The information in this article applies to:
PracticeMaster integrates with the following MAPI compliant e-mail program:
Note: Integration with GroupWise will be discontinued with the release of PracticeMaster Version 16 in 2010.
The e-mail program must be installed and working on your computer in order to read and send e-mail through PracticeMaster. When the E-mail program in PracticeMaster is opened, PracticeMaster uses the Inbox of the default e-mail program to retrieve e-mail messages.
Depending on which e-mail program you are using, some of the functionality of the integration activities will vary. In addition, there may be specific setup instructions that must be done in order for integration to occur. This article describes how the integration activities vary and also discusses various setup issues for the e-mail programs tested with PracticeMaster.
MAPI (Messaging Application Programming Interface) is a system built into Microsoft Windows that enables different e-mail applications to work together to distribute mail. As long as both applications are MAPI-enabled, they can share mail messages with each other.
MAPI consists of a set of functions placed into a code library. The set of functions used in the library determines whether a program is a Simple MAPI or an Extended MAPI program. Simple MAPI programs use a group of twelve basic functions. Extended MAPI programs also use the group of twelve basic functions as well as the remaining functions that make up the MAPI library. The following table includes examples of Simple MAPI and Extended MAPI e-mail programs.
|
Simple MAPI |
|
|
Extended MAPI |
|
PracticeMaster uses Extended MAPI and Simple MAPI (mapi32.dll) functionality. How the integration between PracticeMaster and each e-mail program actually performs depends on the MAPI implementation by the various e-mail programs. Some e-mail programs implement the MAPI functionality better than others do. For example, when integrating with Outlook 2003, e-mails sent to Outlook with HTML formatting (i.e., bold, italic, bullets, numbering, etc.) are displayed in Outlook and PracticeMaster with HTML formatting. When integrating with Outlook Express, the same e-mail displays HTML formatting in Outlook Express but plain text in PracticeMaster (i.e., bold, italic, bullets, numbering, etc. are removed). The following table outlines the various differences when integrating with different e-mail programs.
|
|
Extended MAPI |
Simple MAPI |
|||||
|
|
Outlook® 2007 |
Outlook® 2003 |
Outlook® |
Outlook® 2000 |
GroupWise® |
GroupWise® |
Outlook Express |
|
Send HTML formatted e-mail 1 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
View HTML formatted e-mail 1 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes2 |
Yes3 |
Yes3 |
No |
|
View embedded images |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No4 |
No4 |
No4 |
|
Displays all mail folders in PracticeMaster |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| PM record indicators updated automatically with send | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No5 | No5 | No5 |
|
Access e-mail address book from within PracticeMaster |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Autocomplete feature for e-mail addresses searches e-mail software address book for a match to a name 1 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
|
Save a copy of sent e-mail in e-mail software's Sent Items folder |
Yes1 |
Yes1 |
Yes1 |
Yes1 |
Yes1 |
Yes1 |
Yes6 |
|
Optionally delete e-mail from e-mail software when e-mail is deleted from PracticeMaster's E-mail program 1 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
1 SMTP must be configured via PracticeMaster's E-mail Preferences
program (i.e., Maintenance | Preferences | E-mail Preferences, or
in Version 14.1 or earlier, Maintenance | E-mail Preferences). [Note: Step-by-step
procedures for configuring E-mail integration in PracticeMaster can be found in
the Help provided with PracticeMaster (keywords: E-mail | How to configure
e-mail integration).]
2 Requires Microsoft Exchange Server with Outlook configured for
workgroup mode.
3 HTML e-mails will also include an HTML attachment.
4 Embedded images are not displayed in PracticeMaster as embedded
images, but are included with the e-mail as separate attachments.
5 E-mail messages created in PM E-mail and sent via third-party
e-mail software, or with SMTP enabled, will not automatically update the J, C, or
F indicators in the Sent Items folder (or PM Sent Items folder if SMTP is
enabled). More information is provided in the Knowledge Base article
R11209,
"Troubleshooting GroupWise Integration."
6 A copy of a sent e-mail is saved in your e-mail
program's Sent Items area when you are configured to send e-mail through your
e-mail program (i.e., you are not configured to send e-mail via SMTP) and your
e-mail program is configured to save a copy of all sent e-mails.
Because each computer can have multiple e-mail programs installed, PracticeMaster integrates with the default e-mail program specified in Windows via Internet Options for the computer (Start | Settings | Control Panel | Internet Options | Programs, or if using Windows XP Category View, Start | Control Panel | Network and Internet Connections | Internet Options | Programs).
The following e-mail programs are addressed in this article:
Outlook is a Personal Information Manager (PIM) included in most versions of Microsoft Office. It consists of e-mail, calendaring and contact management components. Outlook is an Extended MAPI program. Therefore, when configuring PracticeMaster to integrate with Outlook, select the Outlook, GroupWise, Extended MAPI option on the General tab of E-mail Preferences (i.e., Maintenance | Preferences | E-mail Preferences, or in Version 14.1 or earlier, Maintenance | E-mail Preferences). This allows you to take advantage of the additional functions available when integrating with an Extended MAPI program such as the ability to view all Outlook e-mail folders in PracticeMaster. Versions that are known to work with PracticeMaster are Outlook 2007/2003/2002/2000. (Note: Do not confuse Outlook with Outlook Express. Although similarly named, they are entirely different products.)
There is an issue with MS Outlook 2003 that prevents e-mail integration with PracticeMaster when using an Exchange server. A hotfix for this issue is available from Microsoft. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 833856, "Outlook 2003 Hotfix Package: January 20, 2004."
There is an issue where the status of a read message in PracticeMaster changes to unread when PracticeMaster checks Outlook for new messages. This issue may occur if you are using Outlook 2003 in Cached Exchanged Mode and you have not installed Microsoft's Hotfix outlined in Microsoft Article 838896 "E-mail messages that you read in a public folder remain marked as unread in Outlook 2003."
Outlook does not have to be running in order for PracticeMaster to display e-mail sent to Outlook. However, PracticeMaster will only display the e-mail Outlook received before it was last closed.
Outlook can be configured to automatically download e-mail regularly when the Outlook program is open. When PracticeMaster is opened, PracticeMaster polls Outlook for messages. When the PracticeMaster E-mail program is opened, the list of e-mails PracticeMaster received when PracticeMaster was first opened is displayed. This list of e-mails can be refreshed by clicking the Refresh button in the PracticeMaster E-mail window. Additionally, PracticeMaster can be configured to automatically refresh PracticeMaster's Inbox by selecting the Refresh PracticeMaster Inbox every x minutes check box on the General tab of E-mail Preferences (i.e., Maintenance | Preferences | E-mail Preferences, or in Version 14.1 or earlier, Maintenance | E-mail Preferences).
When the Refresh PracticeMaster Inbox every x minutes check box is selected, the number of minutes specified is ignored. Instead, the PracticeMaster Inbox is updated automatically when a new message arrives in Outlook.
A message displayed with HTML formatting in Outlook 2000 (e.g., bold, italic, bullets, numbering, etc.) will be displayed with HTML formatting in PracticeMaster, provided PracticeMaster is configured to view HTML text and you are using Microsoft Exchange Server (i.e., Workgroup mode). When Outlook 2000 is not using Microsoft Exchange Server (i.e., Internet mode), the e-mail will be displayed using plain text in PracticeMaster (i.e., bold, italic, bullets, numbering, etc. are removed), or the e-mail will display "NO MESSAGE BODY" if a plain text version is not available.
Outlook Express is an e-mail, newsgroup and contact management program from Microsoft that is provided with Internet Explorer and all new operating systems from Microsoft since Windows 98. Outlook Express is a Simple MAPI program. Therefore, when configuring PracticeMaster to integrate with Outlook Express, select the Outlook Express, Simple MAPI option on the General tab of E-mail Preferences (i.e., Maintenance | Preferences | E-mail Preferences, or in Version 14.1 or earlier, Maintenance | E-mail Preferences). Because Outlook Express is a Simple MAPI program, PracticeMaster only has access to the Inbox. Therefore, only the messages in the Outlook Express Inbox are displayed in PracticeMaster.
Outlook Express can be configured to display a warning each time another application tries to send an e-mail through Outlook Express. When Outlook Express is configured to display a warning, each time an e-mail is sent via PracticeMaster and PracticeMaster is not configured to send e-mail via SMTP [i.e., in PracticeMaster, the Use SMTP Server for Outgoing Mail (Required to send HTML text) check box is cleared on the SMTP tab of E-mail Preferences], a warning will be displayed.
To prevent this warning from being displayed each time an e-mail is sent from PracticeMaster:
--or--
Using identities in Outlook Express allows several people to use Outlook Express on the same computer. However, when more than one identity is configured in Outlook Express, the e-mail for the identity configured as the default identity will be displayed in PracticeMaster. Therefore, if more than one person on the computer wants to use PracticeMaster's E-mail program, prior to opening PracticeMaster, set that user's identity as the default in Outlook Express (File | Identities | Manage Identities). (Note: Changing the default identity must be done before a different user logs into PracticeMaster. Failing to change the default identity will result in a user gaining access to another user's e-mail.)
Due to a limitation in Outlook Express, the attachment indicator (i.e., the paperclip icon) may not be displayed in PracticeMaster. (Note: Microsoft Outlook and GroupWise do not have this limitation.)
Outlook Express does not have to be running in order for PracticeMaster to display e-mail sent to Outlook Express. However, PracticeMaster will only display the e-mail Outlook Express received before it was last closed.
Outlook Express can be configured to automatically download e-mail regularly when the Outlook Express program is open. When PracticeMaster is opened, PracticeMaster polls the e-mail software for messages. When the PracticeMaster E-mail program is opened, the list of e-mails PracticeMaster received when PracticeMaster was first opened is displayed. This list of e-mails can be refreshed by clicking the Refresh button in the PracticeMaster E-mail window. Additionally, PracticeMaster can be configured to automatically refresh PracticeMaster's Inbox by selecting the Refresh PracticeMaster Inbox every x minutes check box on the General tab of E-mail Preferences (i.e., Maintenance | Preferences | E-mail Preferences, or in Version 14.1 or earlier, Maintenance | E-mail Preferences).
When sending messages, Outlook Express by default will not automatically send the e-mail. In this case, you would have to send the e-mail manually by clicking the Send/Receive Email button in Outlook Express. Outlook Express can optionally be configured to send e-mail immediately (Tools | Options | Send | Send messages immediately).
As of this writing, testing has not been completed regarding Windows Mail (i.e., the Windows Vista version of Outlook Express). There is currently a Hotfix, provided by Microsoft, that allows integration between Windows Mail and PracticeMaster when using a Windows Vista workstation. At this time, we are unaware of any other integration issues with Windows Mail and PracticeMaster. For more information, please refer to R11252, "How Office 2007 Affects Tabs3 and PracticeMaster Software"
A message displayed with HTML formatting in Outlook Express (e.g., bold, italic, bullets, numbering, etc.) will be displayed using plain text in PracticeMaster (i.e., bold, italic, bullets, numbering, etc. are removed). Outlook Express provides only a plain text version of the e-mail to PracticeMaster.
GroupWise is a product from Novell that includes e-mail, calendaring, scheduling, and document
management support. GroupWise is an Extended MAPI program. Therefore, when
configuring PracticeMaster to integrate with GroupWise, select the Outlook,
GroupWise, Extended MAPI option on the General tab of E-mail
Preferences (i.e., Maintenance | Preferences | E-mail Preferences, or
in Version 14.1 or earlier, Maintenance | E-mail Preferences). This allows you to
take advantage of the additional functions available when integrating with an
Extended MAPI program such as the ability to view all GroupWise e-mail folders in
PracticeMaster. GroupWise Versions 7 and 6.5 integrate with PracticeMaster. The
Knowledge Base article R11276, "Third Party Integration
Requirements (Ver. 15)," includes complete integration version
requirements.
Note: GroupWise 8 has not been tested at the current time.
GroupWise does not have to be running in order for PracticeMaster to display e-mail sent to GroupWise. However, PracticeMaster will only display the e-mail GroupWise received before it was last closed.
GroupWise can be configured to automatically download e-mail regularly when the GroupWise program is open. When PracticeMaster is opened, PracticeMaster polls the e-mail software for messages. When the PracticeMaster E-mail program is opened, the list of e-mails PracticeMaster received when PracticeMaster was first opened is displayed. This list of e-mails can be refreshed by clicking the Refresh button in the PracticeMaster E-mail window. Additionally, PracticeMaster can be configured to automatically refresh PracticeMaster's Inbox by selecting the Refresh PracticeMaster Inbox every x minutes check box on the General tab of E-mail Preferences (i.e., Maintenance | Preferences | E-mail Preferences, or in Version 14.1 or earlier, Maintenance | E-mail Preferences).
A message displayed with HTML formatting in GroupWise (e.g., bold, italic, bullets, numbering, etc.) will be displayed with HTML formatting in PracticeMaster (provided PracticeMaster is configured to read HTML e-mail). Additionally, the e-mail will include an HTML attachment file with the message text.
Note: Various problems can arise if GroupWise and Outlook are installed on the same workstation. See Knowledge Base Article R10581, "PracticeMaster Integration Issues with GroupWise and Outlook," for more information.
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