Resources for custom forms and programming in Outlook 97

This article describes where to find information about how to customize Outlook 97 forms and how to create solutions with Outlook.

Topics are categorized in the following areas:

There are many resources available about how to develop custom Outlook forms or program with Outlook.

Important Many of the resources in this article contain information about Microsoft Outlook 98 and Microsoft Outlook 2000 that may not apply to Outlook 97. Outlook 2000 supports Visual Basic for Applications and COM add-ins, which provide an application-level programming environment. This type of programming is not possible in Outlook 97; you must create an Exchange Client Extension in the C/C++ programming language to create application-level code in Outlook 97. However, most of the Outlook 2000 documentation about custom Outlook forms does apply to Outlook 97 because custom forms have changed little between Outlook 97 and later versions of Outlook.

Frequently asked questions

For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Outlook forms and Visual Basic Help files

The Olfrmhlp.exe file contains an Outlook Help add-in with detailed information about how to use and create forms in Outlook 97. For more information about how to obtain this Help file, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: The Visual Basic Help file for Outlook is located in the ValuPack folder of your Microsoft Office or Outlook CD-ROM. To install this Help file:

Note If you installed Office or Outlook from a corporate network, ask your network administrator where the ValuPack files are located. If you installed the program from 3.5-inch disks, the ValuPack is not included. You can find these files on the Microsoft Web site. To do this, point to Microsoft on the Web on the Help menu, and then click Online Support.

1. Close any open Help files.
2. Insert the Microsoft Office CD-ROM or the stand-alone Outlook CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive.
3. In the ValuPack folder, double-click the MoreHelp folder.
4. Click the Vbaoutl.hlp file, press and hold down the CTRL key, and then click the Vbaoutl.cnt file so that both files are selected.
5. Copy these two files to the Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office folder. To do this, right-click one of the selected files, and then click Copy. In the Office folder, right-click a blank area, and then click Paste.
6. When you are prompted to replace the existing versions of these files, click Yes.
7. To update the table of contents and the index so that they include the topics in the files that you just copied, click Find on the Start menu, and then click Files or Folders.
8. In the Named box, type *.gid.
9. In the Look in box, type c:\program files\microsoft office\office, and then click Find Now.
10. When the file names appear in the dialog box, select all file names (CTRL+A), and then click Delete on the File menu.

Microsoft Developer Network Online

Microsoft Developer Network Online (MSDN) provides a wide variety of documentation that is related to developing solutions with Outlook. Because Outlook is both a Microsoft Exchange Server client and a part of Office, documentation is provided in both of these areas on MSDN. Primary Office documentation is provided in the top-level Office Developer Documentation folder. Primary Exchange Server information is provided in the Platform SDK folder, under Messaging and Collaboration Services. Be sure to browse other top-level folders, such as the Technical Articles and Backgrounders folders. For more information, view the following Microsoft Web site: The following MSDN Office Developer Web site provides a wide variety of information about how to build solutions that are based on Office: The following Microsoft Exchange Server Developer Center Web site provides a wide variety of information about how to build solutions on the Exchange platform: The following Microsoft Scripting Web site provides frequently asked questions, sample code, language documentation, and free files to download for people who use VBScript:

Microsoft Knowledge Base

Consult the Microsoft Knowledge Base for up-to-date information about issues that are related to creating Outlook solutions. Many how-to articles are also included in the Knowledge Base. To find articles more easily, most articles that are related to custom Outlook solutions contain the query term "OutSol97" (without quotation marks). For more information, view the following Microsoft Web site:

Third-party Web sites

The following third-party Web sites provide information about how to create Outlook solutions:

Books

Building Applications with Microsoft Outlook 2002
by Randy Byrne, Microsoft Press (0-7356-1273-0)
Microsoft Press Online (http://www.microsoft.com/mspress/books/4999.aspx)

Programming Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Exchange 2003, Third Edition
by Thomas Rizzo, Microsoft Press (0-7356-1464-4)
Microsoft Press Online (http://www.microsoft.com/MSPress/books/5517.aspx)

Teach Yourself Outlook 2000 Programming in 24 Hours
by Sue Mosher, Sams Press (ISBN 0-672-31651-X)

Developing Applications using Outlook 2000, CDO, Exchange, and Visual Basic
by Raffaele Piemonte and Scott Jamison, Addison-Wesley Pub Co. (ISBN: 0-201-61575-4)

Programming Microsoft Outlook 2000
by Gordon Padwick and Ken Slovak, Sams Press (ISBN: 0-672-31549-1)

Outlook 2000 VBA Programmers Reference
by Dwayne Gifford, Worx Press (ISBN: 1-861-00253-X)

Professional Outlook 2000 Programming
by Ken Slovack, Chris Burnham, and Dwayne Gifford, Worx Press (ISBN: 1-861-00331-5)

For other books about developing messaging-related solutions, see the following SlipStick Systems Web site: Note For general information about offerings by Microsoft Press, call Microsoft Press at (800)MSPRESS, or view the following Microsoft Press Web site:

Magazines

Exchange & Outlook
by The Development Exchange (Fawcette Technical Publications)Microsoft Outlook & Exchange
by Advisor Media, Inc.

Internet newsgroups

Peer-to-peer newsgroups are available to help you interact with other Outlook users. You can use any newsreader software to access these newsgroups. The Microsoft news server name is msnews.microsoft.com. The primary newsgroup that is related to Outlook custom form solutions is program_forms, but there is also a variety of other newsgroups available that relate to Outlook solutions. Information about all Microsoft newsgroups is available on the following Microsoft Web site:

Microsoft Product Support Services

For more information about the type of support Microsoft Product Support Services (PSS) can provide, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Solution providers

For information about solution providers in your local area, contact the Microsoft Solution Provider Sales and Information line at (800)765-7768 in the US or (800)563-9048 in Canada. For information about support in other locations, contact a local Microsoft subsidiary.

Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.