Like every evolution of Outlook, Outlook 2007 expands
on the collaborative tools available to the end user when connecting to
an Exchange server. This section covers many of these collaborative
tools and new collaborative features available in the Outlook 2007
client.
Viewing Shared Calendars in Multiple Panes
Tracking
appointments and setting meetings have quickly become high priorities
for employees in today’s business world. To simplify these types of
functions, Outlook 2007 allows a user to view multiple Exchange Server
calendars in a shared pane. In previous versions of Outlook, an
additional calendar would be opened in a new window. In Outlook 2007, if
a user has configured their calendar with View rights, other users can
view those calendars as well as their own at the same time lined up side
by side to view or compare them.
To open additional calendars, perform the following steps:
1. | Choose File, Open, Other User’s Folder.
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2. | Choose
the name of the user and select Folder Type: Calendar. The calendar
opens in the main window and automatically removes the mailbox owner’s
calendar.
New to Outlook 2007 is a prompt to allow a user to request access
to a calendar to which they don’t currently have access.
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3. | To
view both your own calendar and the additional calendar, look at the
left pane. There is an area under the monthly calendar that provides
check boxes for what calendars the end user wants to view. This is split
into My Calendars and Peoples Calendars. Check the My Calendar check
box and another check box to view both your own calendar and an
additional calendar.
Tip
When viewing multiple
calendars, keep in mind that each additional calendar is shown in a
different color; also note that the corresponding check box on the left
is seen in the same color.
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4. | Continue to add the desired calendars, and click on the check boxes to remove or add calendars to the view.
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5. | When you are finished, click the My Calendar check box and deselect all the additional calendars.
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Tip
When
in the Calendar view, you can click the Open a Shared Calendar
hyperlink and you will be prompted to enter the name of the user whose
calendar you want to view. Enter the name of the calendar to open and
click OK. This automatically shows both the mailbox owner’s calendar and
the new calendar(s).
Enabling Calendar Sharing in Outlook 2007
By default, the full
details of a user’s calendar are not shared. Other users in the
organization have the ability to view free/busy information, but that is
all. If the calendar owner wants to allow others to view the full
details of their calendar, or to write to their calendar, the default
permissions must be modified.
To enable the mailbox owner’s calendar to be shared, follow these steps:
1. | From
the Folder List view, right-click Calendar in the navigation pane (if
you don’t see Calendar in the list, click the Folder List icon at the
bottom of the navigation pane).
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2. | Click Change Sharing Permissions.
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3. | From the Calendar Properties page, on the Permissions tab, click Add.
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4. | Browse or enter the name of the user who will get access to the calendar, and click Add.
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5. | Click OK when the users have been added.
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6. | The
user must now specify what permissions are to be granted. Outlook
provides predefined roles for permissions that appear in the Permission
Level box. Clicking the drop-down menu and choosing a predefined
permission level shows what permissions are being granted, making it
easy to choose the desired permissions. To create a unique set of
permissions, choose an initial permission level and then check the boxes
and radio buttons to assign the unique permissions, as shown in Figure 1.
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7. | Click
OK when finished. The user(s) specified will have those rights to the
end user’s calendar until the end user specifically removes them by
going through the same process mentioned, and then clicking on the user
or group with permissions to the calendar and choosing Remove.
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Note
When you grant
another user Read access to your calendar, they will be able to read
your calendar entries. They will not, however, be able to read calendar
items that are marked as Private.
Sharing Other Personal Information
Outlook 2007 allows
users to share their personal information (such as the Inbox, contacts,
and tasks) with other users. This is done via the same method listed
previously with the difference being that the permissions are set for
the Inbox, Contacts, or Tasks folders.
To enable Inbox sharing, for example, follow these steps:
1. | Right-click on the Inbox in the Folder view.
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2. | Choose Change Sharing Permissions.
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3. | Add the users or groups and set their permissions as described previously in the “Enabling Calendar Sharing in Outlook 2007” section.
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Delegating Rights to Send Email “On Behalf Of” Another User
In some situations, such as
when a user has an administrative assistant, they might want to give
someone the ability to send messages or meeting requests on their
behalf. This results in a message that will come from “user B on behalf
of user A.” To enable a user to send email on someone else’s behalf,
follow these steps:
1. | Go to Tools, Options, and select the Delegates tab.
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2. | Click Add.
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3. | Add the name of the user or group that needs the rights.
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4. | When finished, click OK.
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5. | Choose the permission level for each component of Outlook.
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6. | If desired, select Automatically Send a Message to the Delegate Summarizing These Permissions.
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7. | If desired, select Delegate Can See My Private Items.
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8. | Click OK when finished.
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9. | From the Options page, select how meeting requests should be delivered. The available options are shown in Figure 2.
The default setting for the delivery of meeting requests is “My
delegates only, but send a copy of meeting requests and responses to
me.” This is the recommended setting.
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Note
Although Outlook does
not have a predefined maximum number of delegates that can be assigned,
Microsoft performed its tests with a maximum of four delegates. Best
practices recommend that users assign only one other user with Editor
Permissions. Adding additional editors is a common cause of
unpredictable behavior with meetings and appointments in Outlook.
