We have a couple of thousand workstations experiencing this "feature" of
Outlook 2007 in the Army. All workstations in our organization use XP with
SP2 or 3 installed, MS Office 2007 Pro, Sharepoint / MOSS environment.
Through sheer perseverance we have narrowed this problem down to the way in
which a link was originally created in a message that is read on the
workstation.
1. If a link is copied from another source as a link, when it is received
it seems to always exhibit the "blocked::URL" syndrome. BTW - in our
organization, this has caused 100% failure of ALL Sharepoint / MOSS utilities
that depend upon hyperlinks sent through Outlook 2007. Account invitation
links don't work, workflow links don't work, etc.
2. If a link is written or copied as plain text, but NOT converted to a
hyperlink (i.e., if you don't permit Outlook to automatically convert it to a
URL, and don't manually convert it using CTRL-K), when it is received it will
always work properly. Apparently Outlook converts text into hyperlinks both
upon creation and upon receipt, but if it receives a hyperlink that was
created upon send, it will always block it upon receipt.
2a. To prohibit Outlook from automatically converting a text string into
a hyperlink, I either don't type any character at the end of the string or I
hit CTRL-Z just after Outlook does its conversion. As soon as you see the
string you've just typed change color and get underlined, it has been
converted. Before typing anything else, hit CTRL-Z to undo that conversion.
2b. If you just type a URL as a text string but don't type anything else
after you finish the string, Outlook won't automatically convert it. You may
have to move the cursor with the mouse or arrow keys so you can start typing
on a new line - just don't type any more on the line with the URL on it.
2c. Both paragraphs above (2a and 2b) also work for hyperlinks created
in other Office products: Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. If you copy a
hyperlink into a message from a document created in one of those products,
you will need to Right-click on the hyperlink and select "Remove Hyperlink"
before sending the message else it will be blocked.
2d. If you have your automatic save turned on, keep an eye on all URL
strings you have typed! Outlook converts them automatically when it
autosaves. You'll have to Remove Hyperlink from each one if they just
suddenly convert on you.
3. So we've gotten half way through our problems here. We know the
circumstances behind the blocked::URL "feature," and we have figured out how
to avoid creating blocked hyperlinks in open text messages. What we still
have to figure out is a way to mass-edit the word "blocked" from all
hyperlinks in an email. Because once the hyperlink has been prefixed with
the word 'blocked," it is no longer functional. Remember, it's not the text
that has been edited, it's the hyperlink. So going into edit mode doesn't
work except on a link-by-link basis, and then only on text links - doesn't
work well on hyperlinks embedded in pictures or other objects.
4. From my perspective as a manager, all of the above constitutes a massive
work-around to a spectacular design flaw on the manufacturer's part. We
didn't get any warning this was coming, didn't ask for this "feature," our
organizational productivity is now measurably less than it was before it
began happening, and we still have no warm and fuzzy feeling that the
manufacturer either intends to resolve the problem or even explain it. I can
say this, however: Were this a piece of equipment used by a soldier in
combat, the manufacturer would have already been in litigation and its
ability to bid on future contracts might well have been suspended.
