Outlook Tips

Earlier this week, Microsoft released hotfixes for both Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2010. The Outlook 2007 hotfix  fixes word wrapping in calendar print outs, which was broken by the July update, however, this update does not restore the end times to the print out.

A complete list of the issues addressed by the Outlook 2007 hotfixes is described in the following KB Articles
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2276479 
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2308912 (Additional  hotfix for German MUI)

Links to hotfixes for other office apps:
Office 2007 Cumulative Update for August 2010
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2396342

A complete list of the issues addressed by the Outlook 2010 hotfixes is described in the following KB Articles
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2281463 (All)
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2345346 (additional hotfix for German MUI)
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2266428 (additional hotfix for Danish MUI)

For all other office apps, see
Office 2010 Cumulative Update for August 2010
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2396341

We see a lot of users who decide to upgrade only Outlook, not the full office suite. While this is the least expensive method, those who do this often discover the features they upgraded to get are available only when they install the Office suite.  Also, installing the Home and Student suite and standalone Outlook doesn’t equal a suite. You need to install a suite that includes Outlook to get the missing features.

Specifically, some spelling and grammar features, including autocorrect, are available only when you have an Office suite. You’ll be able to spell check on send or with F7, but spell check as you type and autocorrect aren’t available. Themes and stationery are missing in standalone Outlook too.

The new Screenshot feature, along with ClipArt, SmartArt, Shapes, and Chart also require the full suite.

If you are considering upgrading only Outlook, review the chart at
Using Outlook 2010 with or without Word 2010 installed
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/using-outlook-2010-with-or-without-word-2010-installed-HA010356483.aspx

Some Outlook 2010 users are having ‘issues’ with Outlook's new 'default' account behavior when multiple accounts are delivered to different data files. Outlook uses the email address assigned to the data file you are currently working in as the default for new mail. This is creating problems for IMAP users who have POP3 accounts delivered to the default *.pst (which is required for IMAP accounts) when they want the IMAP account used as the default for sending.

Someone wrote a macro that always uses the default account. (Outlook 2010 Macro to use the Default Account ) Or you can add or edit a registry key to force the user to select an account every time they send a new message. (Replies and Forwards always use the account the message arrived on.) This will also work for people who multiple accounts and frequently accidently send using the wrong account.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\14.0\outlook\options
Value Name: ForceAccountSelection
Value type: REG_DWORD: 1 for force, 0 to disable.

Many Outlook 2007 and 2010 users have discovered when setting up a rule that replies with a template that it returns a “rules in error” message.

The problem? Using HTML message format for the template. Use plain text format when you create the template and it should work just fine.

When you use Outlook 2003 with Word as your editor or Outlook 2007 / 2010, you can assign a signature to each account and Outlook will use the correct signature when you change accounts.

In Tools, Options, Mail format tab, Signatures (Outlook 2003/2007) select *each* account from the dropdown account list and assign a signature. In Outlook 2010, go to File, Mail, Signatures and assign a signature to each account.

The most common cause of signatures not working as expected is not assigning a signature to each individual account. If you don’t want a signature on an account, make a blank signature that contains just – (two dashes) at the top and select it instead of (none). This allows the signature switch to work with very account change.

I recommend using – (two dashes) at the beginning of every signature because it shows you where the signature begins. This helps to avoid another common problem: typing in the signature block. When you type in the signature block, spell check doesn’t work and changing accounts after composing the message deletes the message with the signature changes.  

A popular request is the ability to open Outlook Express  &  Live Mail’s *.eml files in Outlook.  If you have Outlook 2010, it supports opening *.eml files. If you use Outlook 2007, you can open them if you have either a hotfix or SP2 installed.

After installing the hotfix or SP2, you’ll need to edit the registry to enable it.

1. Open the registry editor – press Windows key + R to open the Run dialog then type regedit and press Enter.
2. Browse to the following registry subkey:
3. HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Microsoft Internet Mail Message\shell\open\command
4. Right-click on (Default) then click Modify.
5. Type (or copy and paste)
   "%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office\Office12\OUTLOOK.EXE" /eml "%1"
   then click OK and exit the registry editor.

For more information and links to the hotfix, see
Files that have the .eml file name extension do not open in Outlook 2007
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/956693

From the “Stupid things Marketing thinks up” file:
In response to a user who couldn’t understand why Outlook wasn’t working, someone from Microsoft Support had this to say "When we install Office Home and Student 2010, Office 2010 Professional will also be installed as a trial (it is Optional)."

Yes, that’s right, when someone buys Office 2010 Home & Student edition online, they are offered a trial version of Pro too. As a result, we’re seeing users install the Pro trial and use Outlook, then 30 days later they are trying to figure out why Outlook isn’t working.

Silly me, I thought if the customer wanted Pro, they would have purchased it instead of Home & Student.

Anyway, if you, or someone you know, buys Office 2010 Home & Student, don’t fall for the Pro trial too. If you want to try Pro, try it before purchasing Home & Student.

The new BlackBerry Desktop Manager is now available. It works with all 32-bit versions of Outlook, including Outlook 2010. It will not work with 64-bit Outlook 2010. Users who choose Outlook 2010 64-bit can expect an update early next year.

Download link:
https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=A8BAA56554F96369AB93E4F3BB068C22

For possible workaround with Outlook 201064-bit and more information, see
Outlook 2010 and Blackberry's Desktop Manager
http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/ol2010/bb_sync.asp

I’ve heard a lot of complaints about Outlook 2010 crashing on a reply or forward. This is caused by not having a folder set as the default delivery location for the account.

With Outlook closed, go to Control panel, Mail and select Show Profiles. Select your profile and click Properties button, then E-mail Accounts. On the E-mail tab, select your POP3 account, and then click Change Folder button and select a delivery folder.

You can also do this from within Outlook by going to file, Account settings and making the change on the Email tab. You will need to restart Outlook.

Outlook crashes when you try to send email messages because of a nonexistent delivery location setting in your profile
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;2298962

In older versions of Outlook, users could print a monthly calendar and long subjects wrapped to multiple lines.  This was broken in Outlook 2007 – if you wanted the subject to wrap, you needed to use the Calendar Printing Assistant.

Following a recent update (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/980376 in the July 13 updates), wrapping is back. Unfortunately, lines break in the middle of words and the end time is missing.

This bug (bad line breaks and no end times) was first introduced in an April hotfix (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/981048) and the July update includes that hotfix, which explains why we haven't seen many complaints about it prior to now.

The bad line breaks & no end times bug should be fixed in a future update (while keeping wrapped lines). If the broken words really annoy you or you need the end time, you can uninstall the July update. The security issue it addresses is only triggered by opening attachments so it’s not overly risky to uninstall it but there may be other issues fixed by it that are more important to you. See KB 981048 for a list.

Screenshots:
Outlook 2003 monthly calendar printout: http://slipstick.me/jing/2003wrap.png
Outlook 2007 before the update: http://slipstick.me/jing/2007cal.png
After: http://slipstick.me/jing/wrap.png