OL97: Set Up Outlook for Multiple or Roaming Users

• Microsoft Outlook 97

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, you should first make a backup copy of the registry files.

SUMMARY

It is often necessary to have multiple users log on to the same computer or have a roaming user log on to different workstations on the network. In each of these cases, it is preferable that users access their own Microsoft Outlook 97 settings.

This article describes how to setup Outlook, to have multiple computer users or in the case of Windows NT, roaming workstation users if Windows NT is setup for roaming profiles.

MORE INFORMATION

The files that store Outlook settings are normally located in the default Windows directory. These files are:

• Views.dat - stores name space views
• Outlprnt - stores print style settings
• <profile name>.fav - stores Outlook Bar settings
• <profile name>.rtf - stores AutoSignature information

Because of a problem with current versions of Outlook, <profile name>.RTF does not travel with a roaming user. If two roaming users have the same profile name, an erroneous AutoSignature could be sent. If a roaming user travels to a computer that does not have an RTF file that matches his profile name, he will not get an autosignature when he expects one.

For Multiple Users, locate the first 3 of the above four files in a separate directory for each user.

For Roaming Users, locate the first 3 of the four files in a server-based, private user directory. Then, if Windows NT is setup for Roaming Profiles (see REFERENCES section below), these files will be available from anywhere the user logs on to the network.

How to Change the Registry Settings

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall Windows. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the Changing Keys And Values online Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe). Note that you should make a backup copy of the registry files before you edit the registry.

1. For Multiple Users, copy the three files;

         <profile name>.fav,
         Views.dat
         Outlprnt
   

   to a separate directory on the computer for each user. For Roaming Users, copy the files to a server-based, private directory for each user.

2. Backup the registry:

   a. Click the Start button, and click Run. In the Open box, type

         "regedit" (without the quotation marks), and click OK.
   

   b. On the Registry menu, click "Export Registry File."

   c. Type a name for the registry file and click Save, to save the

         registry to your desktop.
   

3. Add a new value of Favorites to the Office Explorer key. This will contain the path to the <profile name>.fav.

   a. Navigate to the following key in the registry:

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.0\Outlook\Office Explorer

   b. Right-click the Office Explorer key, point to New and click

         String Value.
   

   c. Type "Favorites" (without the quotation marks) as the name of the

         new String Value and press ENTER.
   

   d. Right-click Favorites, and click Modify.

   e. In the Value data window of Edit String, type the path to

         the user's private directory in the following format:
   

            drive:\<path\ (for Multiple Users)
   
            \\<Servername>\<Sharename>\ (for Roaming Users)
   
         NOTE: The path must end with a trailing backslash, and the user
         must have read\write permission to the directory and the file.
   
   

4. Add a new value of Views to the Office Explorer key. This will contain the path to the Views.dat file.

   a. Right-click the Office Explorer key, point to New, and click

         String Value.
   

   b. Type "Views" (without the quotation marks) as the name of the new

         String Value and press Enter.
   

   c. Right-click Views, and click Modify.

   d. In the Value data window of Edit String, type the

         path to the user's private directory, in the following format:
   

            drive:\<path\ (for "Multiple Users")
   
            \\<Servername>\<Sharename>\ (for "Roaming Users")
   
         IMPORTANT: The path must end with a trailing backslash, and the user
         must have read\write permission to the directory and the file.
   
   

5. Change the path to the Outlprnt file.

   a. Navigate to the following key in the registry:

         HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\microsoft\office\8.0\Outlook\printing
   

   b. Right-click "Print Settings File," and click Modify.

   c. In the Value data window of Edit String, change the

         path to the user's private directory in the following format:
   

            drive:\<path\Outprnt (for "Multiple Users")
   
            \\<Servername>\<Sharename>\Outlprnt (for "Roaming Users")
   
         NOTE: The user must have read\write permission to the directory
         and the file.
   
   

6. Quit the Registry Editor and Restart Windows.

REFERENCES

For more information on this subject, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID:  Q161070
   TITLE     :  Step by Step Roaming Profiles Configuration

   ARTICLE-ID:  Q161235
   TITLE     :  XL97: How to Use a Toolbar Settings File from a Network
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