Assign calendar 'status' to IMAP folder containing calendar items

[Joni]

Hi,

I am using Exchange but I'm approaching the Exchange account as an IMAP
server (on purpose). I am able to subscribe to all the folders that exist in
my normal Exchange account including the Calendar folder. However the
calendar items now list as messages until I clock on them and Outlook
recognizes them as calendar items. This is ok, but I would like to assign
the calendar status to an IMAP folder, so that instead of separate
email/calendar items Outlook will show me the calendar just as it would show
up on my Exchange account.

Does anyone know how to do this?

Thanks,
Jonathan

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

This is normal behavior, since IMAP4 doesn't know anything about calendar
items, only messages. If you want to see your calendar, you need to be using
the Exchange service, not IMAP.

 

[Joni]

This is normal behavior, since IMAP4 doesn't know anything about calendar
items, only messages. If you want to see your calendar, you need to be
using the Exchange service, not IMAP.

I know, but it must be possible since Exchange actually only stores these
calendar items as mails. Every calendar item is an email with a TNEF
attachment that contains the info. So the actual difference between IMAP and
Exchange is how outlook interprets this mail. If outlook treats the IMAP
folder like a special Exchange folder (ie by showing a calendar instead of
calendar items) it would work regardless of whether it is stored on a IMAP
of Exchange server.

There are 3rd party plugins that make something similar possible, but I'm
sure it must be possible to do this without 3rd party software.

Thanks,
Jonathan

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

No, it's not possible. For an IMAP provider to expose calendar items, it
would have to be aware of and handle dozens of custom properties for each
calendar. Microsoft certainly isn't going to write a second provider to do
what their Exchange provider already does. A third-party tool
(InsightConnector) does it by synchronizing IMAP4 data with an Personal
Folders .pst file and displaying the .pst data in Outlook.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of
Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[Brian Tillman]

I know, but it must be possible since Exchange actually only stores
these calendar items as mails.

Why must it be possible? What evidence do you have that it is?

The IMAP protocols make no distinction between message types and you can't
force the protocol to recognize something it's not designed to handle.

Every calendar item is an email with a
TNEF attachment that contains the info. So the actual difference
between IMAP and Exchange is how outlook interprets this mail. If
outlook treats the IMAP folder like a special Exchange folder (ie by
showing a calendar instead of calendar items) it would work
regardless of whether it is stored on a IMAP of Exchange server.

But Outlook accessing an Exchange server via IMAP has no clue it's talking
to an Exchange server.

I'm sure it must be possible to do this without 3rd party software.

Cite your evidence.