Upgrading to Outlook 2000

Sharing Information with Microsoft Schedule+

Microsoft Outlook 2000 users and users of all previous versions of Microsoft Schedule+ can share calendar and group scheduling information such as calendar free/busy status information, and meeting request messages. However, Schedule+ users might not be able to view or use some Outlook 2000 message or calendar features.

Note   Outlook 2000 users with Corporate/Workgroup e-mail support have the option to substitute Microsoft Schedule+ 7.x for the Outlook Calendar.

For most organizations, viewing free/busy status and exchanging meeting requests are essential scheduling tasks. Outlook 2000 and Schedule+ share information completely in both of these key areas.

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Exchanging meeting requests

Outlook 2000 and Schedule+ 1.0 and Schedule+ 7.x users can freely exchange meeting messages across the Microsoft Windows and Macintosh operating environments. Although Outlook 2000 users and Schedule+ 1.0 users can freely exchange meeting requests and responses, Schedule+ 1.0 does not recognize the advanced features of Outlook such as attachments, the meeting location field, and recurring meetings. As a result, when a Schedule+ 1.0 user receives a meeting message from an Outlook user, Schedule+ 1.0 ignores any Outlook-specific message features it does not recognize. For example, if an Outlook user sends a recurring meeting request to a Schedule+ 1.0 user, the Schedule+ user receives only the first meeting request.

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Viewing free/busy status

When users publish their free/busy status, other users can view the free/busy status in Meeting Planner. By having appropriate permission, Outlook 2000 and Schedule+ 7.x and Schedule+ 1.0 users can view each other’s free/busy status. Permission is not needed to view the free/busy status of other users.

In addition to designating free/busy status, Outlook 2000 users can designate tentative and out-of-office status that other Outlook users can view. However, when Schedule+ users view an Outlook calendar, tentative status appears as free status, and out-of-office status appears as busy status.

Outlook differs slightly from Schedule+ in how it handles unpublished free/busy status. When Schedule+ users choose not to publish their free/busy status, other Schedule+ users can still view the free/busy status in Meeting Planner — provided they have read permission. However, when Outlook users choose not to publish their free/busy status, no one can view their free/busy status in Meeting Planner, but they can open calendars to view unpublished free/busy status, provided they have read permission to the users’ calendar.

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Viewing free/busy details

Outlook 2000 users on Microsoft Exchange Server can view the free/busy details of Schedule+ users who are on Microsoft Exchange Server, but they cannot view the details of users on Microsoft Mail Server. Schedule+ 7.x users can view the free/busy details of Outlook users when all users are on Microsoft Exchange Server, and the necessary Windows 16-bit or 32-bit driver is installed. Schedule+ 1.0 users cannot view free/busy details for Outlook users.

Outlook users who have Read Only permission for other user calendars can see when those users are free or busy, and they can view the details of scheduled appointments and activities in Meeting Planner.

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Delegating e-mail messages and scheduling tasks

In Outlook 2000, you can give others permission to read or modify your folders, and you can delegate your e-mail messages and scheduling tasks to other users. Delegates can create, send, and reply to messages; and they can request meetings and delegate tasks on your behalf.

A delegate relationship requires that both users run the same scheduling client. For example, Outlook users can be delegates only for other Outlook users. Outlook users who want to participate in delegate relationships must keep all their primary folders, such as Calendar and Inbox, on the server instead of on their local computers.

Schedule+ 7.x users can designate other users to be their delegate owners. As a delegate owner, a user has all the capabilities of a delegate and can also designate additional delegates for the owner’s schedule. Like Schedule+ 7.x users, Outlook folder owners can enable their delegates to give other users the necessary permission for gaining access to the owner’s folders. However, Outlook does not allow a delegate to designate additional delegates for the owner’s folders. To designate a delegate in Outlook, you must be logged on as the folder (account) owner.

Note   When Outlook is a client for a Microsoft Mail server, Outlook users cannot give other Outlook users access to their folders.

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Using direct booking

Outlook 2000 users with the appropriate permission can use the direct booking feature to book appointments directly into an Outlook or Schedule+ Calendar. However, Schedule+ 1.0 and Schedule+ 7.x users cannot book appointments directly into Outlook 2000 Calendars.

With direct booking, no meeting request is actually sent to a user or resource such as a conference room. The client software of the meeting organizer adds the meeting directly to the resource calendar. If the direct booking fails for an Outlook 2000 user, the user is informed, and no meeting request is sent. If the direct booking fails for a Schedule+ user, a meeting request is sent. If no one responds to the meeting request, the resource is not booked.

Because a directly booked resource is unlikely to receive many meeting requests, you are not required to assign a delegate to the resource or to have a continuously running computer logged into the account of the resource to process incoming meeting requests. However, if a user sends a meeting request to the resource instead of booking an appointment, the meeting request is not noticed until a user logs on to the account of the resource. With appropriate permission, an Outlook user can open the Calendar of a resource and modify it directly — if necessary.

Note   A Schedule+ user can read the calendar of an Outlook user, but cannot add to it or edit it — regardless of the permissions that the Outlook user grants.

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Working with tasks

Outlook 2000 gives users new task features that are not available in Schedule+ 7.x or Schedule+ 1.0. For example, Outlook provides additional views for task items, making it easier for users to manage tasks in a way that best suits their needs. Also, Outlook enables users to delegate tasks to other users. When Outlook users delegate a task to other Outlook users, all of the task information (such as start date, end date, and status) is sent as a special task request message to the recipients, who can add it to their own task lists automatically.

After Outlook 2000 is installed, users can import their Schedule+ 7.x or Schedule+ 1.0 task data at any time by using the Import and Export command on the Outlook File menu. By default, Outlook imports Schedule+ task information into the Outlook Tasks folder. Users can choose to ignore or replace any duplicate entries encountered during the import process.

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Working with contacts

Outlook 2000 provides a Contacts feature that helps users keep their business and personal contact information up to date. Although Schedule+ 7.x includes some contact features, many of the Outlook contact management enhancements, such as additional contact views, are not available in Schedule+ 7.x.

The enhanced Contacts feature enables Outlook users to include e-mail addresses with their contacts. Outlook users can import all Schedule+ 7.x contacts, as well as contacts stored in Microsoft Exchange Client personal address books (PABs). In addition, Outlook users can maintain contacts as their personal e-mail address books, so they do not need to maintain contact names and e-mail addresses in two separate places.

After installing Outlook 2000, users can import their Schedule+ contact data at any time by using the Import and Export command on the Outlook File menu. By default, Outlook imports Schedule+ contact information into the Outlook Contacts folder. Users can choose to ignore or replace any duplicate entries encountered during the import process. The Outlook Import Wizard also imports Microsoft Exchange Client PABs.

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Using the Outlook driver for Schedule+

By using the Outlook driver for Schedule+ 7.x, Schedule+ users can open an Outlook Calendar from Schedule+, and they can view Outlook free/busy details. The Schedule+ users must have at least read-only permission for the calendars of the Outlook users, and the calendars must be stored on a Microsoft Exchange Server. Outlook users with the appropriate permission can open the calendars of Schedule+ 7.x users, and they can view the free/busy details of Schedule+ 7.x users — without using a special driver.

The Outlook driver for Schedule+ has 16-bit and 32-bit versions (no Macintosh version is available). Both the Schedule+ and Outlook users must be running Microsoft Exchange Server. The 16-bit driver is available only with the Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 CD-ROM, and the 32-bit driver is available with the Microsoft Exchange Server 5.0 and 5.5 CD-ROMs.