It Tips – August 2012
Can you believe it’s already August? 2012 will be in the rear view mirror before we know it.
This month I have for you a “special edition” tip. I’m going to cover a lot of information, and as usual, it will be a wild ride.
In an attempt to make this copious tip easier to revisit, I have hyperlinked the topics in the “What’s Inside” section. That way you can simply click the items below and you will jump to the chosen topic.
Enjoy!
What’s Inside:
Tech Section
o Search
This is big. I mean this is bigger than The Beatles. We have made the quantum leap from Exchange 2003 to Exchange 2010. I know; it’s ok if you’re weeping. I’m still shaking, myself.
I’m not weeping and why are you shaking?
Upgrading from Exchange 2003 to 2010 was an enormous undertaking. Bill spent countless hours working (and not sleeping) to make this upgrade happen. The changes may not be immediately apparent, but I assure you that this upgrade is HUUUGE!
Let me outline the new features Exchange 2010 brings to the table.
Many of you have used ‘webmail’ to access your email without Outlook. Let me tell you something: you ain’t seen nothing yet.
Pardon the poor grammar of Bachman–Turner Overdrive’s classic hook, but the Exchange 2010 webmail is vastly superior to 2003. It’s built to function more like an application and less like a webpage.
While the old webmail was adequate for checking email in a pinch, one could argue that the OWA is capable of replacing Outlook altogether. It’s that good.
Stick around for a full overview of the new webmail. You’re in for a treat.
Outlook anywhere
For the remote users, Outlook 2010 introduces a convenient new feature called ‘Outlook Anywhere’. Put simply, Outlook Anywhere allows you to open Outlook and connect to Exchange without first connecting to the VPN. Of course, this only applies to your company-issued laptop with Outlook installed.
This feature is very handy for those situations where you need to just shoot off a few quick emails and not access other network resources. Keep in mind that this only applies to Outlook. All other network resources, such as CRM, OLO and your shared drives, will still require an active VPN connection.
Out of office
The out of office assistant has been redesigned for 2010. You may have already noticed that the out of office assistant window looks different since the upgrade.
There are two main improvements:
1. You can now easily set a start and end date for your Out of office! That means no more forgetting to turn your out of office on right before you leave.
2. You will also see there are two tabs on the out of office assistant window. This is a very interesting new feature which allows you to have a separate message for people outside the company!
Active Sync
Last but not least is ActiveSync 2010. ActiveSync is the protocol used by Exchange to connect with mobile devices (such as iPhones). We were using the ActiveSync protocol before. However, the 2003 version was very antiquated. The devices we’re using were designed MUCH later than 2003 so you can see how there would be problems.
Not anymore! The new ActiveSync is designed for these new iOS devices so we should see much better performance and fewer issues.
Outlook Web App (webmail)
Like Abraham Lincoln, I can never tell a lie. When I said, “you’re in for a treat”, I meant it. We’re about to dive head-first into the oh-so-sweet new webmail!
For those of you saying, “slow down, Keith. What the heck is webmail, anyway?” let me explain. Webmail is a tool used to access your email from any computer or device connected to the internet. You simply visit the secure webmail URL, log in with your normal network username/password and before you know it, you’re looking at your inbox. It’s that simple.
First and foremost, the address (URL) to access webmail is: https://email.janeiredale.com/owa
Once you have loaded the webmail page, you will see the login screen.
From here you have two security choices:
1. This is a public or shared computer
2. This is a private computer
If you click on ‘show explanation’ you will see what the options do.
To keep it simple: only use the ‘This is a private computer’ option if you’re 100% sure that it’s a secure location and no one else may hop on if you step away.
Now that we’ve selected the security choice, enter your Iredale username & password and click the ‘Sign in’ button.
Once you have logged in, you will see a webpage that looks quite a bit like Outlook!
This is where the fun begins! OWA retains a familiar Outlook layout with folder navigation on the left, message navigation in the center, and the preview pane on the right.
Please note: The old webmail was almost useless if you used any web browser other than Internet Explorer. The new webmail functions much better with other browsers (Safari, Firefox etc...), however, it may look a little different. The most accurate webmail experience will still be achieved with Internet Explorer but it works fine in many other browsers.
Much of the interface is intuitive and self explanatory, but let’s go over some key features.
Much of the interface is intuitive and self explanatory, but let’s go over some key features.
Again, like Outlook, click on the ‘New’ button and you’ll see a familiar blank email window.
While composing (or replying, forwarding etc…) an email you will see a variety of icons across the top. You can mouse over each icon and a small description will appear. They’re all pretty self explanatory. However, the ‘Check names’ button is noteworthy.
Check names allows you to type the name of someone in your contacts or the global address list (IMC company list) and then grab their email address without even opening the address book.
Simply enter the name of the desired person (or persons) and click the check names button. You should see their name turn blue with an underline. This means their email address has been successfully retrieved.
You can now compose your message and send it off!
OWA now allows you to personalize your experience like never before.
You can change the ‘Theme’ of your webmail in the options menu. Simply click on Options on the top right, and choose the theme that tickles your fancy. Each theme will give you a different banner and colors.
There are many themes to choose from. You can cycle through the different themes by using the arrow on the left and right of the Theme thumbnails.
The new OWA also gives you the ability to resize the width of your panes. Click and drag the border of each pane left or right to change its size.
Like handsome and charming IT Support Techs, unique right-click functionality is something you rarely see on a webpage.
Most web pages use the menu from your web browser when you right click an object and it’s usually not a big deal. However, when the webpage you’re looking at is your email, it is convenient to have right-click menus tailored to your content. Microsoft has done just that.
You can right click on most of the objects you would in Outlook. For example, you can right click on your inbox to create new folders.
 | |
| Notice my geeky green theme |
You can right click on your messages to reply, forward or add them to junk!
Special right click functionality was also added for names/addresses listed in the ‘to’, ‘from’, ‘cc’ and ‘bcc’ fields.
 |
| Don't worry, Jane. I didn't block you! |
You can right click a name/address and send them a meeting invite or even add them to your Blocked Senders List!
There are many more right-clickable objects in webmail, including calendar and contact items. Play around and relish in the convenience of right clicking!
 |
| The Millennium Falcon can make the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs! (I know parsecs measure distance and not time... Don't spoil my dreams!) |
2010 also provides us with more robust search options. The search is intuitive, and once again, similar to Outlook.
Simply type some keywords in the search field at the top and hit Enter. By default OWA will search your entire mailbox.
If you would like to search a specific folder, click the little triangle next to the search button. You can then choose to search the entire mailbox (default), the folder you’re currently in or the current folder and its subfolders.
Let’s get a bit more granular with our search, shall we?
Clicking the little arrows to the right of the search field will reveal more search options.
The advanced search options allow you to search with a bit more specificity. You can mix and match three search filters:
1. Choose where the system looks for your keywords (message subject, body or both)
2. Specify to (or from) whom the email was addressed
3. Choose the category to which the email was associated, if any
Checking the box next to each filter activates it.
Give the OWA search a try; you might be surprised at the speed and accuracy it provides.
Have you finally let your hair down on vacation only to realize you didn’t set your out of office? Are you feeling under the weather and can’t make it to the office? No problem! If you can connect to webmail; you can set your out of office!
First, log into webmail and click ‘Options’ on the top right.
Next, click on ‘Set Automatic Replies…’ You will now be directed to the Automatic Replies (out of office) page of Webmail.
Clicking the ‘Send automatic replies’ radio button will activate the out of office fields and allow you to create your out of office message(s).
Remember when I said you can easily set a start and end date for your out of office? Well, you’re on the right page now. Checking the box next to ‘Send replies only during this time period:’ will allow you to schedule your out of office reply.
You will notice there are two text boxes. The top box is your automatic reply to fellow Iredale employees. The second box, if you choose to use it, is for people outside of the organization.
Checking the box next to ‘Send automatic reply messages to senders outside my organization’ will enable the second text box. As an added feature you can choose whether your external out of office goes to all external senders or just those in your contacts list.
Once you’ve finished crafting your automatic reply, click the ‘Save’ button on the bottom right.
Notice that my message to external senders is different. Pretty neat, huh?
Note: Though they may look slightly different, the out of office features in webmail are the same as Outlook.
Have a great month, everyone!
-Keith
Please don’t hesitate to shoot me an email if you have a something that you think will make a good tip. You’ll get credit on the blog for your contribution and I might give you a high-five!
No comments:
Post a Comment