OL2000: (IMO) Lightweight Directory Access Protocol Usage

Microsoft Outlook includes support for the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). LDAP is a directory service implementation that allows access to user information using the X.500 directory. By implementing this protocol, searching is much faster than if using the more ponderous Directory Access Protocol (DAP).

Adding an LDAP Directory Service to Your Account

To setup an Internet directory service, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) must offer a directory service. To add an LDAP account, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Accounts, and click the Directory Service tab.
2. Click Add, and click Directory Service.
3. Type the server name of the directory service you want to configure. For example the Bigfoot service directory server name is ldap.bigfoot.com.
4. If the directory service you are adding requires a password, click "My LDAP Server requires me to log on."
5. Click Next.
6. If you want to have this directory service check e-mail addresses, click Yes. Otherwise click No, and then click Next.
   
   NOTE: Using LDAP servers to check e-mail addresses will significantly degrade the speed of mail transfer.
7. Click Finish. The new directory service will be added.

Using LDAP to Find Someone on the Internet

LDAP searches are enabled through the Address Book in Outlook. You can search using the Contacts database in Outlook or choose from Internet directory search services. These services include Bigfoot, InfoSpace, Switchboard, WhoWhere, and others. Each of these services have World Wide Web sites that you can reach in the Find People dialog box by clicking Web Site.

1. On the Tools menu, click Address Book.
2. On the Edit menu, click Find People.
3. In the Look In list, click the directory service you want to use for your search.
4. Type a name or e-mail address on the People tab. Click the Advanced tab to further define your search criteria.
   
   NOTE: Outlook defaults the selected search form to the Contacts database from your Address Book. This form contains five fields, Name, E-mail, Address, Phone and Other. The predefined directory services forms contain only Name and E-mail fields.
5. Click Find Now.

LDAP Search Configuration Tips

If you are experiencing slow response from a directory server or the server does not respond, try some of the following settings to optimize the LDAP searches:

1. On the Tools menu, click Accounts, and then click the Directory Services tab.
2. Select an LDAP service to optimize, and click Properties.
3. Click the Advanced tab.
4. Move the slider to the right to increase the time the Address Book takes to search the directory service. The default setting is 30 seconds.
5. If a starting point or root is provided by the directory service provider, enter this information in the Search base field.
6. Click "Use simple search filter." Using a simplified search query may produce better search results.
7. Reduce the "Maximum number of matches to return."

NOTE: The default port for LDAP service is set at 389. If you are using Outlook in a local area network (LAN) environment, check with your network administrator to assure that proxy or firewall configurations don't interfere with this setting.