Sun Java System Connector for Microsoft Outlook 6.0 Release Notes |
Sun Java System Connector
for Microsoft Outlook 6.0 Release NotesVersion 6.0
Part Number 817-4217-10
February 2004
Last updated: January 30, 2004
These release notes contain important information available at the time of release of Version 6.0 of Sun Java System Connector for Microsoft Outlook (also referred to as Connector for Microsoft Outlook). New features and enhancements, known limitations and problems, technical notes, and other information are addressed here. Read this document before you begin using Sun Java System Connector for Microsoft Outlook 6.0.
The most up-to-date version of these release notes can be found at: http://docs.sun.com/coll/ConnectorMSO_60. Check the web site prior to installing and setting up your software and then periodically thereafter to view the most up-to-date release notes and manuals.
These release notes contain the following sections:
About Sun Java System Connector
for Microsoft Outlook, Version 6.0Sun Java System Connector for Microsoft Outlook enables Outlook to be used as a desktop client with Sun Java Enterprise System.
Connector for Microsoft Outlook is an Outlook plug-in that must be installed on the end-user’s desktop. Connector for Microsoft Outlook queries the Sun Java System Messaging Server (formerly known as Sun ONE Messaging Server) for folder hierarchies and email messages. It converts the information into Messaging API (MAPI) properties that Outlook can display. Similarly, it uses WCAP to query the Sun Java System Calendar Server (formerly known as Sun ONE Calendar Server) for events and tasks which are then converted into MAPI properties. With this model, Sun Java System Connector for Microsoft Outlook builds an end-user Outlook view from two separate information sources: mail from Messaging Server and calendar information from Calendar Server.
Key Features in Sun Java System Connector
for Microsoft Outlook, Version 6.0The following key features and functionality are available with this release:
- Access to Sun Java System Messaging Server, and Sun Java System Calendar Server.
- Access to e-mail folders on the Messaging Server via IMAP4.
- Access to calendar data (events, appointments) and tasks stored in the Calendar Server via WCAP.
- Access to corporate directory via LDAP.
- Access to contacts stored in local Contacts folder.
- Typical Outlook mail features:
- Share mail folders with one or more users.
- Subscribe to other users’ mail folders.
- Typical calendar features:
- E-mail based group scheduling.
- Share calendar with other users and set specific permissions for shared calendars.
- Subscribe to other users’ calendars.
- Delegate calendar access to others.
- Typical task-related functionality (new task, modify task).
- Client-side rules attached to folders and data types
- Desktop-only access to notes and journal.
- Read-only offline access to mail and calendar.
- Interoperability with web client (Calendar Express and Messenger Express).
System RequirementsThe following describes the system requirements and recommendations for Sun Java System Connector for Microsoft Outlook.
- Operating systems:
- Microsoft Outlook versions:
- Sun Java System Calendar Server Version 6.0
- Sun Java System Messaging Server 6.0
Note
Both Calendar Server and Messaging Server are installed via Sun Java Enterprise System. You can download Sun Java Enterprise System from: http://wwws.sun.com/software/download/java_system.html.
- Web Publishing Wizard (required for Outlook 2000 only)
If you are using Windows 2000, check for the Wpwiz.exe program file to determine if you have the Web Publishing Wizard installed on your computer. For example, if your programs are installed on your C drive, check the following location:
C:\Program Files\Web Publish\Wpwiz.exe
Or, search for the Wpwiz.exe file using the Find or Search command from the Start button.
If you don’t have the Web Publishing Wizard on your Windows 2000 computer, you can download this from:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/release.asp?ReleaseID=22658&area=search&ordinal=2
To install, the administrator can copy the entire Microsoft Office/Outlook CD and put in a network drive. Enter the location in the Desktop Deployment program. The end user installation picks up and installs the LDAP service from the specified location. For more information, see “Desktop Deployment Toolkit Components” in the Sun Java System Connector for Microsoft Outlook Desktop Deployment Administrator’s Guide.
Installation and Configuration NotesConnector for Microsoft Outlook is an Outlook plug-in that requires installation on the end users’ desktop. A deployment and configuration program is provided to aid the organization in deploying Connector for Microsoft Outlook.
The installation and deployment is a three-step process:
The Connector for Microsoft Outlook packages ships an installer for the administrator package. The system administrator should prepare a special installation package called the Setup Wizard for the end user. The Setup Wizard installs and configures the Connector for Microsoft Outlook software on your desktop. This installation package is designed to simplify and automate the installation process.
For installation, configuration, and deployment instructions please see the following:
- Sun Java System Connector for Microsoft Outlook Desktop Installation Guide—Describes how to install the administrator package.
- Sun Java System Connector for Microsoft Outlook Desktop Deployment Administrator’s Guide—Describes how to create an installation package for the end user.
- Sun Java System Connector for Microsoft Outlook Desktop Deployment Configuration Program Reference Manual—Describes the desktop deployment configuration program.
LDAP Attributes
In order for Connector for Microsoft Outlook to function correctly, the following LDAP attributes in the Sun Java System Directory Server should be indexed for at least presence and equality to improve the overall performance:
For more information on these attributes, see Sun ONE Calendar Server Administrator’s Guide and Sun ONE Messaging Server Administrator’s Guide.
Sun Java System Calendar Server 6.0 ConsiderationsSun Java System Calendar Server 6.0 considerations for the Sun Java System Connector for Microsoft Outlook 6.0 release include:
Calendar Server Installation
The latest version of Calendar Server is available at http://www.sun.com/software/product_categories/email_calendar_collaboratoin.html.
It is recommended that customers also install the latest set of patches, which are available at Sun Solve (http://sunsolve.sun.com).
For detailed installation instructions, refer to the Chapter 2, “Installing Calendar Server on Solaris Systems” in the Sun ONE Calendar Server Installation Guide, which is available under Documentation on the same Web site.
Required LDAP mail Attribute
Calendar Server 6.0 (and later) requires users to have the LDAP mail attribute for both user and resource calendars.
For clients to use Microsoft Outlook to schedule resource calendars (for example, for meeting rooms or equipment such as a notebook computer or overhead projector), each resource must have an email address, even though email is not actually needed. The LDAP mail attribute specifies this email address.
You might specifically need to add the LDAP mail attribute as follows:
Existing 5.x Installation. Before you run the cs5migrate migration utility, add the mail attribute to users for both user and resource calendars. To add the mail attribute, use the Calendar Server csattribute utility or a utility such as the Directory Server ldapmodify utility.
New 6.0 Installation. Provision the LDAP mail attribute for existing users for both user and resource calendars using the Calendar Server csattribute utility or a utility such as the Directory Server ldapmodify utility.
If you create new calendars or users after installation, use the required -m email option to specify an email address when you run these Calendar Server utilities:
For related information about csattribute, csresource, and csuser, refer to the Sun ONE Calendar Server 6.0 Administrator's Guide. For related information about ldapmodify utility, refer to the Sun ONE Directory Server Resource Kit Tools Reference.
Example: Adding the email LDAP Attribute to a Resource Calendar
The following example adds the LDAP mail attribute for a conference room named “Room100” on the sesta.com server. This example configures Messaging Server. If you are using another email server, refer to that product’s documentation for the equivalent process.
Example: Setting up the bitbucket Channel for the Resource Email
The following examples set up the bitbucket channel for Messaging Server or the equivalent for Sendmail for the email generated for resource calendars. These examples use a resource named “Room100” on the sesta.com server. If you don’t set up the bitbucket channel (or equivalent), you will need to periodically delete the email messages sent to the resource calendar.
For Messaging Server:
For Sendmail:
Email Alias (mailalternateaddress Attribute)
If you need to setup an email aliases for a calendar user, use the LDAP mailalternateaddress attribute. The LDAP mail attribute provides the primary mail address, and the LDAP mailalternateaddress attribute is used for email aliases. Both attributes map the mail addresses to the user’s calendar ID (calid).
For example, to add the mailalternateaddress attribute for a user named John Smith with these values:
Use these Calendar Server utility commands:
Shared Calendar LDAP Lookup Configuration
If Directory Server requires authentication for the Shared Calendar LDAP lookup then the service.wcap.userprefs.ldapproxyauth parameter must be set in the ics.conf file as follows:
If service.wcap.userprefs.ldapproxyauth is “yes”, you must also set the appropriate LDAP ACI for the calmaster entry. For example, to set the calmaster ACI for proxy authentication for the sesta.com domain, use the ldapmodify tool as follows:
dn: o=sesta.com
changetype: modify
add: aci
aci: (target="ldap:///uid=*,o=sesta.com")(targetattr=*(version3.0;acl"allowAll-calmaster";allow
(all)(userdn="ldap:///uid=calmaster,o=sesta.com");)
aci: (target="ldap///uid=*,o=siroe.com")(targetattr="*")(version3.0;acl"allowproxy-calmaster";al low
(proxy)(userdn="ldap:///uid=*,o=sesta.com");)
Outlook Free-Busy Lookup and SSL
The Microsoft Outlook Free/Busy Lookup option is not supported for users who access Calendar Server in SSL mode. To use both SSL and non-SSL mode for the same Calendar Server instance, users must specify different port numbers, as follows:
- SSL Mode–To access Calendar Server using SSL, use the SSL port. The default port number is “443” and is set in the ics.conf file by this parameter:
service.http.ssl.port = "443"
- Non-SSL Mode–To use the Outlook Free/Busy Lookup option, access Calendar Server using the regular HTTP port. The default port number is “80” and is set in the ics.conf file by this parameter:
service.http.port = "80"
For information about SSL, refer to Chapter 9, “Using SSL With Calendar Server” in the Sun ONE Calendar Server 6.0 Administrator's Guide.
Calendar Server Delete Log Database
Calendar Server 6.0 includes the Delete Log database (ics50deletelog.db) to store deleted events and todos (tasks). For information, refer to Chapter 7, “Managing the Delete Log Database” in the Sun ONE Calendar Server 6.0 Administrator's Guide.
Limitations and IssuesThis section describes the limitations and known issues that exist in this release of Sun Java System Connector for Microsoft Outlook.
Limitations
Some limitations exist in this release of Sun Java System Connector for Microsoft Outlook. The key limitations are:
- Every distinct identity in the Directory Server (for example, users, resources, conference rooms) must have an email address. For more information, see "Required LDAP mail Attribute."
- Arbitrary attachments in calendar events are not stored back in the server.
- Rich text in the appointment and meeting description field is lost once the same calendar event is modified in the Calendar Express client.
- Ability to assign tasks is not available.
- Message recall functionality is not available.
- Description of events is not available when checking availability.
- Only the primary calendar folder is mapped to the server. A user’s other calendar folders are locally stored.
- Journal entries and Notes are stored locally on the desktop.
- Contacts are locally stored.
- Free/Busy lookup does not display TENTATIVE or OUT-OF-OFFICE color coding.
- The properties for Sun Java System Connector for Microsoft Outlook cannot be modified using the Tools->Services option from the Outlook menu. To modify the properties:
- Free/busy lookup using SSL is not supported. See "Outlook Free-Busy Lookup and SSL" for more information.
- When using a Sun Java System profile in Outlook, you cannot receive incoming mail in your personal folders, despite setting the default delivery location to a personal folder. The Connector for Microsoft Outlook IMAP store does not re-route incoming mail to the default Inbox setup in the mail delivery location.
Known Issues
This section describes the known issues at the time of this release of Sun Java System Connector for Microsoft Outlook.
General Issues
- For converting or creating a user profile in silent installation mode, it is mandatory to have a default profile. (4938665)
- Limited offline support. Messages and calendar appointments can be read, but cannot be replied to or forwarded. New appointments and messages that are created while offline are sent when the user switches to the online mode.
- Recurring tasks are not supported.
- Outlook task delegation does not work. A delegated task in the Inbox cannot be opened by the delegatee. To workaround this, the delegatee can move the delegated task from the Mail Folders Inbox to the Folders Inbox. It can then be opened.
Calendar
The following issues relate the calendar portion of Sun Java System Connector for Microsoft Outlook only:
- If delegate accepts or declines an invitation from the organizer’s Shared Inbox, the calendar event is added to delegate’s calendar, but not to the organizer’s calendar.
- In order to view calendar data that is updated between Outlook and Calendar Server, you must go to a folder other than the Calendar folder, and then return to the Calendar folder. The data should appear updated.
- Microsoft TNEF messages are sent when sending calendar attachments. iTIP and iMIP calendar attachments are not supported.
- Changing the calendar view (for example, changing to a day, week, or month view) does not update the calendar data. You must go to a folder other than the Calendar folder, and then return to the Calendar folder. The data should appear updated.
- All Day events may become a non-All Day events (one event scheduled from 12:00am until 12:00pm) if the desktop time zone is different from the Calendar Server calendar time zone.
- When creating an invitation from Outlook, if an error occurs when saving it to Calendar Server, the invitation is still sent by Outlook.
- If a recurring event is created by Outlook with no end date, it will be saved internally in the Calendar Server with a finite number of occurrences. Also, free/busy information is only kept up to the number of occurrences kept in the Calendar Server. For example, if you create a daily recurring event at 10:00 am in Outlook and the Calendar Server only keeps up to 60 repeating events, on day 61 the event still appear on Outlook but the 10:00 am time appears as “free” when calculating availability.
- Changing permissions of a calendar requires restarting Outlook for the new permission setting to take effect for the Calendar folder in the Shared Calendar.
- Tasks displayed in Shared Calendars are the login user’s tasks, not the subscribed user’s tasks. The calendar view always shows the login user’s tasks.
- Even though you cannot create a new folder under Shared Calendars, you can still drag and drop an existing folder into it.
- If you create a recurring invitation in Outlook, but delete a single instance of that event, the recipients (attendees) will not see the deleted invitation if Calendar Server has not processed the initial recurring invitation before the deletion.
- Changing the timezone and then creating events produces an error. (4971548)
The following issues relate to the interoperability between Sun Java System Connector for Microsoft Outlook and Calendar Express:
- Events created in Outlook that span multiple days are not displayed correctly in Calendar Express. For example, if you create an event in Outlook with a start time of Tuesday at 8:00am and an end time of Friday at 8:00am, it displays correctly in Outlook. In Calendar Express, however, the month view displays the event as a one-day event on Tuesday with a duration of 72 hours. The week view also incorrectly displays the event.
- If you modify a repeating event in Calendar Express by changing the repeat pattern so the original first instance of the event is not included in the new pattern (but the start date stays the same), Calendar Express still displays that first instance. Outlook, however, does not display the original first instance of the event.
- RTF formatting in Outlook is not preserved if the description text is edited using Calendar Express.
- Differences exist in privacy classes between Outlook and Messenger Express. Outlook has two privacy classes (Private and Public), while Messenger Express has three classes (private, Date and Time only, and Public). In Outlook, a private event is created as a “Date and Time only” event in Messenger Express. A public event in Outlook maps to the public event in Messenger Express. There is no option in Outlook for creating a Messenger Express private event. Similarly, a Messenger Express “Date and Time Only” event maps as a private event in Outlook, and a public event maps as a public event in Outlook. A Messenger Express private event also maps to Outlook as a private event. However, the Messenger Express private event cannot be seen in a shared Calendar folder by another user.
- There are differences in the way free/busy is implemented in Outlook and Calendar Express. The default private event is free in Calendar Express. If the event is to be included for free/busy lookup, then it should manually be set to busy. In Outlook the default events are busy for both private and public events.
- If you export an event from Calendar Express to a file in Outlook format, you cannot import the event from the same file into Outlook.
- Incompatibilities exist in how recurring tasks are implemented in Outlook and Calendar Express. Recurring tasks in Outlook do not conform to RFC 2445 while Calendar Express is specifically designed to work with RFC 2445-compliant information. This causes problems when recurring task information is passed between Outlook and Calendar Server.
Information stored locally by Outlook does not always match information which is stored on the Calendar Server. Sun Java System Connector for Microsoft Outlook, for example, does not transfer any information dealing with the recurrence of a task to the Calendar Server. Any tasks created in Outlook (recurring or non-recurring) appears in Calendar Express as single tasks. A task that is created in Calendar Express only uses the recurring information from the Calendar Server when that task is written for the first time in the Outlook client and not during any modification of any existing task on Outlook.
For these reasons, recurring tasks viewed in Outlook and tasks viewed in Calendar Express appear different in many cases. We recommend that users who work with recurring tasks choose either Outlook or Calendar Express and not attempt to work with recurring tasks in both clients interchangeably.
The following issues relate the mail portion of Sun Java System Connector for Microsoft Outlook only:
The following issues relate to the interoperability between Sun Java System Connector for Microsoft Outlook and other email clients, such as Messenger Express:
- If a message is sent from Outlook in Rich Text format, the message contains a plain text body with no formatting and a WINMAIL.DAT attachment. The WINMAIL.DAT attachment contains the Rich Text message along with any other attachments that may have been added. Because the format is Microsoft proprietary, only Outlook can read the WINMAIL.DAT attachment. Messenger Express (and any other client) sees only the unformatted text message and a WINMAIL.DAT attachment. It is recommended that HTML format be used instead of Rich Text format to send messages.
- Address change in From: header. (4949659)
The name in the From: header changes if an attendee replies to an event invitation and attaches the winmail.dat calendar invitation. For example, Joe (using Outlook) sends an invitation to an event to Bob. Bob replies to Joe, using an email client that automatically sends the original winmail.dat calendar attachment back to Joe. When Joe opens the reply, the From: header is changed to Joe.
How to Report Problems and Provide FeedbackIf you have problems with Sun Java System Connector for Microsoft Outlook, contact Sun customer support using one of the following mechanisms:
- Sun Software Support services online at
http://www.sun.com/service/sunone/softwareSo that we can best assist you in resolving problems, please have the following information available when you contact support:
- Description of the problem, including the situation where the problem occurs and its impact on your operation
- Machine type, operating system version, and product version, including any patches and other software that might be affecting the problem
- Detailed steps on the methods you have used to reproduce the problem
- Any error logs or core dumps
Sun Welcomes Your Comments
Sun is interested in improving its documentation and welcomes your comments and suggestions. Email your comments to Sun at this address:
Please include the part number (817-4217-10) of the document in the subject line and the book title (Sun Java System Connector for Microsoft Outlook 6.0 Release Notes) in the body of your email.
Additional Sun ResourcesUseful Sun Java System information can be found at the following Internet locations:
- Documentation for Sun Java System Connector for Microsoft Outlook
http://docs.sun.com/coll/ConnectorMSO_60- Sun Java System Documentation
http://docs.sun.com/prod/sunone- Sun Java System Professional Services
http://www.sun.com/service/sunps/sunone- Sun Java System Software Products and Service
http://www.sun.com/software- Sun Java System Software Support Services
http://www.sun.com/service/sunone/software- Sun Java System Support and Knowledge Base
http://www.sun.com/service/support/software- Sun Support and Training Services
http://www.sun.com/supportraining- Sun Java System Consulting and Professional Services
http://www.sun.com/service/sunps/sunone- Sun Java System Developer Information
http://sunonedev.sun.com- Sun Developer Support Services
http://www.sun.com/developers/support- Sun Java System Software Training
http://www.sun.com/software/training- Sun Software Data Sheets
http://wwws.sun.com/software
Copyright © 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, Sun [tm] ONE, Sun Java System Connector for Microsoft Outlook, and the Java [tm] logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Use of Sun Java System Connector for Microsoft Outlook is subject to the terms described in the license agreement accompanying it.