August 31, 1999

The following new administrative and development tools are now available for Microsoft Outlook® 2000:

• Outlook 2000 Modify Profile Utility
• Outlook TCO Migration Utility
• Outlook 2000 Forms Administrator
• Outlook 2000 Existing Items Converter

Toolbox   The Office Resource Kit includes these new Outlook tools, included in the file Outlook Administration Tools. You can find this downloadable file on the Office 2000 Resource Kit Downloads page.

Outlook 2000 Modify Profile Utility

When your organization adds options for the way users receive, send and store electronic mail messages, you can make the transition more efficient by using the Outlook 2000 Modify Profile Utility to preserve users’ existing Outlook profile information.

For example, if users currently run cc:Mail and you want to add a Microsoft Exchange server, the Modify Profile Utility can preserve user settings stored in existing profiles (such as settings for synchronization or offline storage options) when the new service is added to their profiles.

This tool includes the functionality of another Office 2000 tool named Newprof.exe, but the Modify Profile Utility allows you to modify existing profiles, as well as create new ones.

Outlook TCO Migration Utility

If you deploy Outlook 2000 on a locked down computer—or if you lock down users' computers after deploying Outlook—users do not have access to Outlook files in the Windows folder. To help you deploy Outlook 2000 in this scenario, the TCO Migration Utility moves required Outlook files into folders for which users do have sufficient access permission. You can run the tool before or after the computer is locked down.

You can also use the Outlook TCO Migration Utility to clean up unneeded MAPI files from users' system folders and to remove queued Deferred Action Messages from Microsoft Exchange profiles. These steps can help reduce wasted disk space and Outlook startup delays.

Outlook 2000 Forms Administrator

The Microsoft Outlook 2000 Forms Administrator replaces the form that Outlook 2000 uses to display items of a given message class. When you create a custom form, you can use this tool to specify the message class that the form is intended to display. This step is particularly useful when you replace the form used to display incoming mail messages.

The Forms Administrator sets a Windows registry entry that Outlook 2000 uses to map a standard message class to the message class of a custom form. Outlook uses this custom message class to display items mapped to the standard message class. This setting allows you to change the form used to display both new and existing items without changing the message class of those items.

Outlook 2000 Existing Items Converter

The Microsoft Outlook 2000 Existing Items Converter replaces the form used to display items in an Outlook folder. By using the Existing Items Converter, you can identify all items in a folder that have a given message class and assign them to a new message class. The items are then displayed with your new message class.

For example, when you create a custom form for a folder and you want all the existing items in the folder to use the new form, you can use the Existing Items Converter to switch the message class. To ensure that new items in the folder also use the custom form, you must specify the custom form as the default form on the folder’s property page.

Related links

For information about working with Outlook user profiles and using Newprof.exe, see Configuring Outlook Profile Settings in the Office 2000 Resource Kit.