OL97: Set Up Outlook for Multiple or Roaming Users

It is often necessary to have multiple users log on to the same computer or have a roaming user log on to different workstations on the network. In each of these cases, it is preferable that users access their own Microsoft Outlook settings.

This article describes how to setup Outlook, to have multiple computer users or in the case of Windows NT, roaming workstation users if Windows NT is setup for roaming profiles.

NOTE: To use these procedures, you must be using Microsoft Outlook version 8.03, or the SR1 or SR2 release of Microsoft Office 97. The build number should be 4212 or higher. Also, on the client computers, in the Passwords control panel on the User Profiles tab, click to select "Users can customize their preferences and desktop settings.

The files that store Outlook settings are normally located in the default Windows directory. These files are:

• Views.dat - stores views associated with the Integrated File Management component
• Outlprnt - stores print style settings
• <profile name>.fav - stores Outlook Bar settings
• <profile name>.rtf - stores AutoSignature information

You can move these files to a unique location for each user and change the Windows Registry settings to point to them for any user who uses the computer.

Because of a problem with current versions of Outlook, <profile name>.RTF does not travel with a roaming user. If two roaming users have the same profile name, an erroneous AutoSignature could be sent. If a roaming user travels to a computer that does not have an RTF file that matches his profile name, he will not get an autosignature when he expects one.

For Multiple Users, locate the first 3 of the above four files in a separate directory for each user.

For Roaming Users, locate the first 3 of the four files in a server-based, private user directory. Then, if Windows NT is setup for Roaming Profiles (see REFERENCES section below), these files will be available from anywhere the user logs on to the network.

How to Change the Registry Settings

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall Windows. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the Changing Keys And Values online Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe). Note that you should make a backup copy of the registry files before you edit the registry.

Before proceeding with the following steps, you must log onto the computer as the user whose files you are copying.

1. For Multiple Users, copy the three files; <profile name>.fav, Views.dat Outlprnt to a separate directory on the computer for each user. For Roaming Users, copy the files to a server-based, private directory for each user.
2. Backup the registry:
   
   a. Click the Start button, and click Run. In the Open box, type "regedit" (without the quotation marks), and click OK.
   
   b. On the Registry menu, click "Export Registry File."
   
   c. Type a name for the registry file and click Save, to save the registry to your desktop.
3. Add a new value of Favorites to the Office Explorer key. This will contain the path to the <profile name>.fav.
   
   a. Navigate to the following key in the registry:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.0\Outlook\Office Explorer
   
   b. Right-click the Office Explorer key, point to New and click String Value.
   
   c. Type "Favorites" (without the quotation marks) as the name of the new String Value and press ENTER.
   
   d. Right-click Favorites, and click Modify.
   
   e. In the Value data window of Edit String, type the path to the user's private directory in the following format:
   
   drive:\<path\ (for Multiple Users)
   
   \\<Servername>\<Sharename>\ (for Roaming Users)
   
   NOTE: The path must end with a trailing backslash, and the user must have read/write permission to the directory and the file.
   
   NOTE: To work correctly, the AutoSignature file (<ProfileName>.RTF) must reside at the location defined by this key.
4. Add a new value of Views to the Office Explorer key. This will contain the path to the Views.dat file.
   
   a. Right-click the Office Explorer key, point to New, and click String Value.
   
   b. Type "Views" (without the quotation marks) as the name of the new String Value and press Enter.
   
   c. Right-click Views, and click Modify.
   
   d. In the Value data window of Edit String, type the path to the user's private directory, in the following format:
   
   drive:\<path\ (for "Multiple Users")
   
   \\<Servername>\<Sharename>\ (for "Roaming Users")
   
   IMPORTANT: The path must end with a trailing backslash, and the user must have read\write permission to the directory and the file.
5. Change the path to the Outlprnt file.
   
   a. Navigate to the following key in the registry:
   
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.0\Outlook\Printing
   
   b. Right-click "Print Settings File," and click Modify.
   
   c. In the Value data window of Edit String, change the path to the user's private directory in the following format:
   
   drive:\<path\Outprnt (for "Multiple Users")
   
   \\<Servername>\<Sharename>\Outlprnt (for "Roaming Users")
   
   NOTE: The user must have read/write permission to the directory and the file.
6. Quit the Registry Editor and Restart Windows.

For more information on this subject, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For additional information about this subject, please click the article numbers below to view the article(s) in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: