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Frequently Asked Questions about WHS Outlook 
Do you have the latest Release (Version
1.0.3.30)? Here's how to check:
1.) Select Settings from within the main WHS Outlook Console tab
2.) In the Add-In Information section of the WHS Outlook Setitngs panel, your Version number is
displayed
e.g. WHS Outlook® - Version 1.0.3.30
If you don't have the latest Release, download
it now!
If you do have the latest
Release:
Check the FAQ
list shown below - if your question's in the list, you're in luck!
Still puzzled? Send
us a Support Request - we'll get back to you as fast as we can.
Want to suggest a topic for this FAQ or
a new feature idea for the program? Let
us know!
Click on
any question to get an answer NOW!
Q01: My Windows Home Server is headless (i.e. it doesn't have an attached monitor, keyboard, and mouse) and/or it doesn't contain a CD/DVD drive so how do I install Microsoft Outlook/Office onto it?
If your WHS machine is headless, then you'll need to install Microsoft Outlook/Office using a Remote Desktop Connection to your WHS from one of your client computers (i.e. from one of the computers on which you've installed the Windows Home Server Connector software). For the steps on how to make a Remote Desktop Connection to your WHS machine, please see the following We Got Served Wiki:
Remote Access to Windows Home Server
If your WHS doesn't have a CD/DVD drive, then you'll also need to extract ALL of the installation files and folders from your Microsoft Outlook/Office installation CD/DVD into one of the shared folders on your WHS machine (such as \\[SERVERNAME]\Software) so that you can access the installation files from there. To do this:
- From your client machine, right mouse click on the Windows Home Server connector icon (
 ) that's located in the notification area of the Windows Taskbar (i.e. down by the system clock), and select "Shared Folders" from the popup menu that appears.
- Open the "Software" shared folder and copy ALL of the files and folders from your Microsoft Outlook/Office installation CD/DVD into that shared folder.
- Start a Remote Desktop Connection to your WHS machine and double click on the "Shared Folders on Server" icon located on the WHS machine's desktop.
- Open the "Software" shared folder and locate and run (i.e. double click on) the "Setup.exe" program file in order to start the Microsoft Outlook/Office installation wizard.
- Follow the on-screen prompts in order to install Microsoft Outlook/Office onto your WHS machine.
NOTE #1: It is recommended that you install Microsoft Outlook/Office to your WHS machine's C:\ or "SYS" drive (not the D:\ or "DATA" drive).
NOTE #2: If you are using an installation disc for the entire Microsoft Office suite, then you can opt to do a custom installation and ONLY install the Microsoft Outlook application. None of the other host Office applications (e.g. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) are required to use WHS Outlook.
NOTE #3: The whole point behind using WHS Outlook is to be able to install a single copy of Microsoft Outlook onto your WHS machine and then access it from any client computer on your local network that has the Windows Home Server connector software installed on it. Therefore, it is NOT necessary to install Microsoft Outlook/Office on any computer on your local network except for the WHS machine. If Microsoft Outlook is installed on one or more of your client computers, that instance of Outlook will NOT be used. Only the instance of Microsoft Outlook that's installed on your WHS machine will be used by WHS Outlook.
NOTE #4: If you get an error message when running the Microsoft Outlook/Office Setup.exe program (such as "Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file. You may not have appropriate permissions to access the item", etc.), then you'll need to temporarily disable the Internet Explorer Enhanced Security component of your WHS in order to run the program. To do this:
- Create a Remote Desktop Connection to your Windows Home Server.
- From your WHS desktop, go to Start -> Control Panel -> Add or Remove Programs.
- In the left-hand pane of the Add or Remove Programs window that appears, click on the "Add/Remove Windows Components" icon.
- In the Windows Components Wizard that appears, scroll down the list of available components until you find "Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration" and uncheck the box in front of it.
- Click the Next button and follow any prompts.
You should now be able to run the Microsoft Outlook/Office Setup.exe program.
Once you have finished installing Microsoft Outlook/Office on your WHS machine, you can (and should) re-enable the Internet Explorer Enhanced Security component by simply reversing the steps given above.
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Q02: Slow Add-In Installs/Uninstalls
Please see the following We Got Served Wiki:
Manually Uninstall a WHS Add-in
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Q03: Slow Add-In Installs/Uninstalls
Please see the following post by Jerry M over on the MediaSmartHome.com Forums:
Slow add-in installs/uninstalls? Read this!
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Q04: How do I configure Windows Home Server for remote access?
Please see the following post by Steven Warren over on the TechRepublic blog:
How do I configure Windows Home Server for remote access?
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Q05: Is it possible to use WHS Outlook with multiple users?
Yes, it sure is. There's an easy way, and a harder way (which is
recommended).
The easy way...
Microsoft designed the Windows Home Server Console to be accessed only by the
Administrator account of the WHS. Therefore, the WHS Console requires the
administrator's password for your WHS in order to open it. If you don't mind
providing the administrative password of your WHS to the other members of your
household, then you can easily set up WHS Outlook to work with multiple users in
Outlook (i.e. "profiles").
Setting up additional profiles in WHS Outlook is exactly the same as doing it
for Outlook itself with a few minor exceptions. Here's how to do it:
1) Start the WHS Console and click on the "WHS Outlook®" icon in
order to display WHS Outlook's tab. Note: You may need to scroll the list of
available icons in order to see the WHS Outlook® icon.
2) Make sure that Outlook is closed by selecting the "Close Outlook"
button from WHS Outlook's toolbar.
3) Once Outlook has closed, you will see a "Mail Setup" button
appear on WHS Outlook's toolbar. Click this button in order to launch Outlook's
Mail Setup applet.
4) In the Mail Setup window that appears, click on the "Show Profiles"
button.
5) In the Mail window that appears, click the "Add" button in
order to create a new user profile in Outlook.
Once the profile has been created, you can then click the "Choose Profile"
button on WHS Outlook's toolbar and a prompt will display allowing you to select
the particular profile that you would like to use.
NOTE #1: If you would like to have WHS Outlook automatically prompt you
to choose a profile each time it first runs, then you can enable that
functionality using its Settings panel. Click on the "Settings" button on
WHS Outlook's toolbar in order to open up WHS Outlook's Settings panel and then
select the "Prompt for a profile to be used" option.
NOTE #2: If you would like to prevent the users from interacting with
each other's profiles, you can add a password to the profile's data file (i.e.
the PST file). That way WHS Outlook (and Outlook itself) will prompt for the
password any time someone tries to start Outlook using the profile. To add a
password to a profile's data file, open Outlook's Mail Setup applet (same as
steps 1 through 3 above), select the "Data Files" button, double-click on
the profile you would like to password protect in the window that opens, and
click on the "Change Password" button.
The harder (but recommended) way...
If giving the administrative password to other household members isn't an option
for you, then Michael Shannon has come up with a really ingenious way of
allowing multiple user access to the WHS Console. Michael (along with Drashna)
have created a Wiki over on We Got
Served that can be easily followed:
Multiple User access to WHS Console
This method works great with WHS Outlook, but it requires a somewhat lengthy
setup process and uses methods unsupported by Microsoft. If you decide to use
this method, please incorporate the following items into the wiki in order to
customize it for use with WHS Outlook:
A) Under "Create User Accounts", use "Outlook Users"
(instead of "Backup Managers") as the new group name, and use "Outlook User"
(instead of "Backup Manager") as the user name (note that, as indicated in step
11 of the wiki, you can use any name you'd like for the user but be sure to
replace that chosen name for "Outlook User" in all the steps of the
wiki and this FAQ topic).
Note: Please don't forget to add a password for the new user in step 7 of the wiki
(otherwise you won't be able to logon as that user later on).
B) Under "Create User Accounts", add a new step between
steps 10 and 11 (i.e. step 10.5) which reads as follows:
Open the "Sessions" tab, set the "End a disconnected session:"
value to "1 minute", and click on the "Apply" button.
C) Under "Set the Access Permissions", deny access to
ALL HomeServerConsoleTab.x.dll files except for
"HomeServerConsoleTab.WHSOutlook.dll".
Note: The "HomeServerConsoleTab.Health.dll" also needs to be
denied access as it controls the Computers & Backup tab in the WHS Console.
You'll still have access to the "Network Health" icon in the WHS Console when
you deny access to this dll (i.e. its name is a bit misleading).
D) Under "Configure the Group Policy", skip all of the
steps indicated as we already took care of it in item B above.
E) Under "Restrict Logon", use "Outlook User"
or the particular user name you've chosen to use (in place of "Backup Manager"). Also, please
note that the "C:\Documents and Settings\Outlook User" folder will not
exist on your WHS until you log on as "Outlook User" for the first time. Therefore, you
should skip this section of the wiki and come back to it at the very end (after
you've done a "normal" Remote Desktop Connection to the WHS as "Outlook User" and the
desktop has been initialized/created by WHS).
F) Under "Configure the Clients", name the RDC
configuration file as "WHS Outlook.rdp" (instead of "Home Server Backup
Manager Console.rdp") and use the following text instead:
full address:s:server
username:s:Outlook User
alternate shell:s:HomeServerConsoleRDP.exe
shell working directory:s:C:\Program Files\The Office Maven\WHS Outlook\
screen mode id:i:1
session bpp:i:32
desktopwidth:i:992
desktopheight:i:673
compression:i:1
keyboardhook:i:2
audiomode:i:0
redirectprinters:i:0
redirectcomports:i:0
redirectsmartcards:i:1
redirectclipboard:i:1
redirectposdevices:i:0
drivestoredirect:s:
displayconnectionbar:i:1
autoreconnection enabled:i:0
authentication level:i:0
prompt for credentials:i:1
negotiate security layer:i:1
remoteapplicationmode:i:0
disable wallpaper:i:0
disable full window drag:i:0
allow desktop composition:i:1
allow font smoothing:i:1
disable menu anims:i:0
disable themes:i:0
disable cursor setting:i:0
bitmapcachepersistenable:i:1
gatewayhostname:s:
gatewayusagemethod:i:4
gatewaycredentialssource:i:4
gatewayprofileusagemethod:i:0
NOTE #1: Be sure to replace "server" in the first line with the
name of your own WHS. Also, if you've opted to use a user name different than "Outlook
User", then you'll also need to update the second line to reflect the user
name you've chosen.
NOTE #2: Starting with PP1, WHS now remembers which
HomeServerConsoleTab.x.dll file was blocked from running during the current
session (due to the deny access trick we're using in the "Set Access
Permissions" section of the wiki), and it will prompt you to block that
file from loading the next time you launch the Console. To get around those annoying
prompts, I've created a small program file named "HomeServerConsoleRDP.exe"
that will automatically bypass the prompts for you. The RDC configuration file
(item F above) has already been modified for use with "HomeServerConsoleRDP.exe"
and the "HomeServerConsoleRDP.exe" file is automatically
included when you install WHS Outlook.
NOTE: #3: Once you've completed all of the steps in the wiki (don't
forget about item E above!), you will need to setup an Outlook profile containing
an e-mail account for your Outlook user. The first time you log on as the
"Outlook User" (via your newly created RDP shortcut), WHS Outlook will alert you
that no profiles exist and will open up Outlook's Mail applet allowing you to
add a profile.
NOTE #4: Unfortunately, this method of multiple user access to the WHS
Console doesn't work for remote access to the Console (since there is no way to
specify a log on name when using remote access to the Console), and so users in
the Outlook Users group will not be able to remote access into the Console like
the Administrator can.
That should do it. You will now be able to run a modified version of the WHS
Console that shows ONLY the WHS Outlook tab to your users. The users can log on to the
modified Console using the user name you've chosen (as opposed to using
"Administrator") and you can even repeat the steps of the wiki in order to setup
access for more than one user (although due to the WHS Console being a single
instance application, only one user will be allowed to log on to the Console at
a time).
Enjoy!
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Copyright © 2008 The Office Maven - All Rights Reserved.
Last update: 30-Nov-2008
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