Exchange Server 2010 : Managing Mobile Messaging Users - Mastering Outlook Web App Essentials

Web access, mobile access, and secure anywhere access are implemented as separate features that are available when you install the Client Access server role for Exchange Server 2010. These features include Exchange ActiveSync, Outlook Web App, and Outlook Anywhere. Although Exchange ActiveSync and Outlook Web App (then called Outlook Web Access) were available in Exchange Server 2003 and earlier releases of Exchange Server, Outlook Anywhere is an enhanced feature that builds on the remote procedure call (RPC) over Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) feature introduced in the previous Exchange Server release.

Mastering Outlook Web App Essentials

Outlook Web App is a standard Exchange Server 2010 technology that allows users to access their mailboxes using a Web browser. If public folders are hosted by Exchange 2010, users will be able to access public folder data as well. The technology works with standard Internet protocols, including Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and Secure HTTP (HTTPS).

When users access mailboxes and public folder data over the Web, a Client Access server is working behind the scenes to grant access and transfer files to the browser. Because you don't need to configure Outlook Web App on the client, it's ideally suited for users who want to access e-mail while away from the office and may also be a good choice for users on the internal network who don't need the full version of Microsoft Outlook. Outlook Web App is automatically configured for use when you install the Client Access server role for Exchange Server 2010. This makes Outlook Web App easy to manage. That said, there are some essential concepts you should know to manage it more effectively, and this section explains these concepts.

Outlook Web App (OWA) is installed automatically when you install the Client Access server role for Exchange Server 2010. In your Exchange organization, you must install at least one Client Access server in each Active Directory site containing an Exchange 2010 Mailbox server. If users will be accessing Outlook Web App over the Internet, then one of the Client Access servers you install must be Internet facing. This server accepts connections from external clients on an external Uniform Resource Locator (URL).

In most cases, you need to open only TCP port 443 on your organization's firewall, to allow users to access mailboxes and public folder data over the Web. After that, you simply tell users the URL path that they need to type into their browser's Address text box. The users can then access Outlook Web App when they're off-site.

Outlook Web App is optimized for screen resolutions of 800 by 600 or higher. Two different versions are available

• Light Provides a basic experience with a simplified user interface that supports accessibility for blind and low-vision users. No Standard-only features are available. In addition, calendar options are limited and messages can be composed only as plain text. OWA shortcut menus are not displayed when you right-click. The OWA toolbar has slightly different options, and the Options page itself is simplified as well.

• Standard Provides a rich experience with performance that closely approximates Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2010, including a folder hierarchy that you can expand or collapse, drag-and-drop functionality, move and copy functionality, and shortcut menus that you can access by right-clicking. In addition, you can use all of the following features: appearance color schemes, calendar views, file share integration, notifications, personal distribution lists, public folder access, reading pane, recover deleted items, reminders, search, secure signed and encrypted e-mail with Secure Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME), server-side rules, spelling checker, voice mail options, and WebReady Document viewing. Standard does not, however, support accessibility for blind and low-vision users.

Outlook Web App uses Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) 4.0 and JavaScript [European Computer Manufacturers Association (ECMA)] script. Unlike earlier implementations of OWA, the standard version of Outlook Web App is available on Windows and Linux using Internet Explorer 7, Internet Explorer 8, and Firefox 3.0.1, and on the Mac using Safari 3.1 or later.

Outlook Web App for Exchange Server 2010 has many features and enhancements, including:

• Instant messaging Users can chat with any contact listed in their Contacts list simply by double-clicking a contact's name. (Requires Office Communications Server and some integration DLLs on your Client Access servers.)

• Inbox rules Users can create inbox rules to automatically sort incoming e-mail into folders. Users create rules on the Inbox Rules tab or by right-clicking a message they want to base a rule on and selecting Create Rule.

• Message attachments Users can attach files, meeting requests, and other messages to messages by clicking the attach file icon on the toolbar. Users can even drag and drop attachments into messages if they are using Internet Explorer and install the S/MIME control.

• Delivery reports Users can generate delivery reports to search for delivery information about message they've sent or received during the previous two weeks.

• Personal groups Users can create personal groups that will appear in their address book.

• Public groups Users can create public groups that will appear in the global address book for everyone to use.

When it comes to supported OWA features, Firefox 3.0.1 or later and Safari 3.1 or later have feature parity with Internet Explorer 7.0 and Internet Explorer 8.0. The one exception is support for the S/MIME control, which only Internet Explorer supports.

2. Connecting to Mailboxes and Public Folder Data over the Web

With Outlook Web App, you can easily access mailboxes and public folder data over the Web and the corporate intranet. To access a user's mailbox, type the Exchange Outlook Web App URL into your browser's Address text box, and then enter the user name and password for the mailbox you want to access. The general steps are as follows:

Exchange Server uses the computer type (as specified by the user) to determine the period of inactivity to allow before logging the user off automatically. With a private computer, the user will be allowed a longer period of inactivity before being logged off. With a public or shared computer, Exchange Server will log the user off more quickly to prevent the user's data from being compromised.

Note:

By default, Client Access servers are configured to use Secure HTTP (HTTPS) for Outlook Web App. When you install Exchange Server 2010, a self-signed security certificate is issued for the Client Access server automatically. Because this default certificate is not issued by a trusted certificate authority, users will see a warning that there is a problem with the Web site's security certificate. At the warning prompt, the user can click the Continue To This Website link. The user will see this warning continuously until you install a certificate on the server from a trusted source.

After a user has accessed her mailbox in OWA, she can access public folders data that is available as well as long as the public folders are hosted on Exchange 2010. To access public folders, follow these steps:

3. Working with Outlook Web App

After you enter the Exchange Outlook Web App URL into Internet Explorer's Address text box and enter the user name and password for the mailbox you want to access, you'll see the view of Outlook Web App compatible with your browser. Figure 1 shows the full-featured view of Outlook Web App. Most users with Internet Explorer 7.0 or Internet Explorer 8.0 see this view of Outlook Web App automatically. If their browsers don't support a necessary technology for the full-featured view, or if this technology has been disabled, they might see the Light view instead. If they can right-click and see a shortcut menu, they have the full-featured view.

As shown in Figure 1, the latest version of Outlook Web App has a toolbar that provides quick access to the following key features:

• Address Book Displays the Address Book, which provides quick access to address lists and contacts. Any tracked resources, such as conference rooms or projectors, are available as well. If you click a contact or resource in an address list, the e-mail address and availability information are displayed.

• Address Book Search Search the Address Book for a specific contact or resource. Simply enter as much of the name as is necessary to uniquely identify the contact or resource, and then press Enter. If multiple matches are found, you'll see a shortcut menu with a list of matches. Clicking a match displays the properties for that item.

• Options Takes you to the Exchange Control Panel. Use the Select What To Manage list to choose what you want to manage, including yourself, your organization, or another user's mailbox. When you are managing your own account, you can configure Outlook Web App properties or view current configuration details.

• Help Shows the help page, which provides information on setting up e-mail, using instant messaging in OWA, creating rules for managing incoming e-mail, adding attachments and meeting requests to e-mail, and more.

• Help, About If you click the options button to the right of the Help button while viewing the mailbox, you can select the About option. This option lists the current configuration being used by the Client Access server and the Outlook Web App client. This information is useful for troubleshooting.

Example 1 shows an example of the details on the About page, which can be helpful for troubleshooting. If a user is having problems with Outlook Web App, you can instruct the user to click Options, scroll through the options, and then select About. If he has a problem that is not related to e-mail and is able to send e-mail, he can click Copy To Clipboard, and then paste the contents of the Clipboard into an e-mail message by pressing Ctrl+V.

Example 1. Outlook Web App Configuration Details

Mailbox owner: William Stanek [[email protected]]
User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0
(compatible; MSIE 8.0; Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; SLCC2;
.NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 3.5.30729; .NET CLR 3.0.30729)
Outlook Web App experience: Standard
User language: English (United States)
User time zone: (GMT-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada)
Exchange mailbox address: /o=First Organization/ou=Exchange
Administrative Group (FYDIBOHF23SPDLT)/cn=Recipients/cn=williams
Host address: https://mailserver25.cpandl.com/owa
Version: 14
Host name: mailserver25.cpandl.com
Exchange Client Access server name: MAILSERVER25.cpandl.com
Exchange Client Access server .NET Framework version: 2.0.50727.3521
Client Access server operating system version: Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7600 Service Pack 1
Client Access server operating system language: en-US
Microsoft Exchange Client Access server version: 14
Client Access server language: en-US
Client Access server time zone: Pacific Standard Time
Client Access server platform: 64bit
Mailbox server name: MAILSERVER25.cpandl.com
Mailbox server Microsoft Exchange version: 14
Other Microsoft Exchange server roles currently installed on the Client
Access server: Mailbox, Hub Transport, Unified Messaging
Authentication type associated with this Outlook Web App session: Basic
Public logon: No					  

In addition to being able to manage their inbox, calendar, contacts, public folders, and mailbox rules, users can set the following Outlook Web App options by clicking Options in the task pane, making whatever changes are desired, and then clicking Save:

• Account Allows users to view and edit their general information as well as their contact location and contact numbers in the address book.

• Organize Email, Inbox Rules Allows users to create and manage inbox rules.

• Organize Email, Automatic Replies Allows users to create and manage automatic replies. Separate messages can be configured for internal recipients and external recipients. With external recipients, you have the option of sending auto-reply messages only to those in your contacts list.

• Organize Email, Delivery Reports Allows users to search for messages they've sent or received.

• Groups Allows users to create and manage public groups. They can create new public groups that will be available to other users in the address book. They can join or leave groups unless membership restrictions apply.

• Phone, Mobile Phone Allows users to manage mobile devices. You can remove mobile devices you are no longer using, display a device password, and retrieve related access logs. If you lose a mobile device, you can start a remote device wipe to protect your information. All data is removed the next time the device connects to Exchange Server, returning the device to its factory default condition. If a user initiates a remote wipe in Outlook Web App, she receives a confirmation e-mail when the device acknowledges the remote wipe request. If an administrator initiates a remote wipe on a user's behalf, the administrator and the user receive a confirmation e-mail when the device acknowledges the remote wipe request.

• Phone, Text Messaging Allows users to send e-mail and calendar notifications to their mobile phone as text messages. Before a user can send notifications, he needs to configure calendar settings for text messaging.

• Settings, Mail Allows you to set key messaging options. You can edit your e-mail signature, preferred message format, and preferred font to use for messages. The default font is 10-point Tahoma. Read receipts options allow you to specify how to respond to requests for read receipts. Reading pane options allow you to specify whether and how messages are marked as read in the reading pane. There are also settings for the conversation reading pane, message format, and message options.

• Settings, Spelling Allows you to set options for the spelling checker, including the dictionary language. The default language is set according to the browser's language setting.

• Settings, Calendar Allows you to specify when the first day of the week is and when the work day starts and ends for the purposes of calendar scheduling. Reminder options allow you to enable or disable reminders for calendars and tasks. Automatic processing options specify how meeting requests, notifications, and responses are handled.

• Settings, General Allows you to configure e-mail name resolution, and accessibility options. E-mail name resolution options allow you to specify whether the global address list or your personal contacts are checked first when resolving e-mail addresses in messages you are composing. By default, the global address list is checked first. Appearance options allow you to select the color scheme used by Outlook Web App. The default color scheme is blue.

Note:

Under General Settings, accessibility options allow you to optimize Outlook Web App for blind and low-vision users. By selecting Use The Blind And Low Vision Experience, you ensure that Outlook Web App Light is used rather than the standard version of Outlook Web App.

• Settings, Regional Allows you to set the language, dates, and time formats to use with Outlook Web App.

• Settings, Password Allows users to change their domain passwords. After changing their passwords, users might need to re-enter their credentials and log on again.

• Settings, S/MIME Allows users to download the S/MIME control. They can then use this control to encrypt and digitally sign e-mail.

• Block or Allow Allows you to filter junk e-mail and manage the Safe Senders and Recipients list as well as the Blocked Senders list.

When you are working with the Options page, you can use the Select What To Manage list to choose what you want to manage. If you choose Myself, you can manage your user mailbox. If you choose My Organization, you can manage Exchange mailboxes, groups, contacts, and roles. If you choose Another User, you can select a mailbox to manage. If you have been granted permission to access another mailbox or delegated permission to access a folder within a mailbox, you can open the mailbox and access any authorized folders by selecting Another User, clicking the mailbox name, and then clicking OK.

The Sign-Out option logs off the current user, and ends the Outlook Web App session. As a recommended best practice, you should advise all users to log off from their Outlook Web App sessions when they are finished.

3.1. Enabling and Disabling Web Access for Users

Exchange Server 2010 enables Outlook Web App for each user by default. If necessary, you can disable Outlook Web App for specific users. To do this, complete the following steps: