XCLN: How to Remove Outlook Express Icon Using ODK

When using the Outlook Deployment Kit (ODK) to install Outlook 98, administrators may want to keep the Outlook Express icon from showing on the users' desktops. This article provides instructions for using the Ol98qfe2.exe utility to remove the OE icon to help administrators who have not used the custom components feature before.

An executable utility, Ol98qfe2.exe, can be packaged in the ODK build process that will keep the icon for Outlook Express (OE) from being created. The executable needs to be packaged in the ODK build and it will run silently during the setup process.

NOTE: If Internet Explorer 4.01 Service Pack 1 is already installed, you cannot use the Ol98qfe2.exe utility to remove the OE icon. It will not remove the icon if it already exists.

What It Will Do

If Internet Explorer is not installed before running the ODK Setup, then the OE icon will never be created. If Internet Explorer has been installed before setup, and you have deleted the OE icon from your users' desktops, the icon will not appear. If Internet Explorer has been installed, and the OE icon is on the desktop, this utility will remove the icon.

There is one command-line option, the /Q switch, which allows the utility to run silently. If the switch is not used, the utility will prompt for confirmation to keep the icon from being created.

The following steps must be followed to add the utility to your ODK installation:

1. Begin the installation process following the steps in the wizard. The seventh screen, entitled "Specify Custom Active Setup Components," will appear.
2. Click the Add button. The Component field will be populated with New Custom Component #1. Change the package title in the Component field, for example, Outlook Express Icon Tool.
3. Click the Browse button, and select Ol98qfe2.exe from the appropriate directory. If you want the utility to install silently, put a /Q in the Parameters field.
4. Follow the wizard steps to the thirteenth screen in the ODK build process, entitled Select Installation Options. In the left pane, you will see the Components Available window. In this window, the last entry will be the name of your custom component. Our example was Outlook Express Icon Tool.
5. Select this entry, and click the Next button so that this component will be installed during Setup. This is the final step to install the utility automatically during an ODK installation.

There are many other options for adding custom components that are documented in the ODK, such as using the IExpress tool to create a custom package that contains many different components in one single package, signing the package, and so on. For more information about using the Outlook Deployment Kit, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:
For additional information about how to download Microsoft Support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help to prevent any unauthorized changes to the file. Full Outlook Deployment Kit documentation is available at: