Exchange Server 2007 : Leveraging the Capabilities of the Outlook Web Access Client - Getting to Know the Look and Feel of OWA 2007

The user interface (UI) of the new OWA client, shown in Figure 1, looks and feels almost exactly like the full Outlook 2007 client, lacking only the To-Do bar. It has the same basic pane structure, the same color scheme, the full folder tree, and the ability to change the widths of the columns. It includes many similar elements and components found in Outlook 2007 to allow users to retain the same level of familiarity with the tools and options when moving from the full Outlook 2007 to OWA 2007.

Figure 1. OWA panes.

Using Multiple Panes

By default, the OWA standard authentication mode client offers a very familiar pane when working within the UI. When users initially open OWA, they are presented with five basic panes. These panes are meant to organize the information presented in OWA and to take the best advantage of the available space.

The five panes are as follows:

• Folder list

• Shortcut bar

• Middle pane (message list)

• Infobar

• Reading pane

The Folder list is the upper-left pane, which lists all the folders available in the user’s mailbox. This includes Calendar, Contacts, Deleted Items, Drafts, Inbox, Junk E-Mail, Notes, Outbox, Sent Items, Sync Issues, Tasks, and any custom created folders.

To simplify navigation within OWA, there is a shortcut bar that is located below the Folder list. This shortcut bar lists shortcut icons to the Inbox, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, and Documents. Another helpful feature is the new mail notification pop-up. When a new message arrives, a vertical pop-up appears in the lower-left corner of OWA that notifies the user that they have new mail. The user can then click that button to refresh OWA and view the new message.

The middle pane changes slightly as the user goes between mail, calendaring, and contacts. The pane lists the contents of whatever Exchange feature is selected in the Folder list or icon in the shortcut bar. For example, if Inbox is selected in the Folder list, the middle pane displays the existing and new messages in the Inbox just as it would in the full Outlook 2007 client. When using other options, such as the Calendar, there is one pane shown in the middle, not a split screen, as shown when the Inbox is highlighted. The middle pane has been designed to always provide the best experience for the given folder type rather than trying to keep its behavior the same.

In addition, an optional pane called the reading pane is available (shown on the far right of Figure 1). The reading pane is turned on by default and shown when viewing the Inbox. This pane shows the content or body of the message highlighted in the center pane. This reading pane can also be configured to sit below the middle pane rather than to the right. This allows the user to further customize their own experience to their personal preferences.

The toolbar across the top is called the Infobar. Like Outlook, it provides choices that are available while you view the information in the middle pane. The choices change depending on what a user is viewing when working within OWA. Different options are available when working with the Inbox, Calendar, and other options.

Changing the Size of the Panes

To customize the OWA UI, a user can easily configure the width or height of the panes available. With OWA 2007, the adjustments of pane sizing can be saved when a user logs off. These sizing adjustments are remembered and restored when a user logs back on to OWA.

Using Pull-Down Menus

Some icons in OWA allow a user to perform several different tasks. Icons that contain a downward facing arrow next to them allow users to choose different options. To view the choices available with these options, click the arrow to the right of the icon or the icon to see a menu similar to the one shown in Figure 2. To choose an option, move the mouse pointer down the list and view the choices as they are highlighted. To choose an option, highlight the option and click the desired choice.

Figure 2. Pull-down menu in OWA.

If there is no arrow next to the icon, the icon provides only a single choice, by clicking it.

Moving Through the OWA Features

You can move through the different OWA features in a couple of ways. The first is by clicking the buttons that represent the feature you want to access. For example, the shortcut bar presents you with labeled icon buttons for options, such as the Contacts or the Inbox. By clicking once on the icon button, you can access the feature as it is opened in the center pane.

Another option is to select the desired options in the folder tree located in the folder pane. Clicking the Inbox or any other folder in the list also allows the feature to be opened in the center pane. In fact, if you select an option in this manner you will see that the same option is now highlighted in the shortcut bar.

Moving Through Email Pages

When the Inbox folder is selected, email messages are displayed in the middle pane with the body of the message in the reading pane. When working with the Inbox, you can now configure how many email messages are displayed on the screen at one time. To modify the number of messages shown per screen, complete the following steps:

1.	Click Options in the upper-right portion of the screen.
2.	Select Messaging from the left pane.
3.	In Message Options, shown in Figure 3, set the Number of Items to Display per Page option to the value you want. Figure 3. The Message Options settings.
4.	Click Save.

When users have large numbers of messages, it can be difficult to get to the page containing the message they want. To move through the pages of messages, click the left or right arrow button at the bottom of the middle pane to navigate between pages. To go to the end or beginning of the pages of messages, click the arrow with the vertical line next to it. The arrow pointing left displays the beginning of the email pages; the arrow to the right displays the end.

Often, a simpler way to organize the messages when trying to find a particular one is to use the Description bar, organizing emails by the From, Subject, Date Received, and more field options when the pane is moved over. Click the options to sort messages based on these criteria. This can simplify the process of trying to find a message that came from a particular user.

Also keep in mind that you still have access to the search features if you feel you have enough information to search on rather than just scanning through a large pile of messages to find the one you are looking for.

Changing the Viewing Order and Using the Two-Line View

Users can change the viewing order of email messages in the Inbox or other email folders by using these selections. The default initial configuration is to display the most recent messages received by the users at the top of the email list. To change the view so the new messages go to the bottom of the list, click the phrase Newest on Top in the middle pane with a down-pointing arrow next to it. This rearranges the messages so the oldest received email is at the top. The clickable phrase will now read Oldest on Top.

Users can also choose to turn off the two-line view, thus consolidating the information about the email message into a single line. This allows a user to show more messages per page in OWA.

The two-line view is configured as on by default. To change the two-line view to a different view, click the Single Line/Multiple Line button located just to the left of the Delete button.

Using the Reading Pane

As was the case with previous versions of the OWA client, the reading pane is an option that can be toggled on or off. Turning on the reading pane opens a vertical pane on the far-right side of the OWA user interface that shows the content of the message. The ability to scroll through the contents of the message in the reading pane enables you to view the whole message without having to physically open it. The location of the reading pane is customizable and can be located either on the right vertical pane, or as a horizontal pane at the bottom of the page. If the reading pane is toggled off, OWA removes the pane entirely, allowing for more space for the middle pane.

To configure the reading pane, complete the following steps:

Reading a message via the reading pane acts much the same as double-clicking a message to open it. Both methods update the mailbox to know that a message has been read. This results in a new message changing its appearance in the middle pane from bold to not bold. This signifies that the message has been read. One difference to be aware of is that when viewing messages via the reading pane, even though you have read the message, a read receipt would not be generated if the sender had requested one. That only occurs via OWA if the message is double-clicked and read.

Creating New Folders

To further organize a mailbox, users can create folders and subfolders in their mailbox or Inbox while using OWA. You can easily create a type of additional folder that can be viewed and accessed in the Folder list:

1.	To create a new folder, click the location in the Folder tree in the left pane where you want the folder to be created.
2.	Right-click the parent folder (which includes Mailbox) in the folder tree, and choose Create New Folder, as shown in Figure 4. Figure 4. Creating a new folder.
3.	Name the folder and press Enter.

After being created, the new folder is immediately accessible for use and appears in the location where it was placed in the Folder list.

Changes to Public Folders in OWA 2007

There is one major change to the way that OWA views public folders in OWA 2007. It doesn’t. Microsoft is no longer offering the ability to access public folders via OWA. This is part of Microsoft’s shift in focus from public folders in Exchange to SharePoint. 

Using OWA Help

As with all Microsoft applications, help is also available to users in OWA by clicking Help from the menu bar. The Help pages allow users access to information on features as well as step-by-step instructions for completing various tasks. Unfortunately, this Help feature does not enable searching or viewing by index as with the full Outlook 2007 client. OWA Help topics are organized by groups according to the topic headings for simple access to any available topic. For example, if your question deals with meetings, you can navigate to the calendar area and expand it to working with meetings and see all the topics dealing with meetings. By clicking the plus sign (+), you can expand all the topics under the contact heading, as shown in Figure 5, enabling a view of all subheadings that become available. When you click a subheading, the Help information appears in the right pane.

Figure 5. Viewing help in OWA 2007.

Logging Off OWA 2007

When a user has logged on to OWA with FBA, they will find a Log Off button located on the right of the Infobar. By having this Log Off button available, it is easy for the user to securely log off OWA and close the session. This prevents another user from navigating back to the mailbox and impersonating the user. This is especially important when a user is attaching to OWA via a public or shared computer. A user needs to click the Log Off button to log off from OWA.