The Outlook Extension
When the Outlook® Extension is installed on end-user machines, and when end-users have been authenticated (logged in/registered with Aurea Messaging Solutions), the Outlook Extension periodically polls the data center to see if Email Continuity has been activated. If so, Outlook goes into offline mode, and remains offline for the duration of the activation. While Email Continuity is active, messages are routed and delivered to the users Inbox through Email Continuity.
When the activation period is over, messages sent and received during the activation using the Outlook Extension are resynced by Exchange when Outlook returns from offline mode. These messages are included in the Recovery archive, but are not restored during normal recovery unless an administrator directs the RecoveryManager to do so.
If Outlook remains open during the activation, the Outlook Extension normally receives a state change signal from the Email Continuity server telling it to reconnect to the Exchange server and return to regular operation when the activation is over. However, if Outlook is closed during the activation and it misses the state change, it may remain offline after the activation is over. If this happens, users can reconnect to Exchange and resume regular operation by right-clicking the Offline button.
If your organization uses proxy servers, the Outlook Extension provides basic proxy authentication. The Outlook Extension provides a dialog box for users to enter proxy server credentials (user name and password) to gain access to their email during an activation of Email Continuity.
NOTE
When Email Continuity is active, only one instance of Outlook with the Extension installed can be open per user mailbox. If Outlook, with the Extension installed, is open on multiple machines pointing to the same mailbox, it is likely that each instance of Outlook will only receive a subset of the messages received during an activation. Outlook, with the Extension installed, is similar to configuring a POP3 profile and deselecting the option to leave a copy of the message on the server. Each message is downloaded only by the first Outlook Extension instance that polls for the message.
NOTE
Aurea does not provide a version of AMS Outlook Extension for MS Entourage or MS Outlook 2011 for Mac because those programs do not support Outlook Extensions.
The table below compares the features and functionality available to users through Email Continuity webmail and the Outlook Extension. A check (P) means that the feature or function is available. A dash (—) means the feature or function is not available. For more information on limitations of the Outlook Extension, see Outlook Extension Limitations.
| Outlook Feature | Available in Webmail? | Available in the Outlook Extension? |
|
Send and receive email |
Yes |
Yes |
|
View or use the message importance feature |
Yes | Yes |
|
Use HTML mail formats |
Yes | Yes |
|
View or use the message sensitivity feature |
No | Yes |
|
Use message delivery options |
No | No |
|
View calendars |
Yes | Yes |
|
Receive appointments |
Yes | Yes |
|
Modify calendars |
No | Yes |
|
Send appointments |
No | Yes |
|
Access free/busy information |
No | No |
|
View contacts |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Modify contacts |
No | Yes |
|
View Global Address List |
Yes |
Yes |
|
View tasks |
No | Yes |
|
Modify tasks |
No | Yes |
|
View or use categories |
No | Yes |
|
Manage folders |
Not applicable |
Yes |
|
Access PST folders |
Not applicable |
Yes |
|
View or use the Reminders window |
No | Yes |
|
Access client-side rules (filters) |
No | Yes |
|
Access server-side rules and the Out-of-Office feature |
No | No |
|
Delegate access or view others’ mailboxes |
No | No |
For more information, see. Outlook® Extension Administration.