User Defined Fields in Outlook 2003...Please Help

[Lenardz]

Hi,

I'm creating a form for our purchasing using Outlook 2003.

The process for using the form is as follows:

1. I will upload the form into a website
2. Users will then click on the required form they need for the purchase
3. Users fill the form and sends to a specified email
4. Purchaser will buy the items on the form

I've gotten the form to specify an email address and subject. Unfortunately,
the user defined text boxes I made aren't saving any of the values. I've
attributed them to a data field. For example, on one of them, in the I've
put "L1 Full Name" ( in the Value tab for the Properties of the text box) I
did this via adding "L1 Full Name" to the Field Chooser then click and drag
it to the Compose page.

When I upload the form to the website, unfortunately...everytime a user
defined textbox is put on, it seems to erase the form and just open a normal
new message form. If I remove the user defined textbox, the form shows. I
don't know what's wrong, could someone please help me?

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Beginning with Outlook 2003 SP2, users can work with most .oft form templates files only by opening the template from the Tools | Forms | Choose Form dialog, browsing for User Templates in File System. This means an .oft file won't work if launched from a browser link.

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.

Also see http://www.outlookcode.com/d/code/formonweb.htm

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

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

 

[Lenardz]

Hi Sue,

Thank you so much for this information. I was about to bash my head in
frustration of why it wasn't working... =P

I guess I'll have to ask the users to install the form in their outlook...so
next time they click on the link...it'll open up the form. =D

Again, thanks a bunch!

-Lenardz-

 

[Hollis Paul]

I guess I'll have to ask the users to install the form in their outlook...so
next time they click on the link...it'll open up the form. =D

You really have not described how much of an enterprise system you have, but if
you and your users are on an Exchange server, then you should publish the form
to the Exchange Organizational Forms Library, and all can access it
automatically, and it will collect data in the Outlook fields, if they have
been created properly.