Viewing Custom Field Data

[dlene]

Outlook 2003. We have just had a custom form (appt. form) written for our
company. When I add the columns to view the custom fields on screen, only
the field ID is displayed. Is there a way to display the actual data?

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Did you define those other fields in the folder?

 

[dlene]

The fields that show the record id are being pulled from an Access database.
That database contains 2 tables with the Event Type and Reminder Schedule.
In Outlook we have a tab called Reminders with drop-downs for choosing the
Event Type and Schedule. On screen, of course, you are able to view your
data correctly; however, if you attempt to print or display those columns on
screen, all you get is the Access ID (primary key.)

My vendor has told me that the built-in viewer in Outlook only pulls what it
sees and it can only see the database identifier.

Thank you for your assistance.

Donna Lene

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Your vendor is correct, but I'm not sure you understand the implications fully. Here is the basic principle, stated another way:

If you want data to show in an Outlook view, the data has to be stored in the individual Outlook item.

From your description, it sounds like the form shows the data only when the item opens in its own individual window, with no code or design to save the information pulled from the database into actual properties in the Outlook item.

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

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

The fields that show the record id are being pulled from an Access database.
That database contains 2 tables with the Event Type and Reminder Schedule.
In Outlook we have a tab called Reminders with drop-downs for choosing the
Event Type and Schedule. On screen, of course, you are able to view your
data correctly; however, if you attempt to print or display those columns on
screen, all you get is the Access ID (primary key.)

My vendor has told me that the built-in viewer in Outlook only pulls what it
sees and it can only see the database identifier.

Thank you for your assistance.

Donna Lene

 

[dlene]

You are correct in that we can only see that data if we open the actual appt.

So basically that information is not actually saved anywhere; subsequently,
there is no data to view? Can it be stored given the current setup?

Donna Lene

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Yes, I think you're starting to understand the scenario. Whether the data can be stored is an application design issue and will depend on whether the data is static or changes frequently, whether it is available when the items are initially created, etc. If the data is static and available, you could include code in the custom form to populate custom Outlook properties when the item is first saved.

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

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

You are correct in that we can only see that data if we open the actual appt.

So basically that information is not actually saved anywhere; subsequently,
there is no data to view? Can it be stored given the current setup?

Donna Lene

 

[dlene]

I'm not sure about whether the data is static or changing. On occasion I do
have to go into the Access tables and add a new event type or reminder
schedule. Any additions I make are made in real time and are displayed in
Outlook immediately. Nothing is deleted from the tables and the items in the
tables are not changed in any way.

In my mind, it sounds like another field would be created on the form to
actually extract and save the information.

The actual tickler program resides on our Exchange server (in case that
makes a difference.) In talking this over with our Admin., he wondered if
all of this information is just stored in cache.

Donna

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

I'm not sure about whether the data is static or changing.

The reason this is a major factor in your application design is that, if it's static, you only have to set it once and presumably can do so when the Outlook item is first created. If it changes, then you would have to build a mechanism to sync the changes from the database into the Outlook items or else run the risk of seeing outdated information in Outlook.

In my mind, it sounds like another field would be created on the form to
actually extract and save the information.

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

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

I'm not sure about whether the data is static or changing. On occasion I do
have to go into the Access tables and add a new event type or reminder
schedule. Any additions I make are made in real time and are displayed in
Outlook immediately. Nothing is deleted from the tables and the items in the
tables are not changed in any way.

In my mind, it sounds like another field would be created on the form to
actually extract and save the information.

The actual tickler program resides on our Exchange server (in case that
makes a difference.) In talking this over with our Admin., he wondered if
all of this information is just stored in cache.

Donna

 

[dlene]

I'm sorry to be so dense, but is the data you're talking about (static vs.
changing) the information the user inputs when they initially calendar the
item, e.g. the user changes the time and date or subject or event type? or
the list/tables in Access?

Donna

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

According to your original description of the problem, the data in question is the information from Access that you currently can only see when an individual item is open in its own window.

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

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

 

[dlene]

Yes, that's true.

What has confused me is that a weekly report is generated with all of the
upcoming week's reminders and events. In addition, each user receives a
reminder e-mail stating the Subject, Date, days remaining prior to the event,
etc. based on the reminder pattern they have chosen. So my thought was that
the data must be stored somewhere. Evidently, these calculations (queries)
are done at the Exchange level and the two fields in question are allowing a
view of the data, not the actual data.

Following that line of thought, it would seem like that information could be
pushed back from Exchange to the Outlook form.

Donna

BTW - I was reading some other posts and was glad to see that one of your
books contains basic programming. Although I can produce just about anything
in Access, I still don't know programming.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

What has confused me is that a weekly report is generated with all of the

upcoming week's reminders and events. In addition, each user receives a
reminder e-mail stating the Subject, Date, days remaining prior to the event,
etc. based on the reminder pattern they have chosen. So my thought was that
the data must be stored somewhere. Evidently, these calculations (queries)
are done at the Exchange level and the two fields in question are allowing a
view of the data, not the actual data.

The way to know for sure is to examine the source code for the application that generates the weekly report.

Following that line of thought, it would seem like that information could be
pushed back from Exchange to the Outlook form.

Not quite. Outlook shows what Exchange stores. So nothing is "pushed" from Exchange to Outlook, per se. Outlook just displays whatever is there, using whatever form is associated with a particular item.

What you would need is to push the data from Access to Exchange (i.e. database to server) or use Outlook to pull it from Access.

I'm still not sure you "get it." If the data is currently only in Access, it needs to be pushed/pulled into Outlook/Exchange, Exchange being is the server application that stores the data that Outlook displays. For the purpose of your scenario, they're the same thing.