November 18, 1999

In Microsoft Outlook® 2000, a user profile stores information about the user’s electronic mail (e-mail) servers, Outlook information store (on the server or in a local file), and other settings. Configuring user profile information correctly is essential to sending and receiving e-mail properly.

Outlook 2000 can use existing profiles for users upgrading from a previous version of Outlook. For new Outlook users, however, you must create a new user profile. There are three ways you can create profiles for Outlook users during installation:

• Add Outlook profile information to a transform (MST file) by using the Custom Installation Wizard.
• Create an Outlook profile preference (PRF) file and add it to your installation.
• Create a batch file that calls the New Profile (Newprof.exe) or Modify Profile (Modprof.exe) utility to generate a new profile.

  Use Newprof.exe to create new profiles for Outlook users. Use Modprof.exe to update or replace existing Outlook profiles.

Toolbox    The Office Resource Kit includes Modprof.exe and a sample PRF file to use with NewProf.exe. (Newprof.exe is installed with Outlook 2000.) To install Modprof.exe, download Outlook administration tools from the Office Resource Kit Toolbox. You can find this downloadable file on the Office 2000 Resource Kit Downloads page.

Adding profile information to a transform

If a user does not already have an Outlook profile on the computer, you can specify Outlook 2000 configuration information in the Custom Installation Wizard. In this scenario, Newprof.exe runs automatically during installation and uses the information in the transform to create a user profile.

To add Outlook profile information to a transform

1. Start the Custom Installation Wizard.
2. On the Customize Outlook Installation Options panel, click Customize Outlook profile and account information.
3. In the Configuration type box, select Internet Only or Corporate/Workgroup.
4. Customize the profile by clicking a setting in the left pane, and then entering the value you want to use in the right pane.

   For example, under Corporate/Workgroup, click Services List in the left pane, and then select the services you want use (such as Microsoft Exchange Server and Personal Folders) in the right pane.

Creating an Outlook PRF file

You can also create an Outlook PRF file to set the options you want in users’ profiles. Newprof.exe creates a new user profile for each user based on the configuration information specified in this file.

Open the sample Outlook.prf file in a text editor, such a Notepad. Edit the information in sections 1 – 5 to create the configuration you want. The examples and comments in the sample PRF file provide guidance. Then include the PRF file in your Office installation.

To add a PRF file to a transform

1. Start the Custom Installation Wizard.
2. On the Add Files to the Installation panel, click Add.
3. Select the PRF file and click Add.

Note   If you specify different profile configuration settings in the transform (MST file) and the Outlook.prf file, the settings in the transform take precedence.

Using environment variables in PRF files

You can use environment variables to create one PRF file that can be run for multiple users. For example, if you use the $USERNAME$ environment variable for the Microsoft Exchange server user name, the variable is replaced at run time with the user name on each computer on which Setup runs.

This option is most practical when you deploy to computers that are running Microsoft Windows NT®. (On Windows® 95/98, you must set variables such as the user name on each computer.)

To see a list of all environment variables and their values, type the following command at a DOS prompt:

C:\> set

Note that if you leave the user name blank in the PRF file, each user is prompted to enter a value when Outlook starts.

Creating profiles by using a batch file

To create profiles by using a batch file, you call Newprof.exe in the batch file, and then include the batch file in the list of programs to run in the Custom Installation Wizard.

Note   If some users already have Outlook profiles, use the Modprof.exe utility instead to ensure that all users have the same configuration information, regardless of existing profiles.

In this scenario, you create a custom Outlook PRF file to specify the configuration you want for users’ profiles. After creating the PRF file, include the appropriate command line in your batch file. For example:

C:\Program Files\Windows Messaging\Newprof -p filename.prf

If you want to replace existing profiles, call Modprof.exe in the batch file. For example:

C:\Program Files\Windows Messaging\Modprof -p filename.prf

The following command-line options can be helpful when you test your PRF file.

You can make the PRF file accessible to Newprof.exe in two ways:

• Include the PRF file in your transform by using the Custom Installation Wizard.
• Place the PRF file on a server and use the full path name to the file on the command line when you call Newprof.exe.

After you create a properly working batch file, add the batch file to the Add Installations and Run Programs panel of the Custom Installation Wizard.

To add a batch file to your transform

1. Start the Custom Installation Wizard.
2. On the Add Installations and Run Programs panel, click Add, and type the path and name of the batch file.

Related links

For more information about working with Outlook user profiles and using the Newprof.exe utility, see Configuring Outlook Profile Settings.

For more information about Setup options, including how conflicting settings are resolved and which settings takes precedence over others, see Modifying Setup Options in the Office 2000 Resource Kit.