The Outlook profile file (PRF file) allows you to quickly create MAPI profiles for Outlook users. The PRF file is a text file with syntax that Microsoft Outlook uses to generate a profile. By using a PRF file, you can set up new profiles for users or modify existing profiles without affecting other aspects of your Outlook (or Microsoft Office) installation. You can also manually edit a PRF file to customize Outlook to include services that are not included in the Custom Installation Wizard user interface.

Enhanced PRF file features in Outlook 2002

Outlook 2002 improves PRF file functionality and processing by including an enhanced file format, new options for specifying additional services, and better verification for account settings.

The Outlook 2002 PRF file format combines the features included in the two previous PRF file formats. One format was designed for the Outlook tool Newprof.exe. The second format worked with the Modprof.exe tool for Outlook 2000.

In addition, with the Outlook 2002 PRF file, you can specify services to remove from Outlook profiles, or to define new services to add.

In addition to file format changes, Outlook 2002 improves PRF file processing in these ways:

• Outlook 2002 PRF files are now executable, so you can update profiles by double-clicking the file name to run the file directly.
• When Outlook processes the PRF file, Outlook verifies that services that should be unique are not added more than once, and that services that cannot be duplicated have unique account names.

Most MAPI services can be added only once to a profile. The exceptions to this rule include providers for POP, IMAP, PST (personal store folder), and LDAP.

Using Outlook 98 and Outlook 2000 PRF files

You may already have a PRF file from an earlier version of Outlook that you want to update and use with Outlook 2002. If you have a PRF file from Outlook 98 or Outlook 2000 that includes Corporate or Workgroup settings only, you can import the file into the Custom Installation Wizard to specify profile settings for your transform.

If your earlier PRF file specifies Internet Only settings, create a new PRF file using the Custom Installation Wizard, then export the settings to a PRF file. The new PRF file can now be used to configure profile settings in your transform, or used to customize Outlook profiles through other methods (such as starting the file directly on a user's computer).

Creating and updating PRF files

To create an Outlook 2002 PRF file, you can configure profile settings in the Custom Installation Wizard, and then export the settings to a PRF file. This process creates a new Outlook 2002 PRF file with your specifications.

You can also specify profile settings by editing an existing PRF file manually using a text editor. This existing PRF file might be one that you created by using the Custom Installation Wizard, or a PRF file from a previous version of Outlook.

Creating PRF files in the Custom Installation Wizard

A straightforward way to create a PRF file with Outlook 2002 profile settings is to customize the settings in the Custom Installation Wizard, and then export the settings to a PRF file.

To create a PRF file in the Custom Installation Wizard

1. In the Custom Installation Wizard, on the Outlook: Customize Default Profile page, select how you want to customize profiles for your users.

   To specify settings to be included in a PRF file, choose Modify Profile or New Profile, then click Next.

2. On the next three pages, customize profile information such as configuring Exchange server connections and adding accounts.
3. On the Outlook: Remove Accounts and Export Settings page, click Export Profile Settings, then when prompted, enter (or browse to) a file name and location.

Manually editing PRF files

If your organization requires special modifications to Outlook profiles — for example, if you want to add a new service that is not included in the Custom Installation Wizard — you can edit the PRF file. Use a text editor such as Notepad to edit your older PRF file, or a new PRF file created with the Custom Installation Wizard. Make your changes or additions, and then save the file.

The main functional areas in the Outlook 2002 PRF file include:

• A section specifying actions to take, such as creating new profiles, modifying existing profiles, overwriting existing profiles, and so on.
• Sections with organization-specific customizations, including server names, configurations to deploy, and so on.
• Sections that map information specified in earlier parts of the file to registry key settings.

The PRF file includes detailed comments for each section, describing existing settings and options for modifying the file with your updates. The file includes seven sections:

• Section 1: Profile defaults
• Section 2: A list of MAPI services to be added to the profile.
• Section 3: A list of Internet accounts to be created.
• Section 4: Default values for each service.
• Section 5: Settings values for each Internet account.
• Section 6: Mapping for profile properties.
• Section 7: Mapping for Internet account properties.

To allow each service definition to be customized individually, default variables and values in Section 4 can be duplicated under the separate headings (Service1, Service2, and so on) for each service in the profile. Section 6 also groups variables under each service definition, so, for example, some services can be defined as unique (UniqueService is Yes) while others are not (UniqueService is No).

You typically do not modify existing entries in sections 6 and 7. These sections define mappings for information defined elsewhere in the file to registry key settings. However, if you define new services in the PRF file, you must add the appropriate mappings for those services to sections 6 and 7.

The following table lists accounts that are unique, and how Outlook determines if a new account of the same type can be added. Keep this information in mind when you add providers in the PRF file. Outlook verifies that unique services are not added more than once, and that other services do not collide (for example, that all POP accounts have unique names).

Configuring Outlook user profiles by using a PRF file

You can use a PRF file in several ways to update Outlook 2002 profiles:

• Import the PRF file in the Custom Installation Wizard or Custom Maintenance Wizard to specify profile settings in a transform, and then include the transform when you deploy or update Outlook.
• Specify the PRF file as a command-line option for Outlook.exe. For example:

  outlook.exe /importprf 
  \\server1\share\outlook.prf
  

• Launch the PRF file directly on users' computers by double-clicking the file.
• Configure the registry to trigger Outlook to import the PRF file when Outlook starts up. You can use the Add/Remove Registry Entries page in Custom Installation Wizard or the Custom Maintenance Wizard to deploy these registry key options to your users. You can also use the wizards to distribute the PRF file to users by using the Add/Remove Files page.
  1. Delete the following registry key value : HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Outlook\Setup\First-Run.
  2. In the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Outlook\Setup subkey, set the value of ImportPRF to a string value that specifies the name and path of the PRF file. For example, set ImportPRF to \\server1\share\outlook.prf.

See also

For more information about customizing Outlook profiles by using the Custom Installation Wizard, see Customizing an Outlook Installation.