|
|
| Product
Reviews
|
| Outlock
http://www.eldblom.dk/path/
Reviewed by OutlookExchange reader Lee Madajczyk (lee@madajczyk.com)
|
|
One of the best utilities in my toolkit is a small program
called Outlock, which was developed in Borland Delphi 4 by Thomas
Eldblom. This seemingly simple little program allows my users to
keep their Exchange mailbox open without having to keep Microsoft Outlook
running in memory. When this program is run, a small icon is placed in the
system tray. If a new mail message comes in, it will display the familiar
new mail indicator in the task bar, even if you don't have an instance of
Microsoft Outlook running. A right-click on the icon will present a pop-up
list of your most frequently used commands and shortcuts. A double-click
opens up the full Microsoft Outlook program in a fraction of the normal
time, since the mailbox is already open and ready for use.
The only problem that I have ever run into is one that the program
itself does not cause. In my login script, I use a system to automatically
generate a user's e-mail profile if it's not already loaded into their
roaming profile. If the Outlock utility attempts to start before the
profile is fully generated, it displays a "Could not contact
server" error message, which has prompted more than a few false panic
calls to my help desk. I would love to see a feature that would allow me
to suppress error messages.
My users love this program. They don't have to dig down to the desktop
to launch Outlook. Plus the right-click functionality makes it fast and
easy to dash off an important e-mail message. About a month after rolling
it out, I did a quick user survey to see what they thought of it, and it's
pretty safe to say that I would probably be lynched if I attempted to take
this program away from them.
This program is freeware, and although it is only tested up to Outlook
98, I have been using it with Outlook 2000 for the past six months with
perfect results. I can honestly say that this program will be in my
toolkit for a long time.
Program Website: http://www.eldblom.dk/path/
About the author: Lee Madajczyk is a Systems
Administrator for a manufacturing company in the middle of frozen
Wisconsin. He's been in the in the industry for the past five years, and
has been staring at a computer screen since the introduction of the
Commodore VIC 20. He is a Microsoft Certified Professional that has almost
completed the Windows 2000 track. He doesn't like green beans. You can
reach him at lee@madajczyk.com |
 Do YOU
have an opinion about this product? Let
me know! |
Back to the product reviews section of Mitch
Tulloch's column on OutlookExchange.Com. |
 Go
to the home page of Mitch Tulloch's Exchange
section on OutlookExchange.Com. |
 Send me feedback on this article. |
| Disclaimer:
I hope that the information in these pages is valuable to you. Your use of the information
contained inthese pages, however, is at your sole risk. All information on these pages is
provided "as -is", without any warranty, whether express or implied, of its
accuracy, completeness, fitness for a particular purpose, title or non-infringement, and
none of the third-party products or information mentioned in the work are authored,
recommended, supported or guaranteed by me. I shall not be liable for any damages you may
sustain by using this information, whether direct, indirect, special, incidental or
consequential, even if it has been advised of the possibility of such damages. |
|
