Form issues

[Guest]

I have created a custom form in Outlook for staff to complete and send to the
IT dept. when they have computer and/or phone issues. The form works well
except for a couple of problems. First, I have inserted check boxes for staff
to indicate their location, etc. You can use the check boxes with no problem,
but when the IT dept. recieves the e-mail, the check boxes are empty. Second,
I had deleted one of the check boxes during the design and re-inserted it.
However, this check box(checkbox2) is not included in the TAB Order list
anymore. All the others are. And last, when trying to print the e-mail it
does not print as the form is designed nor does it print the fields in the
same order as on the form (ex., instead of getting "User", "date",
"supervisor" fields printed in that order it will print as "date", "problem
description", "user", "time"). Does anyone know how I can solve these issues.
I have researched the problem until I'm blind. Please any and all
suggetstions appreciated.

 

[Hollis Paul [MVP - Outlook]]

I have created a custom form in Outlook for staff to complete and send to the
IT dept. when they have computer and/or phone issues. The form works well
except for a couple of problems. First, I have inserted check boxes for staff
to indicate their location, etc. You can use the check boxes with no problem,
but when the IT dept. recieves the e-mail, the check boxes are empty.

Did you bind your check boxes to Yes/No type fields? That type field is
required for the check boxes to work as we all expect them to.

Second,
I had deleted one of the check boxes during the design and re-inserted it.
However, this check box(checkbox2) is not included in the TAB Order list
anymore. All the others are.

In design mode, select the check box, right-click it, and choose More
Properties. In the panel that comes up, you should get a property that is
called Z-order. Move it up so that it comes in the list with the other check
boxes.

And last, when trying to print the e-mail it
does not print as the form is designed nor does it print the fields in the
same order as on the form (ex., instead of getting "User", "date",
"supervisor" fields printed in that order it will print as "date", "problem
description", "user", "time"). Does anyone know how I can solve these issues.

Printing Outlook messages, using the Memo style, is one of the greatest sources
of complaints from Outlook users. No one likes what it produces. In fact, it
is really just there as a check-out feature, and is not supposed to be used as
production, unless you are ready to live with the results. There is a wysiwyg
printing feature in the recent versions, but I have never used it.

Word is the print engine of Office applications, and if you want fine control of
how fields are printed, then you should create code to print through Word. Sue
Mosher is always pointing users to the page on her site at www.outlookcode.com
in which she explains how to print through word. Search your archives of this
newsgroup, or Google it, or go to her site and search there for the example of
printing through word.

 

[Guest]

Thank you the rapid response on my last question. The checkbox is now in the
Tab Order. However, your instructions for binding the checkboxes to a Yes/No
value was not successful. I am using Office/ Outlook 2003 if that is more
helpful. In the form design mode I clicked on the All Fields tab and gave
both fields yes/no values. However, the checkboxes still were not checked
after sending to IT. Is there a different place to bind these boxes in 2003.
Also I did go to the site you suggested and was able to downtoad a utlility
from Microsoft to enable me to print the form as seen. This utility, as far
as I can tell, is for Outlook 2000. Before I install, could you tell me if it
will make a difference if it is install on 2003.
Thanks again

 

[Hollis Paul [MVP - Outlook]]

I am using Office/ Outlook 2003 if that is more
helpful. In the form design mode I clicked on the All Fields tab and gave
both fields yes/no values.

No, that is not how you do it. When you are in that All Fields Tab, you
would look down at the bottom left corner and see a button saying New.
Click that, and up pops a small dialog. Put a name in the name field. In
the Type field choose the yes/No option from the drop down list, and in the
Format field choose the appropriate display you want to see. I believe that
the Icon choice will show the checkmark. Once you have a field set up, you
go back to the tab that shows the code, right-click the control, choose
properties, and on the tab of the dialog that pops up, click the Choose
Field to drop down the choice of categories, select the appropriate one, and
then your field. You will then see all your field's parameters displayed in
the property box. Now, the control is bound to that field. You can publish
your form, and you are good to go, as the commercial so aptly puts it.

Notice that when that control properties panel opens up, there is a New
button to the right of the choose field business. You can create your new
field there, just as you did from the All Fields tab.

 

[Guest]

I am using a code using the checkboxes and I am having the same problem. The
Checkboxes will not stay checked once my form has been saved and closed. The
code I am using is this:

Sub CheckBox3_Click()
Dim objNS
Dim objPage
Dim objControl
Set objNS = Application.GetNamespace("MAPI")
Set objPage = Item.GetInspector.ModifiedFormPages("Task Manager")
Set objControl = objPage.Controls("TextBox13")
objControl.Text = Now()
Set objControl = Nothing
Set objPage = Nothing
Set objNS = Nothing
End Sub

How do I make the check box stay checked?

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

You need to follow Hollis' instructions for creating the check boxes so that they are bound to Outlook properties.

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

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

 

[Guest]

Once I follow those instructions, the code no longer allows the time stamp to
populate the correct field.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

That's because you need to use a different event if you're using a bound control, CustomPropertyChange. See http://www.outlookcode.com/d/propsyntax.htm for sample code.

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

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

 

[Guest]

I am now trying to write a code using the CustomPropertyChange and I am not
doing something right, only I am not sure what it is. I have a checkbox that
I need to trigger the Now () formula into a text box and I cannot make this
code work I think I am just completely off base on this one.

Sub Item_CustomPropertyChange(ByVal Name)
Set objPage = Item.GetInspector.ModifiedFormPages("Task Manager")
strMyProp1 = Item.UserProperties(“CheckBox3â€)
Select Case strCheckBox3 = True
Set objControl = objPage.Controls("TextBox13")
objControl.Text = Now()
Set objControl = Nothing
Set objPage = Nothing
End Sub

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Three issues here:

1) strMyProp1 = Item.UserProperties(“CheckBox3â€)

CheckBox3 looks like the name of a control, not the name of an Outlook property, which is what UserProperties needs.

2) If you have multiple custom properties, you don't want the value in TextBox13 to change every time any of those properties changes value, do you? That's where the Name parameter comes in. Use it -- as shown in the sample -- to structure your code so that you get the desired change in TextBox 13 *only* when the one property bound to the check box changes value.

3) Select Case strCheckBox3 = True

You have no End Select statement. You have no code to set a value for strCheckBox3, which means this expression -- (strCheckBox3 = True) -- thus always returns False. And you have no Case statements.

An If ... Then ... End If block would be more appropriate for working with the value of a check box or yes/no property.


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

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

 

[Guest]

Thank you for all your help, I don't know why, but I can't make this work. I
am going to walk away and give up on this particular code. Thank you again.
I just can't seem to understand.