Outlook Connector Functionality

[vshah]

Is there anywhere a list of features that the Zimbra Outlook Connector doesn't do when compared to Outlook with Exchange? For example, I can't seem to do Calendar delegation from Outlook (though I can from the Web client). I also know from the forums that you can't do public folders, etc.
So far, in our trial, everytime some user asks how to do a feature, we have to hunt around and figure out whether it works in the OC, or in the web client, or not at all. Maybe I've missed some definitive list somewhere?

Also, any idea when the next version of the Outlook Connector is going to be out?

Thanks

[KevinH]

A good list is here:

http://www.zimbra.com/pdf/Zimbra%20C...ure%20List.pdf

Next version will come with 3.1 which is our next release. It's within a month. If you are having a specific problem and need help please contact our support team via the support portal. If it's a major problem it may be possible to get you a patch or work with you to get another solution.

[vshah]

Thanks for the reply, Kevin. I did see that list. Can I assume that if it's not explicitly mentioned in that list then the functionality is not present (I'm especially talking about Outlook and the Outlook Connector)?
We already have a requirements list for the groupware ("messaging" if you will) servers we are testing. Zimbra looks great from a back-end perspective, but is missing pieces from the Outlook side. Is there any change of getting a list of the new features that would be in the 3.1 Outlook Connector?

[KevinH]

I guess the completeness of the list depends on how granular your list is. For example we don't include 'Send Mail' on the list although infer it by saying two-way mail sync. To be honest it may be easier for you to just ask questions or send us your list. If you don't want to do that on a public forum you can email sales@zimbra.com and one of our Sales Engineers can pick it up and help you understand what we have today, what's in 3.1, and an idea of what the roadmap looks like for releases later this year.

[vshah]

That sounds good to me, and probably what we'll end up doing.

[Kirkaiya]

Edited - I found additional info at: Import with Outlook Connector

*I just saw the similar error under similar conditions on the other thread - I had tried searching on "unicode" but not found anything*

Hi - when trying to import my Calendar items from a PST file within Outlook (using File->Import, Other Program, .pst file), and choosing only to import from the Calendar folder (since the "import wizard" had already put up all mail & contacts), I get a message-box with the following:

Message-box title = "Translation Warning*"

"You are importing data to a location that does not fully support Unicode.

To avoid loss of multlingual data, it is recommended that you chooes a location that supports Unicode, such as a Microsoft Office Outlook Personal Folders File.

Click OK to continue with the chosen location."

Outlook then crashes with the "Outlook has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience." dialog.

I then tried to directly drag items from the .pst personal folders by mounting it (File->Open), clicking on the Calendar in my "Personal Folders" (PST store), selecting a bunch of appointments in "category" view, and dragging them over to the Zimbra Calendar folder.

If I drag more than 1 or 2 at a time, Outlook crashes. Between the multiple tries at importing, and dragging, I have now gotten most of my appointments across (about 150 of them).

My system info:

Outlook 2003 (11.8002.6568) SP2
ZimbraOlkConnector-3.0.1_M1_197_3.0.814.msi
Windows XP SP2
zcs-NETWORK-3.0.1_GA_160.RHEL4.tgz

Strangely, I wasn't getting these errors when I was using the older version of the connector (which I uninstalled prior to installing the update). Now Outlook is very flaky, and crashes repeatedly. If I can't resolve this on my own, I'll download the debug-log tool you posted a link to and send the info.

[Kirkaiya]

This is not really a bug, but just an observation of behavior. When using the ZCS Outlook connector ( ZimbraOlkConnector-3.0.1_M1_197_3.0.814 ), I noticed that if I view a message, and then choose, "Edit -> Edit Message" from the toolbar, make a change, then save the changes, the modified message is not syncd back up to the server.

I am guessing that the process of editing a message in Outlook doesn't raise the event handler that watches for changes (?), but just wanted to point it out. I could lead to different versions of a message existing in the local Outlook .zdb file and the Zimbra mail store.

[KevinH]

Originally Posted by Kirkaiya

This is not really a bug, but just an observation of behavior. When using the ZCS Outlook connector ( ZimbraOlkConnector-3.0.1_M1_197_3.0.814 ), I noticed that if I view a message, and then choose, "Edit -> Edit Message" from the toolbar, make a change, then save the changes, the modified message is not syncd back up to the server.

I am guessing that the process of editing a message in Outlook doesn't raise the event handler that watches for changes (?), but just wanted to point it out. I could lead to different versions of a message existing in the local Outlook .zdb file and the Zimbra mail store.

Please file that in bugzilla, so we can track it.

[Kirkaiya]

Not sure if you really want a "done" message in the forum or not? waste-o-bandwidth? (and go have a beer already, it's your birthday! oh wait, time in CA is... 9:44 am? Ugh!)