Using Outlook Calendar for scheduling

[John]

We are attempting to implement a scheduling solution so
that users can take advantage of the Microsoft Outlook
calendar feature.

Throughout the past few years we have purchased different
versions of Microsoft Office to be installed on desktops.
In many cases we purchased an OEM copy of Microsoft Office
through Dell bundled in with the cost of the computer.
Unfortunately, we now have six versions of Microsoft
Outlook and the calendar features seem to be incompatible
with each other. The six versions are:

MS Office 2000 Small Business Edition (purchased through
Dell Computers)
MS Office 2000 Professional (purchased through Dell
Computers)
MS Office XP Small Business Edition (purchased through
Dell Computers)
MS Office XP Professional (purchased through Microsoft)
MS Office 2003 Small Business Edition (purchased through
Dell)
MS Office 2003 Professional (purchased through Dell)

Is it true that these versions of Outlook are incompatible
with each other?

We use an Internet Service Provider to manage our e-mail
(POP servers).

Is it possible to upgrade the Outlook portion of Office
without upgrading the entire Office suite? That way I
could ensure that everyone is using the same features and
Outlook is behaving the same way for each user.

Do we have to install Exchange Server to utilize the
scheduling portion of Outlook?

Is it possible to use Exchange server for in-house
scheduling and our ISP for the transmission of email?

Thanks.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

They are indeed compatible for scheduling, except that you should remove
reminders when using iCalendar to send meeting requests to Outlook 2000.
Exchange Server not required.

Upgrading just Outlook is possible, but you lose all Word integration if the
versions are mismatched.

If you want to use Exchange, you should use it for both mail and calendar.

 

[scoop180]

Hi all

I have a user who I have setup multiple shared calenders for so that
she can see when the consultants in her office are busy and when they
are free for meetings etc etc.
However when she goes to setup a new appointment and goes to the
scheduling tab and adds in the appropriate people she can only see what
appointments they have in the next two months after that it just reads
no information even though they have appointments scheduled well into
the future past the two month mark.
Could anyone please tell me if and how you can set things up so you can
see beyond the two months.
The person who has access to the peoples folders has been setup with
editorial permissions, they have a mixture of outlook xp and 2003 on
their machines and the exchange server is 2003.
Thanks in advance,

stephen