Exchange Server 2007 : Leveraging the Capabilities of the Outlook Web Access Client - What’s New in OWA 2007?

1. Understanding Microsoft’s Direction on OWA

As with the previous version of OWA in Exchange 2007, the goal has been to try to keep the experience as similar as possible while offering new functionality and new technology to users and administrators alike. This allows administrator to offer new functions to users without incurring the costs of having to retrain the users on a new technology or interface. Microsoft understands that OWA is rapidly becoming the client of choice for users who need external access or who don’t travel with a portable computer. By providing the roaming client with all the functionality they need without adding complexity to an information technology (IT) environment, they are able to further cement Exchange as the email system of choice for corporate America.

Leveraging a Common Interface

The first thing a user is likely to notice in OWA 2007 is the new look. Although updated, it is nearly identical to the full Outlook 2007 client. Although there are still some differences between Outlook 2007 and OWA, the overall look, feel, and functionality are designed to be the same. Using the OWA client along with the latest Exchange service packs provide enhanced elements in areas such as spelling and grammar checking, keyboard shortcuts, rule configurations, reading panes, and other improvements that help OWA seem familiar to end users. This results in a very smooth transition from the full client to the use of OWA when users will be away from their workstations.

Providing a Feature-Rich Web Client

Thanks to the inclusion of the most useful functions of Outlook, OWA is now a viable choice for the primary email and calendaring client for end users. With Exchange Server 2007 and the latest service packs, OWA is no longer regarded as merely a remote access solution, but can be used day in and day out by users accessing mailbox information both in the office and from the Internet. Some organizations might not deploy the full Outlook 2007 at all and use OWA exclusively as their standard Exchange client. It should be noted, however, that limiting clients to OWA only restricts some of the potential benefits to the users. For example, OWA has no provisions for allowing a user to access their mail or calendar data while offline. There is also reduced integration with other applications such as SharePoint or Microsoft Office 2007. As such, administrators should consider leveraging both solutions to provide users with the solution that best meets their needs and restrictions. Administrators should always plan to support both types of clients, and expect the use of OWA to grow as users become aware of its benefits.

Integrating Extensible Markup Language (XML) in the Client Interface

Microsoft has continued to take steps to further integrate XML into the OWA client interface. The integration of XML into all Microsoft products, which leverages web technologies, is a priority for Microsoft. The benefit is that OWA can more effectively integrate data and that a compatible language is used throughout Exchange as well as other Microsoft products that are served by web-based technology. This is somewhat in response to criticism that Microsoft tends to not use open standards but regardless of the driver, it is the end user who benefits. OWA utilizing XML paired with the latest version of Internet Information Services (IIS) is able to provide enhanced levels of both security and compatibility.

2. What’s New in OWA 2007?

As has always been the case with new versions of Exchange, Exchange 2007 brings with it many new functions to the OWA client. These improvements run the gamut from smarter calendaring to management of mobile devices to a greatly improved address book. By learning and leveraging these new functions, end users can become even more effective when they are accessing their mail from outside the network. Being at an airport kiosk is just as effective as being at the office when it comes to dealing with email, calendaring, and unified messaging.

Smarter Meeting Booking via OWA

OWA 2007 makes setting meetings easier by offering some functions that were previously unavailable. The first function is the Scheduling Assistant. When creating a new meeting request via OWA, the user is able to click the Scheduling Assistant tab and add both rooms and attendees to a meeting request. The second function is a Suggested Times display for the meeting that shows potential dates for the meeting. The third function rates the potential meeting times as Great, Good, or Poor depending on how many of the attendees are available.

To schedule a meeting using the Scheduling Assistant, perform the following steps:

1.	From OWA, click the Calendar button in the Outlook toolbar.
2.	Click New Meeting Request.
3.	Click the Scheduling Assistant tab; you’ll see a screen similar to the one shown in Figure 1. Figure 1. The Scheduling Assistant
4.	Click Select Attendees and add meeting attendees and resources.
5.	Click OK when all attendees and resources have been added.
6.	Choose a Suggested Time from the lower-right pane.
7.	Return to the appointment pane, and enter meeting information as you normally would.
8.	Click Send.

Windows SharePoint Services Integration

As part of a push to replace public folders with SharePoint, OWA 2007 has introduced a new interface to simplify access of SharePoint information. In the shortcut bar, there is a new item called Documents. This new window is used to access Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services servers or even Windows file servers from OWA.

From this interface, a user can click Open Location, is prompted with a screen similar to the one shown in Figure 2, and is asked to enter an address to a SharePoint Services server or Windows file share that they want to open.

Figure 2. The Documents Connector.

Opening a file location gives the OWA user access to the files located in that share. Opening a path to a SharePoint Services server gives the client access to the SharePoint site, assuming they have the necessary rights.

Using OWA to Manage Your Mobile Devices

OWA 2007 allows users to self-manage their Windows Mobile 5.0 or higher devices. This includes functions such as a remote wipe of a lost device, removing old mobile devices from the account, displaying the device password, or retrieving the synchronization log.

Windows Mobile phones often carry potentially sensitive data on them in the form of emails containing corporate information. If a device is ever lost or replaced, it should be wiped. A simple way to do this is the following:

1.	Log on to OWA.
2.	In the upper right of the OWA interface, click Options.
3.	In the upper portion of the left pane, under Options, click Mobile Devices to get a screen similar to the one shown in Figure 3. You might have to scroll down in the menu. Figure 3. Managing mobile devices.
4.	Highlight your device.
5.	Click Wipe All Data from Device.
6.	Click Yes.

If you have a device that will no longer be synced with Exchange, you can remove that device from your ActiveSync profile via the following steps:

If you lose the password on your device and your administrator has previously enabled the Recovery Password feature on your mobile device, which is running Mobile 5.0 or higher with the Messaging and Security Feature Pack installed, you can recover your password with the following steps:

OWA gives you a password that is not your original password. It is a recovery password designed by resetting the existing password. At the time this recovery password is displayed, you should use it to log on to the mobile device. When you do so, the device prompts you to create a new password.

Leveraging Improvements in Search

Searching through your Inbox or your tasks is much easier with the improvements to the search functions in OWA 2007. An interface very similar to that in Outlook 2007 gives the user the ability to search through subjects as well as message bodies. The search can be filtered by who it was sent from or to, allowing greater granularity. Even the category colors set on messages are a field that can be searched upon. After the results are generated, they can be sorted by any attribute, such as date, size, importance, or even message flags.

Using the Outlook Web Access Address Book

One of the biggest complaints about previous versions of OWA was the difficulty of using the address book. Users had to guess at first or last names and then search the address book rather then simply browse the list the way they did in the full client. OWA 2007 finally offers a consistent interface for the address book when compared with the full client. When a user accesses the address book, they will see a view where all addresses are listed; by default, they are arranged by name. From this interface, the user has the ability to type part of a name into the search bar and click the magnifying glass to search based on the parameters they entered.

One of the most impressive enhancements to the address book view is that when a user in the address book is highlighted, a screen similar to the one shown in Figure 4 appears, where the pane to the right is filled with information about the user, including their availability based on the current time.

Figure 4. New address book view.

This is exceptionally helpful if you want to quickly see if someone is available. In previous versions of OWA, you had to go through the process of creating a meeting request to see the user’s availability. This new interface for the address book is a significant improvement over Exchange Server 2003 and is likely to generate the most positive comments from end users.

Out of Office Enhancements

The Out of Office rules have been enhanced in Exchange 2007 and OWA supports them. Users now have the ability to set different rules and messages for internal senders versus external senders. This is an improvement that administrators have been wanting for some time as there has always been a debate over how much information should be included in the Out of Office response. Now users can fully inform co-workers about their absence without having to give the same information to outside senders.

Regional Settings

OWA 2007 introduces the ability to run OWA in a language other than that of the browser. This means that a worker from the United States could access OWA from a system in another country that was running Windows and Microsoft Internet Explorer in another language and still get the OWA interface and their messages in English. This is a great step forward for traveling users who might not always have their personal notebook with them.

Opening Another User’s Mailbox

One of the more handy functions of Outlook that was never easily available in OWA was the ability to open another user’s mailbox. Although an advanced user could type in the full path to the user’s mailbox, assuming they knew it, this was beyond the abilities of a typical user. In OWA 2007, the user can simply perform the following steps to access another mailbox to which they have rights:

1.	In the main Office OWA bar, click the button between Options and Log Off, where your name appears, and a screen similar to the one shown in Figure 5 appears. Figure 5. Opening another user’s mailbox.
2.	Type in the name of the mailbox you want to open in the Select Mailbox area. This field potentially autofills if the mailbox is one you have sent mail to in the past.
3.	Click Open.

You can now access the mailbox via OWA.