Changes in Outlook 2003 event invitation format?

[jwyoung via OfficeKB.com]

We are in the process of upgrading our mail clients from Outlook 2002 to
Outlook 2003. For some reason Mozilla and Thunderbird don't recognize event
invitations from Outlook 2003 as such - e.g. you can't see the .ics file
attachment nor the body of the message, just the subject line. Thus, the
Mozilla recipient has no clue that he has been invited to a meeting.
Previously, with Outlook 2002 this worked OK (not great, but OK). The
Mozilla recipient received an email with a .ics file attachment and the usual
vcal text in the body such that he could recognize the message as an event
invitation. He could then open the .ics and accept or decline the invitation.


Does anyone know what changed in Outlook 2003? Is there an option that we
need to set such that our Mozilla users can recognize an event invitation?

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Have you looked at the raw message in Thunderbird to confirm that you're getting iCalendar requests and not native Outlook requests?

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[jwyoung via OfficeKB.com]

If I look at the message source in Thunderbird, I see the "usual" "BEGIN:
VCALENDAR" text. If I look at the full headers I see that the "X-MAPI-
Message-Class" is IPM.Schedule.Meeting.Request. Does that answer your
questions?

Have you looked at the raw message in Thunderbird to confirm that you're getting iCalendar requests and not native Outlook requests?

We are in the process of upgrading our mail clients from Outlook 2002 to
Outlook 2003. For some reason Mozilla and Thunderbird don't recognize event

[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]

Does anyone know what changed in Outlook 2003? Is there an option that we
need to set such that our Mozilla users can recognize an event invitation?

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

An iCalendar application should ignore any X- headers that it doesn't understand.

I have no information on iCal compatibility issues related to Mozilla. I suspect you'll find more info on that on a Mozilla forum. Let us know if you turn up anything useful.

One thing you might want to try is copying the BEGIN:VCALENDAR to END:VCALENDAR text to an .ics text file and then removing bits and trying to open the resulting .ics file to see if particular edits improve the compatibility.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

If I look at the message source in Thunderbird, I see the "usual" "BEGIN:
VCALENDAR" text. If I look at the full headers I see that the "X-MAPI-
Message-Class" is IPM.Schedule.Meeting.Request. Does that answer your
questions?

Have you looked at the raw message in Thunderbird to confirm that you're getting iCalendar requests and not native Outlook requests?

We are in the process of upgrading our mail clients from Outlook 2002 to
Outlook 2003. For some reason Mozilla and Thunderbird don't recognize event

[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]

Does anyone know what changed in Outlook 2003? Is there an option that we
need to set such that our Mozilla users can recognize an event invitation?

 

[jwyoung via OfficeKB.com]

I've learned a little more by comparing the source from Outlook 2002 and 2003.
This appears to be the famous winmail.dat problem. For some reason Outlook
2003 is attaching the winmail.dat file to the email for recipients using
Thunderbird, even though my Outlook Rich Text Options are set to "Convert to
HTML format."

Any ideas?

An iCalendar application should ignore any X- headers that it doesn't understand.

I have no information on iCal compatibility issues related to Mozilla. I suspect you'll find more info on that on a Mozilla forum. Let us know if you turn up anything useful.

One thing you might want to try is copying the BEGIN:VCALENDAR to END:VCALENDAR text to an .ics text file and then removing bits and trying to open the resulting .ics file to see if particular edits improve the compatibility.

If I look at the message source in Thunderbird, I see the "usual" "BEGIN:
VCALENDAR" text. If I look at the full headers I see that the "X-MAPI-

[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

That's not the key setting. Look in Tools | Options | Calendar Options for the "When sending meeting requests over the Internet ..." setting.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

I've learned a little more by comparing the source from Outlook 2002 and 2003.
This appears to be the famous winmail.dat problem. For some reason Outlook
2003 is attaching the winmail.dat file to the email for recipients using
Thunderbird, even though my Outlook Rich Text Options are set to "Convert to
HTML format."

Any ideas?

An iCalendar application should ignore any X- headers that it doesn't understand.

I have no information on iCal compatibility issues related to Mozilla. I suspect you'll find more info on that on a Mozilla forum. Let us know if you turn up anything useful.

One thing you might want to try is copying the BEGIN:VCALENDAR to END:VCALENDAR text to an .ics text file and then removing bits and trying to open the resulting .ics file to see if particular edits improve the compatibility.

If I look at the message source in Thunderbird, I see the "usual" "BEGIN:
VCALENDAR" text. If I look at the full headers I see that the "X-MAPI-

[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]

Does anyone know what changed in Outlook 2003? Is there an option that we
need to set such that our Mozilla users can recognize an event invitation?

 

[jwyoung via OfficeKB.com]

That sounds like the magic answer, but that box is grayed out for me. Any
idea how to activate it? Could this be controlled by my email server
(Communigate Pro)?

That's not the key setting. Look in Tools | Options | Calendar Options for the "When sending meeting requests over the Internet ..." setting.

I've learned a little more by comparing the source from Outlook 2002 and 2003.
This appears to be the famous winmail.dat problem. For some reason Outlook

[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Yes, it's possible that Communigate is controlling the output format. One thing to try is adding a dummy POP3 account to the mail profile. You should then be able to access that setting.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

That sounds like the magic answer, but that box is grayed out for me. Any
idea how to activate it? Could this be controlled by my email server
(Communigate Pro)?

That's not the key setting. Look in Tools | Options | Calendar Options for the "When sending meeting requests over the Internet ..." setting.

I've learned a little more by comparing the source from Outlook 2002 and 2003.
This appears to be the famous winmail.dat problem. For some reason Outlook

[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]

Does anyone know what changed in Outlook 2003? Is there an option that we
need to set such that our Mozilla users can recognize an event invitation?

 

[jwyoung via OfficeKB.com]

I tried your suggestion of creating a POP account and indeed could access
that setting. However, when I sent a new calendar event invitation it still
included the winmail.dat attachment and was still unreadable by Thunderbird.

By the way, thanks for all of your help, Sue!

Jeff Young

Yes, it's possible that Communigate is controlling the output format. One thing to try is adding a dummy POP3 account to the mail profile. You should then be able to access that setting.

That sounds like the magic answer, but that box is grayed out for me. Any
idea how to activate it? Could this be controlled by my email server

[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Sounds like it's under the control of your mail server, then. Maybe Communigate has a setting to make it more Internet-friendly vis-a-vis iCal.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

I tried your suggestion of creating a POP account and indeed could access
that setting. However, when I sent a new calendar event invitation it still
included the winmail.dat attachment and was still unreadable by Thunderbird.

By the way, thanks for all of your help, Sue!

Jeff Young

Yes, it's possible that Communigate is controlling the output format. One thing to try is adding a dummy POP3 account to the mail profile. You should then be able to access that setting.

That sounds like the magic answer, but that box is grayed out for me. Any
idea how to activate it? Could this be controlled by my email server

[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]

Does anyone know what changed in Outlook 2003? Is there an option that we
need to set such that our Mozilla users can recognize an event invitation?

 

[jwyoung via OfficeKB.com]

FYI ... I think I figured this out. I had installed "WebEx Integration with
Outlook" which provided a new template or form for the meeting window. I
believe it also sent the invitation in RTF format, over-riding the Outlook
internet mail options and resulting in the winmail.dat attachment. I
uninstalled this program and it seems to have fixed the problem. Again,
thanks for your help.

Sounds like it's under the control of your mail server, then. Maybe Communigate has a setting to make it more Internet-friendly vis-a-vis iCal.

I tried your suggestion of creating a POP account and indeed could access
that setting. However, when I sent a new calendar event invitation it still

[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]