Sharing Templates in Public Folder

[DavisSon]

OL2003/Exchange 2003:

I am the owner of a public folder. I would like to create some email
templates that users can choose from this public folder. I have created
OFT's and published them but they are not showing up in the folder itself. I
do see them on the Forms tab when I right click the PF/Properties. The "When
Posting To This Folder, Use.." always gives me an error when I try to change
it. I believe it's bc I cannot use a message class (I have no problems using
a test .post message).

The templates would have a pre-filled out TO:, CC:, and SUBJECT LINES plus
some text in the body. This shouldn't be this difficult to do but I cannot
get it to work. Any ideas on the easiest way to do this?

THANKS IN ADVANCE : )

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

You're running up against several common forms issues. Some background may be helpful:

1) Message forms published to a public folder will not be useful. Outlook will be able to find the form and show it only if users put messages into that public folder. For a custom message form to be useful, it needs to be published to the Organizational Forms library, not a public folder.

2) Because message forms create items that will be sent, not saved in a folder, you cannot make a message form the default form for a folder. This is something of a moot point, though, because of #1.

3) The solution, if you want to use a public folder as a forms library, is to publish the forms to Org Forms, as in #1, and then use a special Post form in the public folder to act as a form launcher. The code behind the launcher form creates a new item from the designated published form. Thus, each form will appear to the user as an item in the folder, and opening the item will launch a new instance of the desired form. See http://www.outlookcode.com/d/forms/formlauncher.htm to get the form launcher form.

 

[DavisSon]

Thanks Sue - I was aware of 1 & 2, and I have seen 3 (*I go to your website
all the time, and at least a hundred times today!). Thanks for the response
: )