It is possible to
design or modify your own Outlook today page by copying the standard
version into your file system from the DLL file in which it is
normally located. From there you can then edit it in Notepad or using
view/source in your browser. NB: an HTML editor like FrontPage will
cause various problems involving the layout of Outlook Today. However,
once you have got used to how the page behaves, you may find you are
able to have a go at it. If you are designing a page from scratch,
there is nothing to stop you using an HTML editor, WYSIWYG or
otherwise. I am not attempting to provide instructions for making
changes to the Today page here, but there are some suggestions
for uses to which this
functionality can be put.
I should credit Ronald
Kuetemeier with posting the source of the
file and the steps needed to let it operate outside of it's DLL.
Perhaps of most interest though, as that is all documented in the
Outlook 98 Deployment Kit, are the instructions for recreating the
"Styles" option which was present (but unusable) in Outlook 98, and using it to switch between different
Today page styles on the fly.
It should be noted that
when Outlook calls the page from a location in your file system, there
is a slight performance disadvantage, as when accessing the DLL,
Outlook is able to present a static version of the calendar/task
tables while the dynamic version is still loading. When accessing the
page through the ordinary file system, this is not possible and you
will have to wait (about four seconds extra with a P120, 32MB
according to the Outlook Deployment Kit documentation) a little longer
to see your appointments and tasks. However, if you are
able to access some developer software such as Microsoft Developer
Studio 5.0 (instructions - for use with this software only -can be
found in the ODK doc's) you can replace the the files you have edited
back into the DLL once you are finished editing. Backup if you
do this!
Note that this works only
with NT as you cannot "replace resources in executable files in
Windows 95" using Microsoft Developer Studio (again according to
the ODK doc's). I don't know if it is possible with other software.
This would bring the page back up to speed.
It is probably worth
your while reading this, reproduced from http://www.microsoft.com/msdn/news/feature/032598/oldevenh.htm:
"There are a
number of limitations to keep in mind when adding content and
functionality to the Outlook Today page.
Although Outlook Today
provides users with a powerful timesaving summary view, it is not
intended to replace the Inbox, Calendar or Task modules. Nor is
Outlook Today intended to replace a web browser. Outlook Today should
be considered a summary and starting point for personal and
intranet/Internet information delivery.
Modifying the Outlook
Today page may result in reduced performance for the information
retrieval and rendering of the Outlook Today page itself. Again, the
Outlook Today page should be considered a starting point that the user
reads upon startup or checks into periodically during the day or week.
Customizing Outlook
Today is considered an advanced developer feature, and is expected to
change in future releases of the product. Therefore, modifications to
Outlook Today pages that work in Outlook 98 may require modification
or rewriting if they are to work in future versions of Outlook.
Deployment options are
very limited for Outlook Today pages, and therefore may not be
suitable for the controlled deployment required at many larger
organizations."
How To Do It:-
- Open the following address in
IE4 or above (adapt where necessary if you installed
Outlook 2000 in a custom location): or above (adapt where necessary if you installed
Outlook 2000 in a custom location):
res://Outlwvw.dll/Outlook.htm
I have found that on some computers
this path does not always work - no idea why
- even though it is the address given in the registry as the default
location of the Today page. If so try this, substituting your own path
if you installed in a non-standard location:
res://C:\Program%20Files\Microsoft%20Office\Office\Outlwvw.dll/Outlook.htm
- Click no to the debug option.
Don't worry that calendar
and task info is not shown - this is not possible outside Outlook and
unfortunately it does not seem possible to set the page up as an
active desktop.
- Create a new directory
(mine is c:\today) somewhere on your hard drive. I suggest
placing it in the root directory, especially if you will be using
today pages from my Net Folder, which will all link to local files
in c:\today.
(mine is c:\today) somewhere on your hard drive. I suggest
placing it in the root directory, especially if you will be using
today pages from my Net Folder, which will all link to local files
in c:\today.
- Save the file as HTML
in this directory with the same name (Outlook.htm).
in this directory with the same name (Outlook.htm).
- Edit the source code by
replacing the three occurrences of 'display:none'
to read 'display:'.
Find these using the search function. Doing this enables the tables
for mail, calendar and tasks to be seen on the page when the .htm
file is in the file system and not within the dll. If you edit the
files and later return them back to their original position in the
dll, you will need to reinsert 'none', for the page to show you
static versions of the tables while the dynamic ones load.display:none'
to read 'display:'.
Find these using the search function. Doing this enables the tables
for mail, calendar and tasks to be seen on the page when the .htm
file is in the file system and not within the dll. If you edit the
files and later return them back to their original position in the
dll, you will need to reinsert 'none', for the page to show you
static versions of the tables while the dynamic ones load.
- You now need to extract the
custom.htm or Options page from the DLL in exactly the same way as
before, and place it the same directory your Today page.
- Having done this find the
variable "var strReturnURL"..
Change this line to:var strReturnURL"..
Change this line to:
var strReturnURL =
"file:///C:/Today/Outlook.htm";
This path will be used to return
from the options screen to your version of Outlook Today if the
process of changing options is cancelled. I am not yet sure how
this can be done (perhaps either a keyboard shortcut, a feature
they intend to add-in later, a feature they planned to use but
abandoned, or perhaps am I missing something?), but it is worth
changing in case it happens, as otherwise you would be sent back
to the standard Today page in the dll and go back to changing the
registry settings to get back to your customized page.
- Next edit the links within
custom.htm to the standard Outlook Today page. Look for the remark //
set the default style, and change the URL and
IMG properties of the "straStyles"
tags to the path to your standard Outlook Today page and the standard.gif
respectively. //
set the default style, and change the URL and
IMG properties of the "straStyles"
tags to the path to your standard Outlook Today page and the standard.gif
respectively.
- The
last thing to be done is
to change the following registry key which tells Outlook where to
look when it opens the Today page:
My
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.0\Outlook\Today
Edit the string
"URL" to read "c:/path to your
Outlook today page.htm" [Note
the forward slash]. This can be the standard page
which you have now moved, or any other page you like.c:/path to your
Outlook today page.htm" [Note
the forward slash]. This can be the standard page
which you have now moved, or any other page you like.
I have heard that this string is not
necessarily present in everybody's registry so here's the full key:
| (Default) |
(Value Not Set) |
| "CalDays" |
"7" |
| "Style" |
"Style0" |
| Taskfilter |
"All" |
| Url |
"res://outlwvw.dll"
change to:
"C:/today/outlook.htm |
To add a string value, right click in
the string window, and choose New String Value. Name it "Url"
(exactly) and add your page's location by double clicking the string
name.
Note that the page specified here
should be the same one assigned the "Style0" value in the
custom.htm source. If it isn't and you have multiple Today pages (see
below), change the Style string to "Style1" or whatever
number is appropriate...
Note: if you wish to use the
instructions below with several different Today pages, the Styles
option will automatically change this registry setting for you if you
leave the Style string as the default 0 and change using the Options
page described below.
You can now add links, ActiveX,
scripts, or whatever you like to the file, and also create multiple
versions to suit different users, work/home etc. If you have
access to the outlwvw.dll file from the Beta 2 version of Outlook 98
continue with the instructions below.
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- Create a copy of the custom.htm
file which you extracted above, and then extract the same file from
the outlwvw.dll which
belongs to the Beta version of Outlook 98. custom.htm
file which you extracted above, and then extract the same file from
the outlwvw.dll which
belongs to the Beta version of Outlook 98.
- View both sources
simultaneously in each half of the screen and carefully copy the
HTML relating to the Style option from the Beta to the Release
source. In this way you get to keep the most up-to-date
version of the options screen, while exploiting the 'change style'
function of the Beta version. save this new options screen in the
same folder you created earlier. If you are unsure as to which
sections of code should be transferred,first look for everything
which seems to refer to Styles.
- Extract the file standard.gif
from the Beta outlwvw.dll
as before and place this in the same directory. This is a
small screenshot of the standard Outlook Today screen, which appears
next to the Styles option. You can create one of these for each of
your new pages if you wish or use this graphic for all pages.
Another option would be to delete all reference to it from the
source code of the options page. Simply use the print screen key and
a picture editor to create a similarly sized gif file. outlwvw.dll
as before and place this in the same directory. This is a
small screenshot of the standard Outlook Today screen, which appears
next to the Styles option. You can create one of these for each of
your new pages if you wish or use this graphic for all pages.
Another option would be to delete all reference to it from the
source code of the options page. Simply use the print screen key and
a picture editor to create a similarly sized gif file.
- Now copy all four "straStyles"
tags and insert them as follows (go down to the "Fill the
drop-down with available styles" section) for each style you
will wish to select. The example here gives you two styles
to choose from in the drop-down list, and you can add more. Just
remember to add one to the digit after straStyles for each new
style. straStyles"
tags and insert them as follows (go down to the "Fill the
drop-down with available styles" section) for each style you
will wish to select. The example here gives you two styles
to choose from in the drop-down list, and you can add more. Just
remember to add one to the digit after straStyles for each new
style.
// Fill the drop-down with
available styles
var i, elOptionTemp
for ( i = 0; i < straStyles.length; i++ )
{straStyles[0] = new
Object();
straStyles[0].Name = "Standard"
straStyles[0].URL = "c:/today/outlook.htm"
straStyles[0].Img = "c:/today/standard.gif"
straStyles[1] = new
Object();
straStyles[1].Name = "Standard With Links"
straStyles[1].URL = "c:/today/today1.htm"
straStyles[1].Img = "c:/today/today1.gif"
elOptionTemp = null
elOptionTemp = document.createElement( "OPTION"
);
elOptionTemp.text = straStyles[i].Name;
elOptionTemp.value = "Style" + i
document.all.lbStyle.add( elOptionTemp )
This attaches a style number to each
page by which the registry will recognise it.
- Now edit the link to the
options screen in the source code of all your Today pages, including
the standard Outlook Today page, so that they all point to this
version of custom.htm. Do a search for the text 'options'
to find this. Also ensure that the var strReturnURL still points to
a today page that you are using (it's not important which, provided
that it is one of those in your new drop-down list). Do a search for the text 'options'
to find this. Also ensure that the var strReturnURL still points to
a today page that you are using (it's not important which, provided
that it is one of those in your new drop-down list).
You should now be able to go into
Outlook, click the link to the 'Options' page, and select a different
Today style!
The following are a few
ways in which you could adapt Outlook Today to suit you, in addition to
ActiveX, Java, and data-binding (the calendar and task tables are
examples of dynamic data-binding enabled by IE).
You can of course create your Outlook
Today page from scratch if you like, just remember to add a link to the
Options page if you will need to change any of the options.
Brainstorming
in no particular order:
- Insert links of your
choice next to the 'Options' screen link.
- Give your customers a customized
Outlook Today page, similar to the original, but with links to your
website and/or key personnel eg. sales, customer support
- Data-binding - link your own databases
in the same way as calendar, mail and task information for
sales/stock control/finance/external (i.e.. non OL contacts) mailing
lists etc.
- Embed a randomly changing picture,
quote for the day, corporate message.
- Links to internet free/busy pages
- mailto: links for
people you e-mail often
- Sound files to listen
to while you work
- Links to
internet-based radio
- Quick links to local files, such as
databases, browsers
- Add command line links
to open up new e-mail/fax messages or even other buttons/menu
commands if you don't mind switching to Outlook Today to see them.
Note that some of these involve
changing the Mail, Calendar and Task data-bindings - fairly complicated.
In fact not having tried it I don't know if it is possible! If somebody
works this out, please e-mail me.
- Differing pages for
different departments/functions
- Individual users could commission
entire pages or added links/functions for their own pages
- Demonstrations of Today functionality,
for example by consultants pushing Outlook to clients
- Different users of the
same computer can change Today pages without having to have an extra
.pst file.
- Internet Mail Only users could have a
different page for each .pst file (currently it's only possible to
have one profile, with one default folder and therefore only one
Today page).
- A different page orientated around
your private and business .pst files. This works in
Corporate/Workgroup mode, but not IMO at present.
- More than one Today page to allow
users access to more information than is available through one, such
as extra Inter/Intranet links. Placing lots of info on one page
would not only mean much was invisible most of the time, but would
slow the page down. Forward/back links could be used to accomplish
this.
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