Posted on 03/26/2016 10:47:59 AM PDT by ducttape45
I need an expert on Outlook 2013 and Exchange Server. Here is the reason why.
I work for the federal government at a local military base (hey, put those rocks down, right now!) and just recently Outlook 2013 was hoisted upon us. No one wanted it, no one asked for it, and everyone is complaining about it. Story for another time.
Outlook 2013 and 2016 has dropped a vital feature. If you go File, Account Settings, Account Settings, the very first tab is called "Email." At the bottom of that screen, at least versions 2010 and earlier, there is a method to have all incoming email routed to a local .PST file. That feature is no longer available. All incoming email is now put into an account on the Exchange server. That might be fine and dandy for normal users but for those who routinely send 50-100 MBs of data daily it's just not feasible, especially when you consider we only have 90 MB of data space available to each user. The email server is likely have a meltdown soon.
To get around that limitation, a rule could be set up to route all incoming email from the user's account on the Exchange server to a local .PST file. It couldn't entirely fix the problem Microsoft created because copies of sent emails, deleted emails and conversation history are all still directed to the users account on the Exchange server. More problems to work through.
I drafted up a tutorial based on this knowledge and what I found on the Internet and passed it along to folks. Well, wouldn't you know it, someone must have found out it because now we've been thrown another curveball.
The only way the rule to transfer emails could be set up is through the Rules and Alerts feature in Outlook. You click Rules, Manage Alerts and the menu to create alerts come up. At the top of that screen there is a dialog box called "Apply changes to this folder" and that is where we would indicate the Exchange server location in order to set up the rule.
Someone in their infinite wisdom is disabling that context menu. Without it, no one can set up the rule. And here's what's even stranger. That feature is not disabled on every computer. That tells me that perhaps there is something with a policy somewhere that enables the user to turn that feature on and off. I could be wrong but I'm hoping I'm not.
After all that, my priority is this:
1. I need to find out why "Apply changes to this folder" is active on some computers and not on others.
2. Is that a feature somewhere within Windows and/or Outlook that can be turned on.
Can anyone out there help me with this? It is causing great consternation (yes, that is a word) amongst my cohorts in crime and while I despise the government hierarchy as much as you do, I work with some very good people and I want to help fix this problem.
ShadowAce, I know you got IT connections. Can you forward this to your ping list? Thanks.
I have both 2010 and 2013 at home. Both show the option to change destination folders. Don’t know why yours would
not.
I’m a bit puzzled here - are you the admin on these systems? It reads like you are simply a user who is tampering with settings. If you require local archiving and more space on the exchange server to conduct work related activities, don’t you have a number you can call?
Personally, I’d recommend against tampering with government computers.
I’m pretty sure that your delivery options are being governed by group policy. By default Outlook 2013 allows mail redirection.
Are you working on the client (Outlook) side or the host (Exchange) side? My first visit would be to whomever dictates network policy (IT security, firewall, you’ll know who does what in your organization).
That said, mail redirection to a PST file is inherently unsafe and not considered a “Best Practice” by Microsoft.
You need to discuss this with whoever is in charge of setting domain or enterprise level policies. Sounds like someone forgot to look into existing policies before performing this alleged upgrade.
Use “auto archive”.
Master setting. Or by folder. Set the frequency of the archive.
You can also name pst files in custom settings.
You can then use rules if you choose to route incomimg messages to folders, which are then automatically archived based on the archive settings.
Wait until they see Outlook 2016...
Addendum: it’s entirely possible that no one really has a firm grasp on policy management. You may be looking at the equivalent of an archaeological dig.
This is the DoD’s response to losing government records by preventing people from removing email from the server before the scheduled server updates. You can thank HRC and the Department of State for this “solution”.
The other thing to take note of, dod jas set up a file drop site for large files so that email is not impacted.
Freepmail me if you want info
You do not have Administrator Privelege and are stuck with it...
Hopefully self-hosted Accellion or something similar.
Let's put it this way. I am a local user at the base. I once had admin rights many moons ago but when the organizational structure of IT departments was changed my admin rights were taken away. I am, however, one of the few very experienced IT fixer uppers on the base and my computer system is a test subject for all things software so I knew about this buggaboo weeks before any else and I get the chance to sound the alert if anything is amiss.
I was able to set up the rule and I was mostly fat dumb and happy. But when the software was rolled out to everyone else the problems began.
That said, no one at the Helpdesk knows why the "Apply changes to this folder" is on some computers and not on others. I'm trying find out the whys and wherefores so I can brief them on what to do to make the fix.
Pretty sad huh? A local GS-05 telling a room full of GS-09s how to do their job.
This.
Trust me, they won't talk to me. They know better. I'm usually the one who finds this stuff out and briefs THEM on what they did wrong.
That said, I'm trying to find out where in the policy (if it even exists) I would go to make the change. I need info.....
They're garbage, but the Air Force don't care. It's their policy to "break what isn't broke."
Oh I know, trust me. This is all about the government's ability to go through my emails and me trying to prevent them from doing so.
Nice cat and mouse game huh?
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