Using/Editing Rules while Offline

[Darryl Rowe]

We're running Exchange 2000 on an SBS2000 server and a using with Outlook
2003 on a laptop needs to have his calendar shared and edited so we moved
from a .PST file to an .OST file. Calendar problem solved.

New problem: when he is away from the office his Rules do not run and he
can't access them. Outlook just says he needs to connect to Exchange first.
Problem remains even when I move incoming mail to a .PST file, leaving the
..OST (attempting to retain Calendar sharing, etc).

Is this do-able? Or do we need to go with a 3rd-party rules add-in? Or.....?

 

[Darryl Rowe]

Oops. I should have also said that he uses the Exchange mail account and
several POP3 accounts.

 

[Brian Tillman]

New problem: when he is away from the office his Rules do not run and
he can't access them. Outlook just says he needs to connect to
Exchange first. Problem remains even when I move incoming mail to a
.PST file, leaving the .OST (attempting to retain Calendar sharing,
etc).

When using an Exchange mailbox, rules are kept in the mailbox. If you're
not online, you're not sending or receiving mail, so I don't understand why
you'd think rules should run. Unless you're online with Exchange, I don't
know of any way to modify the rules.

 

[Darryl Rowe]

Sure you can send and receive mail...with SMTP/POP3 accounts. Should not the
incoming mail go into the .OST file and be synced with Exchange the next
time he connects?

 

[Brian Tillman]

Sure you can send and receive mail...with SMTP/POP3 accounts.

But then you're not working offline, are you?

Should
not the incoming mail go into the .OST file and be synced with
Exchange the next time he connects?

I would think so.

 

[Darryl Rowe]

But then you're not working offline, are you?

Well...Outlook seems to think so because you can't access the Rules Wizard
without connecting to Exchange.

NOTE: our Exchange Server is _not_ repeat _not_ exposed to the Internet.

So...I'll try a 3rd-party add-in to see if it will enable Rules
functionality. If not, he'll have to decide on using a Yahoo Calendar for
calendaring/sharing/assistant-editing/etc and using good old PST files. (He
has a complex set of mail handling rules.)