Microsoft Exchange Server Overview

Last reviewed: 02/01/2010
Article ID: R11041

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Exchange Server
• PracticeMaster Version 15, 14 & 12

Summary

This article includes a basic overview of what Microsoft Exchange Server is and also provides information on how PracticeMaster integrates with Microsoft Exchange Server.

• What is Microsoft Exchange Server
• How to Determine if You Are Using Exchange Server
• Using a Hosted Exchange Server
• How PracticeMaster Integrates with Outlook and Exchange Server
  • Calendar Integration
  • Contact Integration
  • E-mail Integration
• Configuration Issues
  • Order of Configuration
  • Configuring Permissions in Outlook When Using Exchange Server

What is Microsoft Exchange Server?

Microsoft Exchange Server is messaging and collaboration software that runs on a Windows based server. Users can enter and access data from various devices, such as Microsoft Outlook. Users can send and receive e-mails as well as store calendar, contact, task and e-mail information. Each user's information is stored in the Exchange Server's database. As an Exchange user, you can grant other Exchange users the rights to access or modify your data.

How to Determine if You are Using Exchange Server

There are many ways to determine if Exchange Server is being used. The first method outlined here gives additional information about the Exchange Server Version being used. The other methods will determine if Exchange Server is being used, but do not provide the extra information that the first method details.

• You can use the Exchange Server Connection Status window to determine if Exchange Server is being used as well as the version being used.  To open this window, press the CTRL key while right-clicking the Outlook icon in the system tray, and select Connection Status.

  

  In the Exchange Server Connection Status window, if there is nothing listed in the Activity section, then Exchange is not being used. If there is an entry, the Version column will provide the information needed to determine what version of Exchange is being used. If the Version column is not visible, use the scroll bar at the bottom of the window to show the additional columns to the right. The following table outlines what version number corresponds with which Exchange Server Version.

  Version Number	Exchange Version
  14.00.0639.021 or higher	Exchange Server 2010
  8.2.0176.002 or higher	Exchange Server 2007 SP 2
  8.1.240.006 or higher	Exchange Server 2007 SP1
  8.0.685.24 or higher	Exchange Server 2007
  6.5.7638 or higher	Exchange Server 2003 SP2
  6.5.7226 or higher	Exchange Server 2003 SP1
  6.5.6944 or higher	Exchange Server 2003
  6.0.6249 or higher	Exchange Server 2000 SP3
  6.0.5762 or higher	Exchange Server 2000 SP2
  6.0.4712 or higher	Exchange Server 2000 SP1
  6.0.4417 or higher	Exchange Server 2000

  All version numbers and release dates for Microsoft Exchange Server can be found in Microsoft KB Article 158530.

• In Outlook 2007, select Tools | Account Settings and look for a Microsoft Exchange Server account on the E-mail tab, as shown below.
  
  

• In Outlook 2002 or 2003, select Tools | E-mail Accounts | View or change existing e-mail accounts and look for a Microsoft Exchange Server account as shown below.
  
  

• In Outlook 2000, select Help | About. When Internet Mail Only is displayed, Exchange Server is not being used. When Corporate or Workgroup Mode is displayed, select Tools | Services. Exchange Server is being used if a Microsoft Exchange Server account is shown.

• You may also be able to determine if Exchange Server is being used by determining if a group of folders in Outlook uses a label of Mailbox (e.g., Mailbox-Brian). (Note: Keep in mind that the "Mailbox" label may have been changed. Therefore, not having a "Mailbox" label does not necessarily mean you are not using Exchange.)

Using a Hosted Exchange Server

Microsoft Exchange can be installed in a local network, or hosted on a remote server accessible via the Internet. When hosted externally, however, Exchange takes longer to respond, and can thus impact performance. Due to these performance considerations, it may be necessary to enable the Use Cached Exchange Mode check box in Outlook for the Exchange accounts being used. Cached mode has been known to cause an issue with displaying the Global Address List of users in System Configuration Version 15.2 and earlier. Updating to Version 15.3 or later will resolve this issue.

How PracticeMaster Integrates with Outlook and Exchange Server

PracticeMaster can integrate calendar, task, contact and e-mail information with Outlook and an Exchange Server.

Calendar Integration

Integration from PracticeMaster to Outlook is automatic. Integration from Outlook to PracticeMaster occurs on demand by using the Outlook Synchronization program in PracticeMaster.

When using an Exchange Server, Calendar integration occurs with your Outlook calendar by mapping an Exchange User to your User ID in System Configuration. When other users in System Configuration are mapped to Exchange Users, Calendar integration can occur with those users' Outlook calendar on Exchange Server as well. For example, when you add a calendar record in PracticeMaster for yourself and another user, that record is added to both your Outlook calendar and that other user's Outlook calendar (provided you have adequate rights to add calendar records in PracticeMaster and Outlook).

In order for the Calendar integration to work, the following must be true:

• You must be set up as a user on the Exchange Server.
• Microsoft Outlook must be configured to work with Exchange Server.
• In System Configuration, the Outlook check box must be selected for each user (File | Open | Users). For screenshot examples, see R10942 - Configuring PracticeMaster/Outlook Integration.
• In System Configuration, each user must be mapped to an Exchange User (File | Open | Users). For screenshot examples, see R10942 - Configuring PracticeMaster/Outlook Integration.
• In System Configuration, Outlook calendar integration must be configured. This is done by clicking the Configure button next to the Outlook integration check box (File | Open | Users | Configure button | Calendar tab). For screenshot examples, see R10942 - Configuring PracticeMaster/Outlook Integration.
• All users must have adequate rights to add and change calendar records in PracticeMaster and in Outlook.

Note: See Order of Configuration for tips regarding the configuration of Exchange, Outlook and PracticeMaster.

When synchronizing information from Outlook to PracticeMaster, a user can synchronize information for other Outlook users. In order for this to work, all Outlook users must be mapped to an Exchange User in System Configuration. Additionally, when the Outlook Synchronization program is run in PracticeMaster, the users you want to synchronize must be specified in the Select Users section on the Calendar tab or the Outlook Synchronization window (Maintenance | Integration | Outlook Synchronization).

Contact Integration

Integration from PracticeMaster to Outlook is automatic. Integration from Outlook to PracticeMaster occurs on demand by using the Outlook Synchronization program in PracticeMaster.

When using an Exchange Server, Contact integration occurs with the Outlook Contact folder you select to integrate with. This folder can be your personal Contact folder on the Exchange Server or a public Contact folder on the Exchange Server.

In order for the Contact integration to work, the following must be true:

• You must be set up as a user on the Exchange Server.
• Microsoft Outlook must be configured to work with Exchange Server.
• In System Configuration, the Outlook check box must be selected for each user (File | Open | Users). For screenshot examples, see R10942 - Configuring PracticeMaster/Outlook Integration.
• In System Configuration, Outlook contact integration must be configured. This is done by clicking the Configure button next to the Outlook integration check box (File | Open | Users | Configure button | Contacts tab). For screenshot examples, see R10942 - Configuring PracticeMaster/Outlook Integration.
• All users must have adequate rights to add and change contacts in PracticeMaster and in Outlook. (Note: Contacts deleted from Outlook cannot be deleted from PracticeMaster.)

E-mail Integration

When PracticeMaster E-mail is configured to integrate with Outlook (Extended MAPI), all E-mail folders you have access to in Outlook will be displayed in PracticeMaster. When using an Exchange Server, you may be configured to have access to other users' e-mail. PracticeMaster may take longer to load when you have access to more than one user's Outlook Inbox.

Configuration Issues

When configuring PracticeMaster and Outlook integration when using Exchange, several settings must be configured in each system before they are available in other applications. When configuring integrations, here are some tips for integrating PracticeMaster and Outlook when using Exchange:

Order of Configuration

1. Set up users in Exchange prior to configuring Outlook.
2. Configure Outlook for Exchange prior to attempting to integrate Outlook and PracticeMaster.
3. Be aware that the Outlook profile being used affects integration. If using multiple Outlook profiles, the active profile is used if Outlook is open at the time of integration or when accessing Outlook from PracticeMaster. If Outlook is closed, the default profile is used. The profile(s) must be configured to use Exchange in order for PracticeMaster to use Exchange functions.
   • To set the default Outlook profile, perform the following steps:
     1. From the Windows Start Menu, select Control Panel.
     2. Double-click the Mail applet.
     3. Click Show Profiles.
     4. The default Outlook profile is shown in the Always use this profile field (even if this field is unselected and disabled).
     5. To change the default profile, select the Always use this profile field and select the profile to use.
     6. Click OK to save the settings, then close the Control Panel.
   • Note: If you would like Outlook to prompt you for which profile to use when starting, you can re-open the Mail applet and deselect the Always use this profile field after the settings are saved.
4. When configuring Outlook integration in System Configuration, make sure to select the options in the following order:
   1. Select the Outlook option on the User Configuration window to enable Outlook integration.
   2. Select the Exchange User from the list before clicking Configure.
   3. Click Configure. To use Exchange functionality for updating records for multiple users, the Integration type must be set to Two-Way (Synchronization).
   4. Use the lookup window in Select Users to determine who can change records for the User being modified.
   5. Set options as desired.
   6. Unless necessary, we recommend disabling the Allow editing of preferences in PracticeMaster option to reduce the possibility that these settings will be modified.
5. Perform a test synchronization from PracticeMaster to verify that all settings are correct.

Configuring Permissions in Outlook When Using Exchange Server

To integrate PracticeMaster with Outlook, permission to view, add, change and delete the information stored in your Exchange profile (i.e., Editor rights) must be granted to other Exchange Server users in Outlook. This can be done by right-clicking the folder you want to configure and selecting the Properties menu option. On the Permissions tab, assign access rights for each user. Access rights must be configured separately for the Calendar, E-mail, Contact and Task folders. A screenshot of a Permissions tab is shown below.

References

• KB Article R10942 - Configuring PracticeMaster/Microsoft® Outlook® Calendar & Contact Integration
• KB Article R10997 - Integrating PracticeMaster with MAPI E-mail Programs
• Microsoft KB Article 158530 - Build numbers and release dates for Exchange Server
• Microsoft Product Information - What is Exchange Server? (http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/evaluation/whatis.mspx)

THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY, INC. KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY, INC. DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY, INC. OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY, INC. OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY.

© 1999-2010 Software Technology, Inc.   All rights reserved. Terms of Use
The maker of Tabs3 and PracticeMaster
Tabs3, PracticeMaster, and the “pinwheel” symbol () are registered trademarks of Software Technology, Inc.
e-Mail Suggestions for the Knowledge Base to: kb@Tabs3.com
Technical Support via e-mail is not available.
Knowledge Base:   http://support.Tabs3.com
Web Site:   http://www.Tabs3.com