Custom Task Request Deployment

[Tirelle]

Hello to All,
I am currently working on a custom form(Task Request). I have a protoype
and i am ready to publish it and test on a couple of clients. I am not quite
sure how to deploy it. Here is what I think I know and have tried.
Form is installed on a client machine(Personal Forms Library) and I
attempted to send them a task generated with same form on my machine. Client
cannot open message at all.

The goal of my form is to allow a technical librarian to create a task and
assign it to departments. the department will then use form to update
librarian as to whether training is required on a topic prior to an update
and when task is complete. The form contains various pieces of information
about update including an attachment. I need both parties to be using the
same form.

Help?? Please

Tirelle

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP]]

If both parties need to be using the same form, then you must publish it to
the Organizational Forms library on the company's Exchange Server or, if
that's not possible, to each user's Personal Forms library. My experience
with task forms, however, is that they may not work very well for
transmitting task requests.

What precisely happens when the recipient tries to open the task request
that you send?

 

[Tirelle]

Curently, other user has form in his personal forms library. I have not
posted to Organizational library yet. When he tries to open task, it say
"Cannot open item".
Now the tasks are suck in limbo (We can't delete, open or move them).

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP]]

You might want to check the Microsoft Knowledge Base at
http://support.microsoft.com for information on that error for your specific
version of Outlook. Another thing to explore is whether the user can himself
create new tasks with the custom form.

I am not optimistic, though, about any solution, given my previous
experience with custom task forms.
--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Microsoft Outlook 2007 Programming:
Jumpstart for Power Users and Administrators
http://www.outlookcode.com/article.aspx?id=54

 

[Tirelle]

Thanks, Sue!! If I cannot get this to work, what is your recommended solution?
Here details of task and what I need to do:
Purpose: Manage the process for notification of publication changes which
includes receipt, training and approval to implement.

Steps:
1. Technical Librarian receives change. He then send copy(attachment) of
change along with details about publication(Name, revision number, ID,
etc...) the the department head for approval to implement.
2. Upon receipt department head reviews change and either approves it for
implementation immediately or after its contents have been trained on. If
training required, he orders Training officer to perform and report when
complete.
3. Upon completion of training or approval to implement, librarian enters
change and updates task as complete.
4. A report of details of change transmittal needs to be genererated.
5. Status of change transmittal need to be updated as it changes.

Thank You

Tirelle

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP]]

If it were my project and I had only custom forms to work with, I'd probably
try to implement it in a public folder, maintaining the status of work items
there and generating notifications, approvals, etc. as needed.

It could also be done with one or more message forms to transmit information
and generate a custom task item for the recipient, plus an add-in to process
status update messages that the task form would generate.
--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Microsoft Outlook 2007 Programming:
Jumpstart for Power Users and Administrators
http://www.outlookcode.com/article.aspx?id=54