Building Applications with Microsoft Outlook 2000 Technical Reference Book

Dedication and Acknowledgments Page iii
Foreword Page xix
Introduction Page xxi
PART I INTRODUCING MICROSOFT OUTLOOK 2000 Page  
1 Applications You Can Create with Outlook Page 3
 Types of Applications You Can Create Page 4
  Forms You Can Create Page 6
 Folder Applications Page 10
  Folders Based on Built-in Modules Page 11
  Discussion Folders Page 11
  Tracking Folders Page 12
  Reference Applications Page 12
 For More Form and Folder Ideas Page 15
2 Outlook Design Tools Page 17
 Help and Web Sites Page 17
 Outlook Form Design Mode Page 20
  Folder View Design Tools Page 26
  Folder Properties Dialog Box Page 27
 Outlook Visual Basic for Applications Design Tools Page 28
  Visual Basic Editor Page 29
  Add-Ins and Other Design Tools Page 32
PART II QUICK GUIDE TO BUILDING APPLICATIONS Page  
3 Customize Built-In Modules  Page 37
 Overview of the Folder You Create Page 38
 Create New Folders Page 40
  Create the Design Environment Personal Folder (.pst) File Page 41
  Create the Beta Contacts Folder Page 42
 Create Custom Views Page 42
  Create the Potential Beta Participants View Page 43
  Create the Beta Participants View Page 45
 Create Items for the Beta Contacts Folder Page 48
 Enter Dates in the Beta Participants View Page 50
 Customize the Contacts Form Page 52
  Open the Contacts Form Page 52
  Rename the New Page Page 52
  Add Controls to the Form Page 53
  Set Form Properties Page 57
 Test the Form at Design Time Page 58
 Publish the Form Page 58
 Specify the Default Form for the Folder Page 60
 Test the Application Page 60
 Delete the Items You Created Page 61
 Copy the Folder to Public Folders Page 61
 Set Permissions Page 61
 Release the Application Page 62
 What’s Next Page 63
4 Design a Custom Application Page 65
 Overview of the Product Ideas Application Page 66
 Create the Product Ideas Folder Page 68
 Create the Product Idea Form Page 70
  Open the Post To Folder Form Page 70
  Edit the Compose Page Page 70
  Edit the Read Page Page 78
  Set Product Idea Form Properties Page 80
  Test the Form at Design Time Page 81
  Make a Backup Copy of the Product Idea Form Page 81
  Publish the Product Idea Form Page 81
 Create the Product Idea Response Form Page 82
  Edit the Compose Page Page 82
  Edit the Read Page Page 83
  Set the Form Properties Page 84
  Make a Backup Copy of the Product Idea Response Form Page 84
  Publish the Product Idea Response Form Page 85
 Set the Actions Page 85
  Set the Actions for the Product Idea Form Page 85
  Make a Backup Copy of the Product Idea Form Page 87
  Republish the Product Idea Form Page 88
  Set the Actions for the Product Idea Response Form Page 88
  Make a Backup Copy of the Product Idea Response Form Page 90
  Publish the Product Idea Response Form Page 90
 Create the Product Category View Page 90
  Remove Fields Page 92
  Group Items Page 92
  Sort Items Page 92
  Arrange the Column Heading Order Page 93
 Specify the Default Form for the Folder Page 93
 Set the Hidden Property for the Product Idea Response Form Page 93
 Test the Application Page 94
 Copy the Folder to Public Folders Page 95
 About Folder Permissions Page 95
 Release the Application Page 95
 What’s Next Page 96
PART III BUILDING BLOCKS OF APPLICATIONS Page  
5 Forms Page 99
 Become Familiar with Designing Forms and Form Components Page 100
  Outlook Forms in Design Mode Page 100
  Types of Forms Page 100
  Parts of a Form Page 103
 Fields Page 106
 Learn How Forms Work Page 109
  What Is an Item? Page 109
  What Happens When the Form Definition Is Saved with the Item? Page 110
  How Is a Form Opened? Page 111
  How Do Shared Fields Work? Page 112
 Create a Folder Page 113
 Open the Form and Switch to Design Mode Page 114
 Edit Form Pages Page 116
  About Separate Read Layout Page 118
  Hide or Show a Page Page 119
  Rename a Page Page 120
 Add Controls Page 120
 Create and Bind Fields Page 121
  When To Use the Field Chooser Page 123
  Delete a Field Page 124
 Polish the Layout Page 125
  Select and Edit Controls Page 125
  Align Controls Page 125
  Space Controls Page 126
  Set Tab Order Page 126
  View the Form in Run Mode Page 127
 Create Help (Optional) Page 127
 Edit the Read Page Page 128
  Set Properties for Controls on the Read Page Page 128
  Set the Tab Order for the Read Page Page 128
  About Viewing the Read Page in Run Mode Page 129
 Set Action Properties Page 129
 Set Form Properties Page 130
 Publish the Form Page 132
  Make a Backup Copy of the Form Page 132
  Publish the Form Page 133
 Test and Release the Form Page 135
  Release the Form Page 136
6 Controls, Fields, and Properties Page 137
 Set Control Display Properties Page 138
  Change Foreground and Background Colors Page 139
 Layer Controls Page 139
 Set Advanced Control Properties Page 140
 Bind a Control to an Existing Field Page 142
 Create User-Defined Fields Page 143
  Location of User-Defined Fields Page 144
  Specify Field Type Page 145
  Changing Field Type Page 145
  Specify Field Formats Page 146
  Create Combination Fields Page 146
  Create Formula Fields Page 149
 Set Initial Field Values Page 152
 Validate and Restrict Data Page 153
  Specify That a Value Is Required for a Field Page 153
  Create Validation Formulas Page 154
 Set Field-Specific Properties Page 157
  To Field Page 157
  Subject Field Page 159
  Message Field Page 160
 About the Control Toolbox Page 164
 Set Control-Specific Properties Page 164
  Label Controls Page 165
  TextBox Controls Page 166
  Frame Controls Page 167
  OptionButton Controls Page 168
  CheckBox Controls Page 169
  ComboBox Controls Page 170
  ListBox Controls Page 173
  CommandButton Controls Page 175
  MultiPage Controls Page 177
  Image Controls Page 178
  SpinButton Control Page 179
  Controls That Require VBScript Page 180
  Using Custom ActiveX Controls Page 180
  Select Multiple Controls and the Dominant Control Page 182
 Where To Go from Here Page 183
7 Actions Page 185
 Voting Buttons for Message Forms Page 185
  Overview of the Art Approval Form Page 186
  Create the Art Approval Folder Page 186
  Create the Art Approval Form Page 188
  Test the Art Approval Form Page 192
 Reply Actions for Message Forms Page 193
  Overview of the Vacation Request Application Page 194
  Actions for the Vacation Request Form Page 194
  How Field Values Are Copied to the Reply Form Page 200
  Vacation Request Reply Forms Page 201
  Publish Reply Forms Page 202
  Test the Forms Page 203
  Set the Hidden Properties for Response Forms Page 204
 Reply To Folder Actions for Post Forms Page 205
  Overview of the Training Management Application Page 205
  Actions for the Course Catalog Entry Form Page 208
  How Field Values Are Copied to the Response Form Page 212
  Create Response Forms Page 213
  Publish the Forms to the Forms Library of the Folder Page 214
  Test the Forms Page 214
  Set the Hidden Property for Response Forms Page 215
8 Folders Page 217
 An Important Reminder About Planning Page 219
 Create or Select a Folder Page 219
  Choose Where To Design the New Folder Page 220
  Create a Folder from Scratch Page 221
  Directly Modify a Folder Page 221
  Copy a Folder Design Page 222
 Publish Forms in the Folder Page 223
  Manage Forms Page 223
 Design Folder Views Page 227
  Create a New View Page 228
  Create Columns Page 229
  Group Items Page 236
  Sort Items Page 238
  Filter Items Page 241
  Format Views Page 244
  In-Cell Editing Views Page 245
  Automatic Formatting Page 246
  View Performance Page 248
  Folder Home Pages Page 248
 Set General Properties Page 251
 Test Forms and Views Page 252
 Copy the Folder to Public Folders Page 253
 Specify Internet Newsgroup Page 253
 Set Administration Properties Page 254
 Set Permissions Page 256
 Design Rules Page 259
  Specifying Actions for a Rule Page 262
 Test and Release the Folder Page 263
 Where To Go from Here Page 263
9 Raise Events and Move to the Head of the Class Page 265
 The VBA Editor Page 266
 Writing an Outlook Macro Page 272
 Writing Code to Respond to Events Page 274
 Application Events Page 278
 NameSpace Events Page 282
 Explorers Collection Events Page 283
 Explorer Events Page 284
 SyncObject Events Page 289
 OutlookBarPane Events Page 293
 OutlookBarGroup Events Page 294
 OutlookBarShortcut Events Page 295
 Inspectors Collection Events Page 296
 Inspector Events Page 300
 Folders Collection Events Page 301
 Items Collection Events Page 304
 Item Events Page 307
 Firing Order of Events Page 309
 Where To Go from Here Page 310
10 Outlook Bar, Command Bars, and the Assistant Page 313
 Panes Collection Object Page 314
  OutlookBarPane Object Page 315
 OutlookBarStorage Object Page 315
 OutlookBarGroups Collection Object Page 316
  OutlookBarGroup Page 316
 OutlookBarShortcuts Collection Object Page 317
  OutlookBarShortcut Object Page 317
 CommandBars Collection Object Page 319
  CommandBar Object Page 331
 CommandBarControls Collection Object Page 334
  CommandBarControl Object Page 335
  CommandBarButton Object Page 349
  CommandBarComboBox Object Page 349
  CommandBarPopup Object Page 350
 Assistant Object Page 350
 Balloon Object Page 353
 Where To Go from Here Page 357
PART IV BEYOND THE BASICS Page  
11 Using VBA and VBScript with Outlook Page 361
 VBScript Versions Page 363
  Determining the VBScript Version in Code Page 364
 The Outlook Script Editor Page 364
  An Introduction to Using the Script Editor Page 365
  Jumping to a Line of Code Page 366
 Troubleshooting Code Using the Microsoft Script Editor Page 367
  Controlling How a Script Executes Page 369
  Entering a Breakpoint Page 369
  Entering Commands at Run Time Page 369
  Viewing the Call Stack Page 370
  Viewing the Locals Window Page 370
  Viewing the Watch Window Page 371
 How To Open an Item Containing VBScript Page 372
 Information Resources for Programming Outlook 2000 Page 372
  Web Resources Page 372
  Sample Code Page 373
  Microsoft Outlook Visual Basic Reference Help Page 373
  A Caution About the Outlook Programming Environment Page 374
  The Implied Item Object Page 375
 Object Libraries Page 375
  Using an Object Browser Page 376
  Moving Around in the Outlook Object Browser Page 376
 Object Models Page 378
  Using the Object Hierarchy Page 379
  Getting and Setting Properties Page 381
  Using Variables Page 382
  Using the Variant Data Type Page 383
  VBScript Naming Conventions Page 384
  Declaring Constants Page 384
  Assigning Objects to Variables Page 385
  Referencing Collections and Single Objects Page 385
 The Application Object Page 387
  Application Object Methods Page 387
 The NameSpace Object Page 392
  NameSpace Object Methods Page 392
  Properties of the NameSpace Object Page 393
 The Outlook Window (Explorer Objects) Page 394
  Explorer Methods Page 394
  Explorer Properties Page 395
 The AddressLists Collection Object Page 397
  AddressLists Collection Methods Page 397
 The AddressList Object Page 397
 The AddressEntries Collection Object Page 398
  AddressEntries Collection Methods Page 398
 The AddressEntry Object Page 399
  AddressEntry Object Methods Page 399
  AddressEntry Properties Page 402
  Using CDO to Obtain Recipients Page 402
  Installing Collaboration Data Objects Page 403
 The Folders Collection Object Page 404
  Folders Collection Methods Page 404
 The MAPIFolder Object Page 405
  MAPIFolder Object Methods Page 405
  MAPIFolder Object Properties Page 406
 The Items Collection Object Page 409
  Items Collection Methods Page 410
  Items Collection Object Properties Page 413
 The PostItem Object Page 414
  PostItem Object Methods Page 414
 The MailItem Object Page 416
  MailItem Object Methods Page 416
  MailItem and PostItem Objects Properties Page 418
 The DocumentItem Object Page 421
 The AppointmentItem Object Page 426
  Working with Recurring Appointments Page 426
 The MeetingItem Object Page 430
  Working with Meeting Requests Page 430
 The TaskItem Object Page 433
  TaskItem Object Methods Page 434
 The TaskRequestItem Object Page 435
  Working with Task Requests Page 435
 The ContactItem and DistListItem Objects Page 437
  ContactItem Object Methods Page 437
  ContactItem Object Properties Page 438
 The JournalItem Object Page 439
  JournalItem Object Methods Page 439
 The Item Window (Inspector Objects) Page 440
  Inspector Object Methods Page 441
  Inspector Object Properties Page 442
 The Pages Collection Object Page 443
 The Page Object Page 444
 The Controls Collection Object Page 444
  Methods of the Controls Collection Object Page 444
  Controls Collection Object Properties Page 445
 The Control Object Page 446
  Properties of Control Objects Page 446
 The UserProperties Collection Object Page 451
  UserProperties Collection Object Methods Page 451
 The Recipients Collection Object Page 452
  Recipients Collection Object Methods Page 452
 Events Page 453
  The Firing Sequence of Events Page 455
  Preventing Events from Firing Page 457
  The AttachmentAdd Event Page 458
  The AttachmentRead Event Page 458
  The BeforeAttachmentSave Event Page 459
  The BeforeCheckNames Event Page 459
  The Click Event Page 459
  The Close Event Page 460
  The CustomAction Event Page 460
  The CustomPropertyChange Event Page 461
  The Forward Event Page 461
  The Open Event Page 462
  The PropertyChange Event Page 463
  The Read Event Page 463
  The Reply Event Page 464
  The ReplyAll Event Page 464
  The Send Event Page 464
  The Write Event Page 465
 Automation Page 465
 Where To Go from Here Page 466
12 Distribute and Maintain Applications Page 467
 Distribute Forms Page 467
  Make Forms Available in the Organizational Forms Library Page 468
  Make Forms Available in the Personal Forms Library Page 470
  Make Forms Available in a Folder Forms Library Page 472
  Changing the Standard IPM.Note Messsage Page 473
  Use the Send Form Definition With Item Check Box To Send a Form to Another User Page 475
  Distribute Forms in a Personal Folder (.pst) File Page 475
  Make Forms Available for Offline Use Page 475
  Make Forms Available for Remote Use Page 479
 Manage Forms Page 479
  The Forms Manager Page 479
 Modify Forms Page 481
 The Forms Cache Page 484
  Clearing the Forms Cache Page 485
 Form Activation Page 487
 Distribute Folders Page 488
  Make a Folder Available to All Users in Your Organization Page 488
  Make a Folder Available for Personal Use Page 489
  Distribute a Folder in a Personal Folder (.pst) File Page 490
  Making Changes to a Folder Page 491
  Make Folders Available for Offline Use Page 491
  Age and Archive Folders Page 494
 Where To Go from Here Page 494
PART V ADVANCED TOPICS Page  
13 Creating COM Add-Ins with Visual Basic Page 497
 Tools Needed to Create COM Add-Ins Page 498
 The COMAddIns Collection Object Page 499
 COMAddIn Object Page 500
 Displaying the List of COM Add-Ins Page 500
 Creating an Outlook COM Add-In Project in Visual Basic Page 502
 What Is a COM Add-In? Page 506
 Building a COM Add-In Page 507
  Setting AddInDesigner Properties Page 508
  IDTExtensibility2 Event Procedures Page 511
  Adding Property Pages Page 518
  Modifying Command Bars Page 524
  Adding Dialog Boxes Page 528
  The Debugging Process Page 531
  Compiling Your COM Add-In Page 533
 Add-In Registration Page 533
 Providing Security Page 534
 Deploying Your COM Add-In Page 539
  The Package and Deployment Wizard Page 539
 Where To Go from Here Page 541
14 Customizing Folder Home Pages Page 543
 What Folder Home Pages Are Page 543
 What Folder Home Pages Are Not Page 544
  Folder Home Pages Compared to Outlook Web Access Page 545
  Placeholder Folders and Active Folder Home Pages Page 545
  The Outlook Today Page Page 546
 Tools To Create Folder Home Pages Page 546
 The Outlook Team Folder Wizard Page 547
  Obtaining the Team Folder Wizard Page 547
  Team Folder Wizard Basics Page 547
  Types of Team Folder Applications Page 548
  Running the Wizard Page 549
  Administration Tasks Page 554
  Modifying Team Folder Pages Page 555
  Team Folder Extensibility Page 560
 The Outlook View Control Page 561
  Adding the View Control to a Form Page 561
  Outlook View Control Properties Page 563
  Outlook View Control Methods Page 564
  Obtaining Views For the Active Folder Page 567
  Using the View Control in an HTML Page Page 568
 The Northwind DHTML Application Page 568
  What Is a DHTML Application? Page 569
  Installing the Northwind DHTML Project Page 571
  Testing the Folder Home Page Page 571
  Running the Project in Visual Basic Page 574
 Deploying Your Folder Home Page Page 583
  The Package and Deployment Wizard Page 583
 Where To Go from Here Page 589
15 Outlook Data Access Strategies Page 591
 Connecting with Data Sources Page 591
  Design Trade-Offs Page 592
  Basic Methods of Displaying Data in a Form Page 592
  Accessing the Data in Exchange/Outlook Page 596
  Data Access Using the Outlook Object Model Page 599
 Using Universal Data Access in Outlook Page 607
  The Data Source Name (DSN) Page 607
  Creating Recordsets with ADO Page 611
  Accessing Data with a Persistent Recordset Page 620
  Office 2000 Web Components Page 625
 Strategic Considerations Page 625
 A Word of Caution Page 627
 Where to Go from Here Page 627
16 Using ActiveX DLLs and Microsoft Transaction Serverwith Outlook Page 629
 Why Use ActiveX DLL Components? Page 629
  Integrating Enterprise Data with Outlook Applications Page 631
 The ListServerADO Project Page 631
  Installing the Sample ListServerADO Project Page 633
  Creating a Package on Microsoft Transaction Server Page 634
  MTS Executables for Client Computers Page 638
  Running the List Server Example Outlook Form Page 641
  Object Creation with Microsoft Transaction Server Page 645
  Opening the ListServerADO Project in Visual Basic Page 647
 Where To Go from Here Page 654
17 Extending Outlook Using Exchange Server Scripting and Routing Objects Page 657
 The Server Side of Outlook 2000 Page 657
 What Is the Event Service? Page 658
 Writing Scripts Page 664
 Event Service Event Model Page 667
 Using Collaboration Data Objects Page 668
 Debugging Scripts Page 672
 Scripting Tips and Techniques Page 675
 When To Consider Event Scripting Page 678
 Northwind SQL Agent Page 681
 NwindSQLAgent Project Page 685
 Exchange Routing Objects Page 691
 In Summary Page 691
 Where To Go from Here Page 692
INDEX Page 693
 About the Author Page 715