Outlook Web Access
Introduction

OWA Intro   Logging in   Reading E-mail   Writing E-mail
Calendar   Contacts   Public Folders   Options

This page addresses the following topics in turn:

• Outlook Web Access Overview
• Exchange Folders
  • Working with Folders
  • Creating and Deleting Folders
  • Move/Copy Folders
• The Outlook Bar
• Shortcuts
• The Folders Tab
• Toolbars
• The Folder Bar

Outlook Web Access Overview

With Microsoft Outlook Web Access you can use a Web browser to work with data stored on a remote Microsoft Exchange Server computer. The browser can run on any Unix, Macintosh, or Microsoft Windows-based computer, and can provide Web-based access to public folders and the CIE's Address Book. You can also access your personal mailbox to read e-mail, send messages, organize contacts, and schedule appointments.

In Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server, Outlook Web Access has the capability to send voice and video messages as well. For more information, see Multimedia.

IMPORTANT  After you finish using Outlook Web Access, be sure to close Internet Explorer. If you do not close Internet Explorer, there is no guarantee that your session is closed.

Languages

Upon installation, Exchange 2000 supports multiple languages. To change the default language of your Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 Web browser:

1. In Internet Explorer, under the Tools menu, select Internet Options, and then click Languages.
2. If necessary, to add a language to the list of available languages, in Language Preference, click Add. If you are unsure about support for your language, contact a CIE administrator about extended language support.
3. To move a language to the top of the list, select the language, and then click Move Up.

Common Error Messages

Outlook Web Access uses Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) to display Exchange mailbox information in a Web browser. The following are some explanations for common HTTP error messages that may occur while using Outlook Web Access:

Exchange Folders

For a summary of your private Exchange mailbox folders, at the bottom of the Outlook Bar, click the Folders tab. These private Exchange mailbox folders include your Calendar, Contacts, Deleted Items, Drafts, Inbox, Journal, Notes, Outbox, Sent Items, and Tasks.

The Public Folders node is beneath your private folders. Click the plus sign [+] beside Public Folders to see all of the public folders available in the CIE.  

Each item in the folder list links to that folder or to a particular Outlook Web Access function. Clicking Calendar, for example, will call up the Outlook Web Access Calendar, with all appointments and meetings contained therein, while clicking on the Sent Items folder will access all the messages you have sent.

Working with Folders

Your Exchange mailbox contains folders with specific functions for handling your e-mail messages. These folders include Deleted Items, Drafts, Inbox, Outbox, and Sent Items.

You can create additional folders to organize messages into different categories, like "Urgent" or "Personal," or you can organize messages by a particular project. Outlook Web Access allows you to delete folders, and to move and copy existing folders to suit your needs.

To display the contents of a folder, click the folder. All the items in that folder will be listed in the main Outlook Web Access display area.

Default E-mail Folders

Outlook Web Access provides the following default e-mail folders:

Deleted Items	This folder stores messages that you delete. You can view deleted messages in the Deleted Items folder. Once you delete a message from this folder, it will be permanently removed from your mailbox.
Drafts	This folder stores messages you decide to save. You can save messages that you want to finish or send at a later time.
Inbox	This folder stores newly received e-mail. New e-mail messages are displayed in bold type.
Outbox	This folder stores e-mail until it is sent.
Sent Items	This folder stores a copy of each message that has been sent.

Personal Folders

In addition to your default e-mail folders, the following folders are provided for your personal use. Through Outlook Web Access, you will be able to view these items only.

Journal	Through Outlook Web Access, you can view your Outlook Journal items from a remote location.
Notes	This folder accesses your Outlook Notes.
Tasks	This folder provides access to your Outlook tasks.

Creating and Deleting Folders

By default, messages sent to you are stored in your Inbox. However, you can organize your messages, into a hierarchical folder system, and continue to adjust it as your needs change. For example, you can have a folder called "My Team," with subfolders for each person on your team. When someone leaves your team, you can delete that person's folder. If someone moves to another team, you can move the folder to that team's folder.

The folders you create can reside at the same level as your default folders (Inbox, Sent Items, and so on), or you can build a personal folder hierarchy by creating subfolders within any existing e-mail folder. This means you can create subfolders within a folder such as your Inbox, or within a folder that you created.

Tip  You can also rename a folder. To do so, right-click the folder in the Outlook Bar, and then click Rename.

Creating a Folder

To create a new folder:

1. To display your private and public folders, on the Outlook Bar, click the Folders tab.
2. Right-click any folder in the Outlook Bar, and then click New Folder.
   

   Tips  Though not required, you should use the folder that will contain your new folder. If you are making a new subfolder for a parent folder, then right-click on the parent folder. You can also create a new folder from anywhere in Outlook Web Access by selecting Folder from the New drop-down menu, on the main toolbar.

3. In the Create New Folder dialog box, type in a name for the new folder.
4. In the Folder contains drop-down menu, select the type of items this folder will contain. Your selection will determine which form (Contact, Calendar, mail message, and so on) Outlook Web Access will use to display this folder.
5. In the listing of folders, select where you want the new folder to reside. If the new folder is to be a subfolder of Inbox, for example, click Inbox. If the new folder is to be at the top level of the folder hierarchy, click the first listing (your user name).
6. Click OK. To cancel the operation, click Cancel.

Deleting a Folder

To delete a folder:

1. To display your private and public folders, on the Outlook Bar, click the Folders tab.
2. Right-click the folder you want to delete, and then click Delete.
3. A confirmation window will ask if you want to delete the current folder. Click OK.

Note  When you delete a folder it will be moved to the Deleted Items folder. The folder will not be permanently removed until it is deleted from Deleted Items.

Moving/Copying Folders

Outlook Web Access allows you to move and copy folders between other folders. This helps you create and organize your folder hierarchies.

Note  You can not move or copy items between public folders and your private Exchange folders. For example, you can not move or copy a public folder into your Inbox or Calendar. Also, if your public folders are spread out over several servers in the CIE, it may not be possible to move or copy items between those folders.

To move or copy a folder:

1. To display your private and public folders, on the Outlook Bar, click the Folders tab.
2. On the Outlook Bar, right-click the folder you want to move or copy, and then click Move or Copy.
3. In the Move/Copy Item dialog box, click the destination folder, and then click OK.

Tip  You can also move or copy folders by dragging and dropping them with your mouse. To move a folder, click on it with your mouse, drag it to the destination folder on the Outlook Bar, and then release your mouse button. To copy a folder, press the CTRL key, and then click on the folder with your mouse. Pressing CTRL, drag the folder to the destination folder on the Outlook Bar. Release your mouse button.

It is also possible to move or copy an existing folder to a newly created folder.

To move or copy a folder to a new folder:

1. In the Outlook Bar, right-click the folder you want to move or copy, and then click Move or Copy.
2. In the Move/Copy Item dialog box, click New.
3. In the Create New Folder dialog box, type a name for your new destination folder.
4. In the Folder Contains drop-down menu, select the appropriate item for your new folder, and then click OK.
5. In the Move/Copy Items dialog box, select the new folder, and then click OK.
   

The Outlook Bar

The Outlook Bar, located to the left of the main folder viewer, offers a number of shortcuts to your personal folders, as well as a listing of your private and public folders. The two views available in the Outlook Bar are Shortcuts and Folders. You can switch between the two views by clicking the tabs at the top and bottom of the Outlook Bar.

Shortcuts

By default, Outlook Web Access displays the Shortcuts view of the Outlook Bar. Clicking these shortcut icons opens your Inbox, Calendar, and Contacts folders. The other Outlook Bar icon, Options, links you to functions for setting user options and for activating multimedia messaging.

The Folders Tab

The Folders tab displays your personal folders and the CIE's public folders. Folders are displayed in a hierarchy, so that you can expand folders as necessary to view subfolders, or collapse the hierarchy to view only the top-level folders. A plus-sign [+] beside a folder will indicate that there are sub-folders nested within them. To view the next level in the folder hierarchy, click the plus-sign.

When you click on any folder in the Outlook Bar, its contents will be displayed in the Outlook Web Access viewing panel.

Toolbars

There are a number of toolbars in Outlook Web Access to help you perform various tasks. Your Inbox, calendar, contacts, and public folders have their own toolbars, with buttons specific to their function. There are several buttons, however, that are for more general administrative functions, and are available in more than one location. They are described in the following chart:

Help	Click this button for Help specific to the window you are working in.
New	This drop-down menu is available at all times. The option displayed on the button varies, depending on the window you are working in, as does the list of options that displays when you click the down-arrow to the right of the button. Use the Folder option to create a new folder.
Check for New Messages	Click this button to check if you have any new messages. This also refreshes your browser window.
Move/Copy	This button opens the Move/Copy dialog box, which allows you to organize messages or other items in your mailbox. You can move messages from one folder to another, or copy them to a different location.
Delete	Highlight an item in the main Outlook Web Access window, such as a contact, appointment, or message, and then click this button. The item will be moved to the Deleted Items folder.
Empty Deleted Items Folder	This function permanently deletes any item that you have placed in the Deleted Items folder.
Show/Hide Preview Pane	Click this button to activate the Preview Pane, which allows you to view a portion of your messages without opening them.
Address Book	Click this button to open a dialog box that allows you to search the CIE's address list.
View	Use this drop-down menu to choose how items are displayed on the screen. It allows you to sort e-mail messages and contacts by certain characteristics.

Note  To format your e-mail messages with different fonts and colors, use the Formatting Toolbar .

The OWA Folder Bar

The Outlook Web Access Folder Bar displays your current location in the folder hierarchy. It appears below the main toolbar and above the work area.

Besides the current folder, the Folder Bar also displays the names of all folders above it in the hierarchy. The folders are listed left to right, starting with the top-level folder and continuing down as many levels as necessary to the current folder, which is always listed last. The resulting format is Folder: SubFolder: Sub-SubFolder. If you are working in a top-level folder, its name will appear alone in the Folder Bar.

Tip  The folder names are also links. Click the name of any folder in the Folder Bar to navigate to that folder.

Pages

Often a folder will contain more items than can be displayed in a single Outlook Web Access window. To scroll through the contents of a folder, click the Previous Page and Next Page buttons. To navigate directly to a specific folder, in the Page box, type in a page number, and then press ENTER.

1.   Note  New e-mail messages always arrive in the Inbox and are displayed in boldface.
   
2. Double-click the message to open it, or select the message, and then press ENTER.

OWA Intro   Logging in   Reading E-mail   Writing E-mail
Calendar   Contacts   Public Folders   Options

Created:  November 26, 2001
Updated:  December 13, 2001