# The Ximian Connector for Microsoft Exchange

The Ximian Connector for Microsoft Exchange allows Ximian Evolution clients to access accounts on Microsoft Exchange 2000 servers. It is available through Ximian Red Carpet in its own channel, but cannot be used without a license file. The license file may be purchased from the Ximian online store at store.ximian.com. Unlike the regular Ximian Evolution client, the Ximian Connector for Microsoft Exchange is proprietary software and source code is not available.

## Requirements

Ximian Connector works only with Exchange 2000, and requires that Outlook Web Access be enabled. Each user will need a valid Microsoft Exchange 2000 server account, including license.

## What's New in Connector 1.2

Ximian Connector 1.2 has added some of the most frequently requested features of Microsoft Exchange clients, including Public Folder access and calendar delegation.

Preferences Dialogs

- The preferences dialogs have been completely overhauled for Evolution and Connector 1.2. Select Tools Preferences from the main Evolution window to change your settings.

Public Folders, Posting, and Delegation

- Public folders, posting to folders, and delegation functions have been added. You may now set permissions on folders to which you have appropriate access, and view the folders of other users who have granted you permission to view them.

Flag for Followup

- Flag for Followup now works properly in both Outlook and Evolution, even when set in one and read in the other.

Improved vFolder Support

- vFolders now function better with Exchange accounts.

Notes

- The "Notes" and "Journal" folders in Exchange accounts are now readable, and you can drag items into them from other folders. Creating new Notes or Journal entries is not yet supported.

Direct Booking

- When creating a meeting request, resources such as rooms and equipment can be checked and reserved without waiting for a reply.

## Connector Features

In addition to the features listed above, Ximian Connector supports the following basic Microsoft Exchange features:

- General

  Remote Exchange Information Store

- Allows you to access mail, address book (including Global Address List folder), and calendars, and task folders on an Exchange 2000 server from Evolution.

Palm synchronization

- Supported for Contacts and Calendars on Exchange.

- Mail

  Viewing Mail in ExchangeFolder

Sending Email via Exchange Protocols

- You may use the Microsoft Exchange mail transport protocol to send email. Make sure that the address you have entered as your email address is exactly the one that the Exchange server has on file. This may be "yourname@exchange-server.ximian.com" rather than "yourname@ximian.com.a"

- Calendar

  Meeting Request/Proposal

- Allows Evolution users to schedule meetings and view attendee availability for other users (Evolution or Outlook users) on Exchange.

Adding iCalendar Meeting Requests to Calendar

- If you receive an iCalendar meeting request and add it to your calendar, it will be saved to your Exchange calendar.

- Contacts

  Address Completion

- Supported for your Exchange Contacts folder. Not yet supported for the Global Address List.

Adding vCards to Address Book

- If you receive a vCard attachment and click Save in Address Book, it will be saved to your Exchangeaddress book.

New Address Book entries can be created on Exchange from received email messages with a single click

There are, however, some features which are not available:

- Work Offline (disconnected mode).

- "Recall Message" function.

- Creation of an automatic "out-of-office" reply messages.

## Installing the Connector

To install the Ximian Connector, run Ximian Red Carpet by selecting System Get Software. Subscribe to the Ximian Connector for Microsoft Exchange channel, select the Ximian Connector for Microsoft Exchange2000, and click the Install button. You can also install the Connector by downloading the individual packages from ftp.ximian.com if you wish.

Once you have installed the software, you will also need to install a license file. The license file is the verification that you have paid for a license to use the Ximian Connector. You can get the license file from the the Ximian online store at store.ximian.com. You will need a browser with strong (128-bit or greater) encryption to access the store. When you purchase a Ximian Connector license, the store will mail you the license file with instructions for installation. Once installed, the license file unlocks the Ximian Connector functionality and you may connect to an Exchangeserver.

## Configuration

Once you have installed the Connector, you need to set up access for your Exchangeaccount on both the Exchangeserver and within Evolution.

### Exchange Server Configuration

Check with your system administrator to ensure that:

- You have a valid account on the Exchangeserver.

- You are permitted to access the account with WebDAV. This is the default setting for the Exchangeserver, so unless your system administrator has specifically turned it off, no changes should be necessary.

The Ximian website knowledge base, at support.ximian.com, has additional information about checking to make sure that your Exchangeserver will accept connections from Ximian Evolution.

### Evolution Settings for Connecting to an ExchangeServer

Once you know that your server is ready for you to connect, start Ximian Evolution and select Tools Mail Settings from any mail view.

#### Creating a New Exchange Account

If you would like to create a new account for your Exchange server, click the Add button in the accounts list. The account creation assistant will guide you through the process, which is also described in usage-mainwindow-starting. If you're not sure about any of the information you need, just ask your system administrator.

Identity

- Enter your name and email address. If you wish, you may add your organization and the location of your signature file. Only your name and email address are required.

Receiving Mail

- In this step, you'll enter information about the way you check mail:

  1. First, select Microsoft Exchange as your server type.

  2. Enter the name of your Exchange email server, and the user name you would use to log in to a Windows workstation in your organization.

  3. If you wish, select the box labelled Use secure connection (SSL), to take advantage of a more secure connection method. This may allow you to connect to the server from outside your firewall.

  4. If you would like Evolution to remember your password, check the box labelled Remember this password.

Receiving Mail, Step Two

- There are a few additional options in this step:

  1. Checking for New Mail: If you would like to check for new mail automatically, click the checkbox and enter an interval in minutes.

  2. Exchange Server: If your Exchange mailbox name is different from your Windows name, enter your mailbox name here.

  3. Override Outlook Web Access Path: In most cases, the URL for web access is "http://server.company.com/exchange." If your system has a path that is not "exchange," check the box and enter the custom path here.

  4. Active Directory: If you would like to use the Global Address List (GAL), check the box labelled Create a Global Address List folder and enter the name of the directory server. To avoid strain on the server, the maximum number of responses to any Active Directory query has been set to 500. If you would like to change that, you may do so here as well.

Sending Mail

- Select Microsoft Exchange as your email sending method. There is nothing else to do in this step.

Account Management

- Enter a name that you will use to remember this account. "Exchange Account" is a good suggestion. Note that you cannot have two accounts with the same name. If you'd like to make this your default account for sending email, check the Make this my default account box.

You're done. Click Finish and OK, then quit Evolution and start it again. Now you're ready to get to work on the Exchange server.

##### Creating an Exchange Account, Step One: Identity

Creating an Exchange Account, Step One: Identity

##### Creating an Exchange Account, Step Two: Receiving Mail

Creating an Exchange Account, Step Two: Receiving Mail

##### Creating an Exchange Account, Step Three: Mail Options

Creating an Exchange Account, Step Three: Mail Options

#### Changing an Existing Account to Work with Exchange

If you have an existing email account, and want to convert it to use for Exchange, select the account you want to convert and click the Edit button. You'll want to change settings in the following tabs of the account dialog:

Identity

- If your email address will change because you are moving to a new server, then change it in this tab. Otherwise, move to the next tab.

Receiving Mail

- Select Microsoft Exchange as your server type. Enter your name of your server next to Host, and the user name for your account next to Username. If your server supports SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption, it you can check the Use SSL box to take advantage of more secure data transfers.

Receiving Options

- Here, tab, you'll find some additional settings:

  Checking for New Mail

- Select whether you would like to check for mail automatically, and if so, how often.

Mailbox Name and Web Access Path

- If your Exchange server requires you to use a different mailbox name from the name you use to log in, select the second check-box and enter the mailbox name. Check with your system administrator to be sure.

  In most cases, the URL for web access is "http://server.company.com/exchange." If your system has a path that is not "exchange," check the box and enter the custom path here.

Active Directory

- If you would like to use the Global Address List (GAL) maintained on your Exchange server, click the tab labelled Receiving Options and check the box labelled Create a Global Address List folder. The GAL is maintained by your system administrator and you cannot add, change, or remove items from it using Ximian Evolution. However, you can use it to invite people to meetings and to look up addresses and other information. In many organizations, the GAL is stored on a different server from email. If this is the case, you should also specify the directory server name here.

Sending Mail

- If you will use your Exchange server to send as well as receive mail, select Microsoft Exchange as your server type, and enter the server name as the Host.

Once you have made those changes, click the OK button.

Then, quit Evolution and start it up again. Changes to the Ximian Connector accounts configuration are not active until you have restarted the application.

## Accessing the ExchangeServer

Like IMAP and LDAP data, information for Exchangeaccounts is stored on the server, not on your desktop computer. This means that you can access it from multiple locations. It also means that your Microsoft Exchangeaccount information is in a seperate folder tree from the Local tree in your folder bar. You'll see it below the local tree, with the name you gave the account. If you have multiple accounts, you will have multiple folder trees.

Click on any of the folder tree items to visit them; you may have to enter your server password. You can now create contact cards, send and receive email as you would normally. If there are items in your local calendar or addressbook that you'd like to add to your Exchangestores, you can copy and paste them over, or just drag items from one folder to another as you would with two local stores.

### Saving Attached Addresses and Appointments

If you are using both an Exchange account and a local mail account, you should be aware that whenever you save an email address or appointment from an email message, it will be saved in your Exchange contacts list or calendar, rather than in your local account. The same is true of synchronization with Palm-OS devices: tasks, appointments, and addresses from your Palm-OS device will be synchronized with those in the Exchange folders rather than local folders.

### The Global Address List Is Empty At First

To avoid unnecessary strain on the server, the GAL will appear empty until you have searched for something in it. If you want to display all the cards in the list, click in the search box and press Enter. This enters a blank search: since every card contains a blank in it, every card will appear.

## Taking Full Advantage of the Exchange Server When Scheduling Appointments

When you schedule a meeting with your calendar on the Exchangeserver, you can check when other local Exchange users are busy according to their Exchangecalendars. To do so:

### Scheduling With Free/Busy Information

Using the Free/Busy Feature

### Reminders In Exchange

Reminders for appointments in your Exchange calendar will not work until you have run Evolution at least once after logging in. This is different from locally stored reminders, which will work from the moment you log in, regardless of whether you have run Evolution in the session.

1. Open a new appointment in the calendar.

2. Choose Actions Schedule Meeting in the meeting editor window.

3. Add attendees, either by entering their email addresses into the list, or by clicking the Invite Others button. If you choose to so, it's best to use the Global Address List (GAL). Choose the GAL from the drop-down list of address sources at the top of the dialog box.

4. Choose Options and then Update Free/Busy to check participant schedules and, if possible, update the meeting in all participants' calendars.

### Using Autopick to Adjust Meeting Times

If meeting attendees are not available during the times you have scheduled a meeting, you can "nudge" the meeting forward or backward to the nearest available time. To do so, just click the arrows to the left or right of the Autopick button. The autopick tool will move the meeting to the nearest time during which all attendees are available. If you aren't satisfied with those results, you can drag the edges of the meeting time to the hours that you want to select.