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<h1><font COLOR="#FF0000">Chapter 5</font></h1>
<h1><b><font SIZE="5" COLOR="#FF0000">Using the Microsoft Exchange Forms Designer</font></b>
</h1>
<hr WIDTH="100%">
<h3 ALIGN="CENTER"><font SIZE="+2" COLOR="#000000">CONTENTS<a NAME="CONTENTS"></a> </font></h3>
<ul>
<li><a HREF="#Introduction">Introduction</a> </li>
<li><a HREF="#WhatIstheMicrosoftExchangeFormsDes">What Is the Microsoft Exchange Forms
Designer?</a> <ul>
<li><a HREF="#EFDDesignWizards">EFD Design Wizards</a> </li>
<li><a HREF="#TheQuickHelpFeature">The QuickHelp Feature</a> </li>
<li><a HREF="#ExtendingEFDwithVisualBasic">Extending EFD with Visual Basic</a> </li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a HREF="#UsingtheMicrosoftExchangeFormsDesig">Using the Microsoft Exchange Forms
Designer to Create a Custom Form</a> <ul>
<li><a HREF="#UingtheMicrosoftExchangeFormsDesign">Using the Microsoft Exchange Forms
Designer Wizard</a> </li>
<li><a HREF="#ModifyingtheJobRequestForm">Modifying the Job Request Form</a> </li>
<li><a HREF="#CompletingtheJobRequestFormFields">Completing the Job Request Form Fields</a> </li>
<li><a HREF="#SettingFormandWindowPropertiesofth">Setting Form and Window Properties of the
Job Request Form</a> </li>
<li><a HREF="#AddingOnlineHelptotheJobRequestFo">Adding Online Help to the Job Request Form</a>
</li>
<li><a HREF="#InstallingtheJobRequestForm">Installing the Job Request Form</a> </li>
<li><a HREF="#TestingtheJobRequestForm">Testing the Job Request Form</a> </li>
<li><a HREF="#MoreFormsDesigningTechniques">More Forms Designing Techniques</a> </li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a HREF="#DesigningMicrosoftExchangeFolders">Designing Microsoft Exchange Folders</a> <ul>
<li><a HREF="#CreatingandManagingFolderViews">Creating and Managing Folder Views</a> </li>
<li><a HREF="#InstallingFormsinFolders">Installing Forms in Folders</a> </li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a HREF="#Summary">Summary</a> </li>
</ul>
<hr>
<h2><a NAME="Introduction"><font SIZE="5" COLOR="#FF0000">Introduction</font></a> </h2>
<p>One of the quickest ways to develop MAPI applications is to use the Microsoft Exchange
Forms Designer kit. This tool ships with the Microsoft Exchange Server and includes a GUI
form designer tool, sample templates, design wizards, and an installation wizard. The
Microsoft Exchange Forms Designer (called the <i>EFD</i>) generates Visual Basic 4.0 code.
Once the forms are generated, you can also use Visual Basic 4.0 to modify and enhance the
forms. </p>
<div align="center"><center>
<table BORDERCOLOR="#000000" BORDER="1" WIDTH="80%">
<tr>
<td><b>Note</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><blockquote>
<p>For those who do not own a copy of Visual Basic 4.0, the Microsoft Exchange Forms
Designer includes a version of the Visual Basic 4.0 16-bit compiler.</p>
</blockquote>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center></div>
<p>To get the most out of this chapter, you should have access to a copy of the Microsoft
Exchange Forms Designer on your machine. You do not have to be linked to a Microsoft
Exchange Server to complete the project in this chapter. If you do not have a copy of the
Microsoft Exchange Forms Designer, you can still get a lot out of this chapter. The
concepts and techniques discussed here apply to any project that uses Microsoft Exchange
as a message platform. The last section of the chapter focuses on folder views. You do not
need the Microsoft Exchange Forms Designer to complete the exercises in that section of
the chapter. </p>
<p>You can use the EFD to develop two different types of forms:
<ul>
<li><i>Send forms</i>-These are forms used to send information from one location to the
next. This is, in effect, a formatted e-mail message. </li>
<li><i>Post forms</i>-These are forms used to place information into a particular folder.
This is an application designed to control the content of bulletin board messages to be
viewed by several people. </li>
</ul>
<p>You can also use the EFD to design folder views. Folder views are rules that control
just how a folder appears to the users. By setting values such as <tt><font FACE="Courier">Sort
Order</font></tt>, <tt><font FACE="Courier">Message Grouping</font></tt>, and <tt><font
FACE="Courier">Message Filtering</font></tt>, you can present folder contents in ways that
reflect users' needs and highlight the most important aspects of the message collection. </p>
<p>When you complete this chapter, you'll know how to design, code, test, and install
customized forms and folders using the Microsoft Exchange Forms Designer. You'll learn how
to use the EFD to create a Send form and a Post form. You'll also create several new
folders with custom views. Finally, you'll learn how to link customer forms to folders. </p>
<h2><a NAME="WhatIstheMicrosoftExchangeFormsDes"><font SIZE="5" COLOR="#FF0000">What Is
the Microsoft Exchange Forms Designer?</font></a></h2>
<p>The Microsoft Exchange Forms Designer is a development tool that is a part of Microsoft
Exchange Server. The EFD is a complete design tool for the creation and management of
customized electronic message applications. You can design forms that perform various
tasks, including forms that
<ul>
<li><font COLOR="#000000">Originate new messages</font> </li>
<li><font COLOR="#000000">Respond to existing messages</font> </li>
<li><font COLOR="#000000">Are read-only </font></li>
<li><font COLOR="#000000">Are pre-addressed to one or more users</font> </li>
<li><font COLOR="#000000">Are posted for public viewing</font> </li>
<li><font COLOR="#000000">Allow for anonymous postings (no Sender address)</font> </li>
</ul>
<p>The Microsoft Exchange Forms Designer uses the Visual Basic development environment. If
you are familiar with Visual Basic or Microsoft Access, you'll have no trouble learning to
use the Microsoft Exchange Forms Designer. Even if you have not had a lot of experience
with Visual Basic or Access, you'll find the EFD environment easy to work with. </p>
<h3><a NAME="EFDDesignWizards">EFD Design Wizards</a></h3>
<p>Most of the form design work involves drag-and-drop operations to add fields to a form.
When you use the EFD wizards, toolbars, and menus, most of the basic message fields (To,
Cc, Subject, and so on) are automatically added to your forms. You can add custom controls
such as labels, text boxes, list and combo boxes, check boxes and radio buttons, and even
tabs, frames, and picture boxes. One of the controls available with the Microsoft Exchange
Forms Designer is a 16-bit version of the rich-text control. This allows users to select
fonts, type sizes, and colors within an editable text box. </p>
<h3><a NAME="TheQuickHelpFeature">The QuickHelp Feature</a></h3>
<p>Another very handy feature of the Microsoft Exchange Forms Designer is the ability to
add field-level and form-level help to the project without having to create a WinHelp
file. The EFD's QuickHelp allows you to enter help information for each control on the
form and for the form itself. You can create a message that appears on the status bar at
the bottom of the form. You can also create a message window that acts as
context-sensitive help whenever the user presses the f1 key. And if you are really
serious, the EFD allows you to enter help context IDs that link to standard WinHelp files.
</p>
<h3><a NAME="ExtendingEFDwithVisualBasic">Extending EFD with Visual Basic</a></h3>
<p>It is also possible to use the Microsoft Exchange Forms Designer to generate an initial
form and then use Visual Basic to modify the form, for example, by
<ul>
<li><font COLOR="#000000">Adding new controls</font> </li>
<li><font COLOR="#000000">Modifying the form layout or backgrounds</font> </li>
<li><font COLOR="#000000">Linking the form to existing databases</font> </li>
<li><font COLOR="#000000">Adding calculation fields to the form</font> </li>
<li><font COLOR="#000000">Adding the capability to launch executable programs from the form</font>
</li>
<li><font COLOR="#000000">Linking the form to an existing WinHelp file</font> </li>
</ul>
<p>Although it is possible to use Visual Basic alone to design and implement Microsoft
Exchange forms, the EFD provides several advantages over "pure" Visual Basic.
With the Microsoft Exchange Forms Designer, you get a tool that handles most of the
drudgery of linking message fields to form controls. The EFD helps you establish a
consistent look and feel for all your forms. The EFD also walks you through the
installation process, which involves creating a custom message type, registering that
message type with Microsoft Exchange, and creating a configuration file to link the form
to Microsoft Exchange. </p>
<h2><a NAME="UsingtheMicrosoftExchangeFormsDesig"><font SIZE="5" COLOR="#FF0000">Using the
Microsoft Exchange Forms Designer to Create a Custom Form</font></a> </h2>
<p>In this section, you'll use the Microsoft Exchange Forms Designer to create a job
request form to initiate requests to have maintenance jobs completed in a workplace. This
will be a single-window Send form (addressed to a user). After you build the form, you'll
install it into your personal forms library for use at any time. </p>
<h3><a NAME="UingtheMicrosoftExchangeFormsDesign">Using the Microsoft Exchange Forms
Designer Wizard</a></h3>
<p>The easiest way to start developing forms with the Microsoft Exchange Forms Designer is
to use the Forms Designer wizard. The wizard will take you through the initial steps in
creating an electronic form. Once you answer all the wizard's questions, you'll see the
EFD build a basic form for your use. You can then use the EFD to modify the project before
saving and installing the new application. </p>
<p>If you haven't already done so, start up the Microsoft Exchange Forms Designer. You can
do this from the Microsoft Exchange program group. To do this, press the <tt><font
FACE="Courier">Start</font></tt> button on the Windows 95 task bar. Then select <tt><font
FACE="Courier">Programs | Microsoft Exchange | Microsoft Exchange Forms Designer</font></tt>.
You can also start the EFD directly from Microsoft Exchange. To do this, start Microsoft
Exchange and log in to your e-mail system. Then select <tt><font FACE="Courier">Tools |
Application Design | Forms Designer...</font></tt> (see Figure 5.1). </p>
<p><a HREF="f5-1.gif"><b>Figure 5.1 : </b><i>Selecting the EFD from the Windows Messaging
client.</i></a> </p>
<div align="center"><center>
<table BORDERCOLOR="#000000" BORDER="1" WIDTH="80%">
<tr>
<td><b>Tip</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><blockquote>
<p>Starting the EFD from the Microsoft Exchange menu takes more memory. On some systems,
it may seem a bit slower than starting EFD from the program menu. However, when you're
developing an EFD form, it's really handy to have Microsoft Exchange up and running at the
same time. That way you can easily switch between design and test mode while you debug
your EFD application.</p>
</blockquote>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center></div>
<h4>Creating Your Form</h4>
<p>The first screen you'll see is the Forms Designer Wizard. It asks whether you want to
begin a new project using the wizard, load a template form, or open an existing form (see
Figure 5.2). </p>
<p><a HREF="f5-2.gif"><b>Figure 5.2 : </b><i>Starting the Microsoft Exchange Forms
Designer Wizard.</i></a> </p>
<p>For now, select the Form Template Wizard option and press <tt><font FACE="Courier">Next</font></tt>
to continue. </p>
<h4>Where Will Your Information Go?</h4>
<p>The wizard asks whether you are designing a Send form or a Post form (see Figure 5.3). </p>
<p><a HREF="f5-3.gif"><b>Figure 5.3 : </b><i>Creating a Send form or a Post form.</i></a> </p>
<p>Send forms are used to send messages directly to one or more users. Send forms have a
field on the form for the "To" and "Cc" fields of a message. Post
messages are sent to a folder, not a person, and therefore do not have a "To" or
a "Cc" field on them. For our example job request form, you want to use a Send
form. This will make sure that the form is sent directly to a person. Select <tt><font
FACE="Courier">Send</font></tt> and press <tt><font FACE="Courier">Next</font></tt>. </p>
<h4>How Will Your Form Be Used?</h4>
<p>The wizard next asks whether you are creating a form to send information to someone or
a form to respond to an existing EFD form (see Figure 5.4). </p>
<p><a HREF="f5-4.gif"><b>Figure 5.4 :</b><i> Creating a Send-or Response-type form.</i></a>
</p>
<p>The first option allows you to create an "initiating" form. The second option
allows you to create a response form. For now, select the <tt><font FACE="Courier">Send</font></tt>
option and press the <tt><font FACE="Courier">Next</font></tt> button. </p>
<div align="center"><center>
<table BORDERCOLOR="#000000" BORDER="1" WIDTH="80%">
<tr>
<td><b>Warning</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><blockquote>
<p>Don't confuse the <tt><font FACE="Courier">Send</font></tt> option on this screen with
the previous screen where you were asked if you wanted to create a Send or a Post form.
This screen is really asking you to describe the action of your form-send or respond. The
previous screen asked about the destination of your form-a person or a group. </p>
</blockquote>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center></div>
<h4>One Window or Two?</h4>
<p>The wizard now asks whether you want your form to have one or two windows (see <br>
Figure 5.5). </p>
<p><a HREF="f5-5.gif"><b>Figure 5.5 : </b><i>Specify a one-window or two-window form.</i></a>
</p>
<p>You use single-window forms when you want to allow the reader to be able to edit the
same fields filled out by the sender. A good example would be a form that you send to
people with information for their editing and final approval. </p>
<p>You use the two-window form when you do not want to allow readers to alter the data on
the form that they read. When you select a two-window option, the EFD creates a compose
form and a read form. The compose form appears when a user first creates a form to send to
someone. When the recipient opens the two-window form, only the read form appears. This
form has the same controls as the compose form, but the fields are all read-only. </p>
<p>For this example, select the one-window option and then press <tt><font FACE="Courier">Next</font></tt>.
</p>
<h4>Setting the Form Name and Description</h4>
<p>Finally, the Forms Designer Wizard asks you to supply the name and general description
of your form (see Figure 5.6). </p>
<p><a HREF="f5-6.gif"><b>Figure 5.6 :</b> <i>Setting the form name and description.</i></a>
</p>
<p>The name you enter appears in list boxes (and in some cases on menus) within the
Windows Messaging client. The description you enter appears in information dialog boxes
that users can view when selecting Microsoft Exchange forms from their client interface.
For now, enter the information contained in Table 5.1.<br>
</p>
<p align="center"><b>Table 5.1. Job request form name and description.</b> </p>
<div align="center"><center>
<table BORDERCOLOR="#000000" BORDER="1" WIDTH="80%">
<tr>
<td><i>Property</i></td>
<td WIDTH="462"><i>Setting</i> </td>
</tr>
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