some newer ones
published in her books and/or posted on her site.

 

[Rob A]

What someone can charge is part of a natural business cycle and I am OK with
it. I would rather hire someone and do what I do that generates revenue for
my company.

"No job is too small to subcontract" and "If I need a degree I will hire
one"

As for attorneys well.... Can't live with, can't shoot them. Oh well

P.S. There is a lot of good in the world too. You jsut have to know what it
looks like and start seeing it.
.... that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Happiness is not a right but the pursuit of is.

Good luck in your pursuit