Designing a Contact form in OL03

[Bob S]

If one designs a custom form for contacts in OL2003 and uses that form
rather than the default form, will that limit the functionality of OL2003?

Does anyone know one or more good websites to teach how to design a form in
OL 2003?

 

[Roady [MVP]]

Limit? No, the purpose of customizing forms is adding functionality
(although you can of course remove functionality as well)
See http://www.outlookcode.com for more information about form design in
Outlook.

--
Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
www.howto-outlook.com

Tips of the month:
-Properly back-up and restore your Outlook data
-Creating a Permanent New Mail Desktop Alert in Outlook 2003

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

But you do lose functionality if you customize the first page of a contact form. See http://www.outlookcode.com/d/contactform.htm

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

Limit? No, the purpose of customizing forms is adding functionality
(although you can of course remove functionality as well)
See http://www.outlookcode.com for more information about form design in
Outlook.

--
Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
www.howto-outlook.com

Tips of the month:
-Properly back-up and restore your Outlook data
-Creating a Permanent New Mail Desktop Alert in Outlook 2003

-----

If one designs a custom form for contacts in OL2003 and uses that form
rather than the default form, will that limit the functionality of OL2003?

Does anyone know one or more good websites to teach how to design a form
in OL 2003?

 

[Bob S]

I have 2 more specific questions conserning a contacts folder I have filled
wtih 200 items using the default Contacts form.

1. I would like to modify the form for this Folder to have a few extra
fields on a separate tab (page). Can I do that within that folder, or do I
have to create a separate custom form in a separate folder and import the
items into that new folder?

2. Once I have all my contacts in the new custom form, are there any
limitations in doing mail-merge with those contacts into MSWord?

Thank you.

But you do lose functionality if you customize the first page of a contact
form. See http://www.outlookcode.com/d/contactform.htm

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

Limit? No, the purpose of customizing forms is adding functionality
(although you can of course remove functionality as well)
See http://www.outlookcode.com for more information about form design in
Outlook.

--
Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
www.howto-outlook.com

Tips of the month:
-Properly back-up and restore your Outlook data
-Creating a Permanent New Mail Desktop Alert in Outlook 2003

-----

If one designs a custom form for contacts in OL2003 and uses that form
rather than the default form, will that limit the functionality of
OL2003?

Does anyone know one or more good websites to teach how to design a form
in OL 2003?

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

1) Neither really. You would create your custom form, publish it to either the folder or the user's Personal Forms library, and then change the MessageClass property of all the contacts so that it points to the new form. See http://www.outlookcode.com/d/newdefaultform.htm for tools to help with that.

2) None related to custom forms. Any custom fields that you want to use in the merge need to be defined for the folder, not just the form, though.

 

[Bob S]

Going along with the above post: I am using OL03 and have read a number of
pages on the web by yourself and others that have me excited about the
possibilities of designing a new form for my contacts but also concerned
about all of the times I keep reading "this does not work well in Outlook
2003" or "this is not a good idea in Outlook 2002 or 2003". My root
question is:

After I have gone to the trouble to design the new form and publish it and
change the message class of each of my items, and then start using it to
enter new items and to run mailmerges (labels, letters, and reports) will I
run into so many problems that I decide to go back to the default form which
does not have all of the fields I would like to have for my contact items?

I also have some specific questions.

1. Can I steer clear of some of the pitfalls by avoiding the modification
of the first page (general tab)?
2. Will upgrading to OL03 Sp1 help me avoid some of these difficulties?
3. Is there a path I can steer (limitations I can place on myself during
the process of designing and publishing the new form) which will avoid all
of pitfalls?

Thanks for your expert help.

I have 2 more specific questions conserning a contacts folder I have filled
wtih 200 items using the default Contacts form.

1. I would like to modify the form for this Folder to have a few extra
fields on a separate tab (page). Can I do that within that folder, or do
I have to create a separate custom form in a separate folder and import
the items into that new folder?

2. Once I have all my contacts in the new custom form, are there any
limitations in doing mail-merge with those contacts into MSWord?

Thank you.

But you do lose functionality if you customize the first page of a contact
form. See http://www.outlookcode.com/d/contactform.htm

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

Limit? No, the purpose of customizing forms is adding functionality
(although you can of course remove functionality as well)
See http://www.outlookcode.com for more information about form design in
Outlook.

--
Robert Sparnaaij [MVP-Outlook]
www.howto-outlook.com

Tips of the month:
-Properly back-up and restore your Outlook data
-Creating a Permanent New Mail Desktop Alert in Outlook 2003

-----

If one designs a custom form for contacts in OL2003 and uses that form
rather than the default form, will that limit the functionality of
OL2003?

Does anyone know one or more good websites to teach how to design a form
in OL 2003?

 

[Bob S]

1) Thanks for the link. I will read and follow it.
2) Do the custom fields get defined for the folder when one publishes the
form to the folder, when one changes teh MessageClass property of all the
contacts within the folder, or through a separate process?
Thanks for your help.

1) Neither really. You would create your custom form, publish it to either
the folder or the user's Personal Forms library, and then change the
MessageClass property of all the contacts so that it points to the new form.
See http://www.outlookcode.com/d/newdefaultform.htm for tools to help with
that.

2) None related to custom forms. Any custom fields that you want to use in
the merge need to be defined for the folder, not just the form, though.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

2) No. See http://www.outlookcode.com/d/fields.htm for best practices for defining fields in folders both with and outside the custom form design process.

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

 

[Bob S]

I read the link you gave, but am still confused. Below you said "Any
custom fields that you want to use in the merge need to be defined for the
folder, not just the form, though."

From this comment, obviously, defining a custom field for the folder is a
different process than defining it for the form. I just do not see where in
the process one does that. In the roughest terms, it seems that the process
goes something like this.
1.. Start with a new, default contact form to use as the basis for your
custom form.
2.. Customize the form to suit your needs.
3.. Publish the form to the Contacts folder.
4.. Set the form as the default form for the Contacts folder by changing
the folder properties.
5.. Set the message class of each item in the folder to the message class
for the new form.
My questions:
1. Are #1-4 pretty accurate (though rough)?
2. How should #5 be reworded to be accurate?
3. Where does "defining the custom fields for the folder, not just the
form" fit in?

Thanks.




2) No. See http://www.outlookcode.com/d/fields.htm for best practices for
defining fields in folders both with and outside the custom form design
process.

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

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

No, creating fields in a folder is not necessarily a separate operation. A lot depends on where and how you're designing the form.

If you have designed a custom contact form and only want to use it in the default Contcts folder, then any fields you added to the form should already be available in the Contacts folder.

The more problematic cases are when you have a form and you want to use it in a folder other than the default and be able to merge or search on the form's custom fields in that folder.

If you've already designed the form, though, then you have no choice but to add the fields manually or use code to loop through the UserProperties collection of an item created with the custom form and stored in the target folder.

If you want to create a custom form and you want to use it in a non-default folder, create an item in that folder and then use Tools | Forms | Design This Form on that item and use the techniques outlined in the article to add fields to the form. Since that item uses the desired folder as its parent (unlike a new contact, which uses the default Contacts folder as its parent), any field you add to the form will also be added to the folder. Note that this technique doesn't work for message forms.

#5 below is just fine.

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

 

[Bob S]

Sue,
Thank you for your patient coaching. That has helped a great deal. I now
have a custom contact form in the default Contacts folder.
I think my remaining questions are really simple.
1. The icon for most of my items in that folder has changed from what looks
like a "3x5 card with a picture on it" to what looks like a yellow curled
piece of paper with 2 bright blue dots to the top left of it". about 10 %
of the items still have the former card icon. Could you explain why most of
the icons have changed and why some have not changed?
2. Is there a way to include a picture in a custom contact form?
3. If I modify the form further, do I need to publish it to the folder
again?
4. If I modify the form further, do I need to run the macro in Omsgclas.doc
again?


No, creating fields in a folder is not necessarily a separate operation. A
lot depends on where and how you're designing the form.

If you have designed a custom contact form and only want to use it in the
default Contcts folder, then any fields you added to the form should already
be available in the Contacts folder.

The more problematic cases are when you have a form and you want to use it
in a folder other than the default and be able to merge or search on the
form's custom fields in that folder.

If you've already designed the form, though, then you have no choice but to
add the fields manually or use code to loop through the UserProperties
collection of an item created with the custom form and stored in the target
folder.

If you want to create a custom form and you want to use it in a non-default
folder, create an item in that folder and then use Tools | Forms | Design
This Form on that item and use the techniques outlined in the article to add
fields to the form. Since that item uses the desired folder as its parent
(unlike a new contact, which uses the default Contacts folder as its
parent), any field you add to the form will also be added to the folder.
Note that this technique doesn't work for message forms.

#5 below is just fine.

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

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

1) The ones with the default form icon apparently are not using the new form. You can add the Message Class field to any view to see what form the items are set to use.

2) See http://www.outlookcode.com/d/formpicture.htm#control for various ways to add a picture to a form.

3) Yes, if you want users to see your changes, you must publish the form again. Use the same message class, but increment the version number so you'll be easily able to tell what version any given item is using.

4) No. If you look at the code, you'll see that all it does is change the MessageClass.

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

 

[Bob S]

1) I added Message class to one of the views, and it says the same new
message class (namely IPM.Contact.Investor) for those with the new or the
old icon.
2) I am checking out the link. Thanks.

3a) In order to use the form on another folder, still under the default
Contacts folder, would I need to publish it to that folder and then run the
macro in Omsgclas.doc on the items in that folder?


1) The ones with the default form icon apparently are not using the new
form. You can add the Message Class field to any view to see what form the
items are set to use.

2) See http://www.outlookcode.com/d/formpicture.htm#control for various ways
to add a picture to a form.

3) Yes, if you want users to see your changes, you must publish the form
again. Use the same message class, but increment the version number so
you'll be easily able to tell what version any given item is using.

4) No. If you look at the code, you'll see that all it does is change the
MessageClass.

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

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

1) I added Message class to one of the views, and it says the same new

message class (namely IPM.Contact.Investor) for those with the new or the
old icon.

And what layout does the item actually display?

3a) In order to use the form on another folder, still under the default
Contacts folder, would I need to publish it to that folder and then run the
macro in Omsgclas.doc on the items in that folder?

A contact form needs to be published in each folder where it is used or in the user's Personal Forms library. Make sure you have SP1 installed if you publish in multiple folders.

 

[Bob S]

1) All of the items (with former icons and new icons) display the custom
layout.
3) Thanks for the heads-up to install SP1 for OL 2003 before publishing in
multiple folders. I do not think I have SP1 yet.

1) I added Message class to one of the views, and it says the same new
message class (namely IPM.Contact.Investor) for those with the new or the
old icon.

And what layout does the item actually display?

3a) In order to use the form on another folder, still under the default
Contacts folder, would I need to publish it to that folder and then run
the
macro in Omsgclas.doc on the items in that folder?

A contact form needs to be published in each folder where it is used or in
the user's Personal Forms library. Make sure you have SP1 installed if you
publish in multiple folders.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

I've heard of that before, but don't recall the cause. The cure involves writing some CDO or Redemption code to remove a property. Possibly more trouble than it's worth.

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

 

[Bob S]

I now have verified that I have the SP1 update for Office 2003. How do I
publish the form to multiple folders?


I've heard of that before, but don't recall the cause. The cure involves
writing some CDO or Redemption code to remove a property. Possibly more
trouble than it's worth.

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

 

[Bob S]

Actually all I need to do is to publish the form to 2 more folders. How can
I do that?

I've heard of that before, but don't recall the cause. The cure involves
writing some CDO or Redemption code to remove a property. Possibly more
trouble than it's worth.

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

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Tools | Forms | Publish Form or, for the second instance, Publish Form AS

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

 

[Bob S]

Thanks. 2 More small questions.

1. In the "Look In" field, is is true, I could repeat the process for
several folders?
2. In an earlier post (regarding the Message Class), you recommended adding
a version to the name of the custom form to keep up with version history.
In the "Display Name" and the "Form Name" fields, should I put "Investors"
or Investors2"?

Thanks.

Tools | Forms | Publish Form or, for the second instance, Publish Form AS

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