Using "Outlook Anywhere"

  • Article

Updated: August 21, 2008

Applies To: Windows SBS 2008

If you use Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 or Outlook 2007, you can use the Internet to connect to the computer that is running Windows SBS 2008 by using the feature called Outlook Anywhere (also known as RPC over HTTP). This means that you can remotely access your e-mail account on your server from the Internet when you are working outside your organization's firewall. You do not need security-related hardware or software (such as smart cards or security tokens), and you do not have to establish a virtual private network (VPN) connection to the server.

Comparing Outlook Anywhere and Outlook Web Access

When you use Outlook Anywhere to access your mailbox, you get the full functionality of Outlook 2003 or Outlook 2007. For example, you can work offline, use Microsoft Word as your e-mail editor, and easily organize your mailbox.

Note

  • If you are using Outlook 2007 to access your e-mail messages, Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and Outlook 2007 should automatically configure all the settings when you create your e-mail profile and enter your e-mail address. (Outlook uses e-mail profiles to remember which e-mail accounts you use and where the data for each account is stored).

  • If you use Outlook 2003 to access your e-mail messages, you must follow the instructions in this document to manually configure the Outlook settings.

    • Configuring Outlook for Outlook Anywhere

    This section discusses the steps that you must take to configure the Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2003 e-mail clients to use Outlook Anywhere.

    Configuring Outlook 2007 for Outlook Anywhere

    If you use Exchange Server 2007 as your messaging server, Outlook 2007 e-mail clients can access their Exchange mailbox by logging on with their e-mail address and password if the following conditions exist:

    • They have a connection to the Internet.

    • They are running Outlook 2007 with Service Pack 1 (SP1) or greater installed.

    • They have installed a trusted certificate for their Windows SBS 2008 network.

    Note

    For detailed information about installing the self-signed certificate on a computer, open your organization’s Internal Web site, and then under Announcements, click Install the server’s security certificate on your remote computer.

    Configuring Outlook 2003 for Outlook Anywhere

    Follow the steps in this section in sequence to successfully configure this feature.

    Step 1: Verify that the computer is running Windows XP Service Pack 1 or later

    Note

    This step in not required for client computers that are running the Windows Vista® operating system.

    • Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties. The System Properties page appears and displays the version of the operating system and service pack. If you do not see a service pack version, then there is no service pack installed.

    Step 2: Verify that Windows update Q331320 is installed on the computer (this is not required if you are running Windows XP Service Pack 2 or later)

    Note

    This step is not required for client computers that are running the Windows Vista® operating system.

    1. Click Start, point to Control Panel, and then click Add or Remove Programs.

    2. In Currently installed programs, search for the item Windows XP Hotfix (SP2) Q331320.

    3. If the item is not present, follow the instructions to download and install it at the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=18651).

    Step 3: Verify that the computer is running Outlook 2003 or later

    1. Open Outlook.

    2. Click the Help menu, and then click About Microsoft Office Outlook. The version number appears at the top of the dialog box.

    Step 4: Verify that the computer trusts the certificate that is used by the server

    1. Open Internet Explorer, and then in the address bar type: https://servername.com/remote, where servername.com is the external name of the computer running Windows SBS 2008. For example: https:// contoso.com/remote.

    2. If the certificate is trusted, a certificate warning does not appear. In this case, continue with “Step 5: “Ensure that you have an Outlook profile configured for the server” later in this document.

    3. If the certificate is not trusted, a warning appears. For detailed information about installing the self-signed certificate on a computer, open your organization’s Internal Web site, and then in Announcements, click Install the server’s security certificate on your remote computer.

    Step 5: Ensure that you have an Outlook profile configured for the server

    1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.

      If you are viewing Control Panel in the default Category view, switch to Classic view, and then double-click Mail. If you are viewing Control Panel in Classic view, double-click Mail.

    2. In the Mail Setup dialog box, click Show Profiles. If your profile appears in the list, select your profile, click Properties, click E-mail Accounts, select View or change existing e-mail accounts, and then click Next. If your profile does not appear, open Outlook and follow the instructions to create a profile before proceeding.

      • If there is an existing Microsoft Exchange Server profile, continue with number 3 in “Step 6: Configure the computer for Outlook Anywhere (RPC over HTTP)” later in this document.

      • If Exchange Server does not appear in the list, the existing profile is not associated with an Exchange Server e-mail account. Click Cancel, and then click Close.

    3. Click Add. The New Profile dialog box appears.

    4. In the Profile Name box, type a name for the new profile, and then click OK. The E-mail Accounts dialog box appears.

    5. Under E-mail, select Add a new e-mail account, and then click Next. The Server Type dialog box appears.

    6. Click Microsoft Exchange Server, and then click Next.

    7. Continue with number 4 in “Step 6: Configure the computer for Outlook Anywhere (RPC over HTTP)” later in this document.

    Step 6: Configure the computer for Outlook Anywhere (RPC over HTTP)

    1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.

      • If you are viewing Control Panel in the default Category view, switch to Classic view, and then double-click Mail.

      • If you are viewing Control Panel in Classic view, double-click Mail.

    2. In the Mail Setup dialog box, click E-mail accounts, click View or change existing e-mail accounts, and then click Next.

    3. In the E-mail accounts dialog box, click Microsoft Exchange Server, and then click Change.

    4. In the Microsoft Exchange Server dialog box, type the local name of the Exchange Server in the form: SERVER.DOMAIN.local. Where SERVER is the name of the computer that is running the Windows SBS 2008 operating system, and where DOMAIN is the name of your organization’s domain.

    5. In the User Name box, type the user name that you use to log on to Remote Web Workplace. Do not click Check Name.

    6. On the Exchange Server settings page, click More Settings.

    7. On the Connection tab, under Exchange over the Internet, select Connect to my Exchange mailbox using HTTP, and then click Exchange Proxy Settings. The Exchange Proxy Settings dialog box appears.

    8. Under Use this URL to connect to my proxy server for Exchange, type the URL for the computer running Windows SBS 2008. Use the following format:

      servername.com, where servername.com is the external name of the computer running Windows SBS 2008.

    9. Select Connect using SSL only, and then select Mutually authenticate the session when connecting with SSL.

    10. In the Principal name for proxy server dialog box, type a second URL for the name of the proxy server. Use the following format:

      msstd:servername.com, where servername.com is the external name of the computer running Windows SBS 2008.

    11. Select On slow networks, connect using HTTP first, then connect using TCP/IP.

    12. Under Proxy authentication settings, select Basic Authentication.

    13. Click OK twice. Click Next, click Finish, And then click Close.

    14. In the Mail dialog box, if Always use this profile is selected, choose the newly configured profile.

    15. Open Outlook and type your Windows SBS 2008 user name (in the format DOMAIN\user name) and your password. You can now work with your Outlook mailbox.