Outlook

Slow Access of Additional Exchange Mailboxes

Dec 12th

Posted by Chris Burnum in Exchange 2003

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This is an issue that I run into daily and had a couple of Exchange hosting customers complain about. When you add an additional (or shared) mailbox to your Exchange account in Outlook, it does NOT cache any of the data like it does with your primary mailbox. It does case non-mail items, but switching back and forth between mailboxes can be very slow. Here is how to fix it…

This pertains to any Exchange version (as far as I know) and Outlook 2007 with SP2 or newer. If you have an older version of Outlook…upgrade! The instant search is worth it.

  1. Close Outlook.
  2. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
  3. Locate and then right-click the following registry subkey:
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Outlook
  4. Point to New, and then click Key.
  5. Type Cached Mode, and then press ENTER.
  6. Right-click Cached Mode, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
  7. Type CacheOthersMail, and then press ENTER.
  8. Right-click CacheOthersMail, and then click Modify.
  9. In the Value data box, type 1 (decimal format), and then click OK.
  10. Open Outlook and watch as it begins to download and cache all of the additional mailbox data. Notice how the connection status now shows “Connected” rather than “Online” when viewing the other mailbox(es).
  11. Enjoy much quicker access between your mail folders!

I would like to cite two KB articles that helped me figure this out; KB955572 & KB936247. The first pertains to a hotfix for post SP1 Outlook, but has the settings we need. The second Tells us how to create the registry key that the first one assumes is present…it’s not. Even with Office SP2, the Cached Mode key is simply missing, so I put the two together to get it working.The second article mentions another DWORD value called “DownloadSharedFolders”. I presume it is enabled by default so adding it does not seem to make a difference.

Using Outlook via the Internet

Nov 5th

Posted by Chris Burnum in Client Howto

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If you are using Microsoft® Office Outlook® 2003, you can connect to the computer running Windows® Small Business Server through the Internet using the feature called RPC over HTTP. This means you can remotely access your server e-mail account from the Internet when you are working outside your organization’s firewall. You do not need security-related hardware or software (such as smart cards or security tokens), and you do not have to establish a virtual private network (VPN) connection to the server.

Comparing RPC over HTTP and Outlook Web Access

When using RPC over HTTP to access your mailbox, you get the full functionality of Outlook 2003. For example, you can work offline, use Microsoft Office Word 2003 as your e-mail editor, and easily organize your mailbox.

Ensure that you have an Outlook profile configured for the server

  1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
    • If you are viewing Control Panel in the default Category view, switch to Classic view, and then double-click Mail.
    • If you are viewing Control Panel in Classic view, double-click Mail.
  2. In the Mail Setup dialog box, click Show Profiles. If your profile appears in the list, select your profile, click Properties, click E-mail Accounts, select View or change existing e-mail accounts, and then click Next. If your profile does not appear, open Outlook and follow the instructions to create a profile before proceeding.
    • If Microsoft Exchange Server does not appear in the list, the existing profile is not associated with a Microsoft Exchange Server e-mail account. Click Cancel, and then click Close. Continue with step 3 to add a profile.
    • If there is an existing Microsoft Exchange Server profile, continue with step 3 under Configure the computer for RPC over HTTP.
  3. Click Add. The New Profile dialog box appears.
  4. In the Profile Name box, type a name for the new profile, and then click OK. The E-mail Accounts dialog box appears.
  5. Under E-mail, select Add a new e-mail account, and then click Next. The Server Type dialog box appears.
  6. Click Microsoft Exchange Server, and then click Next.
  7. Continue with step 4 under Configure the computer for RPC over HTTP.

Configure the computer for RPC over HTTP

  1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
    • If you are viewing Control Panel in the default Category view, switch to Classic view, and then double-click Mail.
    • If you are viewing Control Panel in Classic view, double-click Mail.
  2. In the Mail Setup dialog box, click E-mail accounts, click View or change existing e-mail accounts, and then click Next.
  3. In the E-mail accounts dialog box, click Microsoft Exchange Server, and then click Change.
  4. In the Microsoft Exchange Server box, type the local name of the Exchange server:

exchange.atomicnetworks.local

  1. In the User Name box, type the user name that you use to log on to the Remote Web Workplace. Do not click Check Name.
  2. In the Exchange Server settings page, click More Settings.
  3. On the Connection tab, under Exchange over the Internet, select Connect to my Exchange mailbox using HTTP, and then click Exchange Proxy Settings. The Exchange Proxy Settings dialog box appears.
  4. Under Use this URL to connect to my proxy server for Exchange, type the following URL:

blue.atomnet.net

  1. Select Connect using SSL only, and then select Mutually authenticate the session when connecting with SSL.
  2. In the Principal name for proxy server box, type the following text:

msstd:blue.atomnet.net

  1. Select On slow networks, connect using HTTP first, then connect using TCP/IP.
  2. Under Proxy authentication settings, select Basic Authentication.
  3. Click OK, and then click OK again. Click Next, and then click Finish. Click Close.
  4. In the Mail dialog box, if Always use this profile is selected, choose the newly configured profile.
  5. Open Outlook and type your Windows Small Business Server user name (your full email address) and password. You can now work with your Outlook mailbox.