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Home > Archive > SSW Standards > Better Software Suggestions > SSW Microsoft Exchange Server Suggestions

Red star Indicates important rule

  1. Exchange Server should have an option to use a SQL Backend Red star
  2. Connect to Exchange Server from SQL Management Studio Red star
  3. Record a Script for Deployment Red star
  4. Problems caused by Special Characters
  5. Exchange Server should allow easier cluster configuration.
  6. Please keep public folders.
  7. Daily Agenda Email
  8. Add "Include Subfolders" option to the Search form in OWA
  9. Help me get nice URLs
  10. Exchange2010 - OWA can't open a 2nd tab
  11. Exchange OWA spam suggestion. Please be a little smarter please
  12. OWA - Need a right click menu like outlook e.g. 'Reply to All'
  13. Let me edit the subject of an email in OWA
  14. I want nice URLs in OWA

  1. Exchange Server should have an option to use a SQL Backend Red star

    We are aware that there are a lot of difficulties in doing this from all the performance issues of converting a hierarchical database to a relational one, but the performance issues that need to be fixed. This allows us to do a few things.

    Also, the SQL Database that Exchange Server will use should be visible. We want to be able to query it and not want to learn a new API. In fact, you should be able to query Exchange Server through Query Analyzer.

  2. Connect to Exchange Server from SQL Management Studio Red star

    We want to be able to use Exchange Server as easily as we use SQL Server. We want to be able to use a gui to write a query in Outlook/SQL Management Studio against exchange server to find out useful data for the company. e.g. How many important items there are in a users inbox. are in my inbox

  3. Record a Script for Deployment Red star

    Exchange should be able to record a script to create a folder so that it can be used to deploy on other computers (like Reporting Services scripts - using that in SQL Management Studio)
    Recording a script
    Figure: SQL Management - Record Script

  4. Problems caused by Special Characters

    Exchange Server 2000 has a problem when special characters (such as: !@#$%^&*()") are used in the message subject line. OWA displays errors such as "Page cannot be found, HTTP 404 error messages as a result from these special characters.

    This problem does not occur with any Outlook clients (2000 or XP), and only in OWA and only if you have the special characters in the subject line. If you type the special characters in the body of the message, you will be able to view the message just fine.

    Different versions of IE (5.0-6.0) and Netscape browsers have been tested, however the same thing happens. The problem has been encountered by users for some time and the latest service packs have done nothing to overcome this problem.

  5. Exchange Server should allow easier cluster configuration.

    I DO MIND having to worry about learning Exchange clustering (and worrying about hardware) to be able to have some redundancy if one box goes down.

    I have a dream that I can setup the cluster for Exchange as easy as how it works for SQL Server 2005 SP1. The Wizard is so simple to follow that my mum could run it. And it doesn't require specific hardware. So a solution for the Exchange Team is to move the backend to SQL Server and then you can use SQL Server's mirroring feature.

    Sorry for the repetition, I must have mentioned this many times over the past 5 years.

  6. Please keep public folders

    Public Folder is a very useful and cost effective way to share information on Exchange Server. I really dont concur with the phasing out of this feature unless there is a very good reason.

    This will affect many of my clients who are currently using SSW eXtremeEmails! and I think there are many others on the market as well.

  7. Daily Agenda Email

    Google Calendar has a setting where your daily agenda is emailed to you every morning at 5am. It's a simple feature but extremely useful.

    Google Calendar
    Figure: Google Calendar allows you to get your Daily Agenda emailed to you every morning

    SSW will possibly add this feature to Team Calendar in the future.

  8. Add "Include Subfolders" option to the Search form in OWA

    OWA can only search the items in the current folder, but not including the subfolders. It will be better to add a check "Include subfolders" to fulfil this common requirement.

    Figure: This is the option I was expecting

  9. Help me get nice URLs

    URLs are part of the UI, the Exchange Team should play with MVC and experience the nice URLs.

      To Reproduce:
    1. Go to your OWA inbox
    2. Right click on the "Sent Items" folder and "Open in New Window" 
    https://mail.ssw.com.au/owa/?ae=Folder&t=IPF.Note&id=LgAAAADJ0hRZtBi8QpIgbESL70L1AQBZOBJtTQ9HQbOWNqsTETIFAAADTk8xAAAB
    Figure: Bad Example - Amazingly this is the Sent Items URL 
    https://mail.ssw.com.au/owa/SentItems
    Figure: Good Example - This should be the URL

    Note: We also have a similar suggestion for the URLs in SharePoint

  10. Exchange2010 - OWA can't open a 2nd tab

    My first hour on Exchange 2010 was terrible ?I always open a 2nd tab with Exchange 2007 eg. my calendar.      >You may have already opened your mailbox on a different browser tab. If you feel you've received this message in error, try refreshing your browser.

      So as you can tell I really love this new OWA "Feature" :-(
    1. There is no information on the web about it (or how to turn it off).
    2. A work around is to open it in FireFox as well.

    Anyone know the technical reason behind this?

    Open two OWA in two tabs
    Figure: Who programs a web app to be single instance?

  11. Exchange OWA spam suggestion. Please be a little smarter please

    Clean Spam Folder
    Figure: Reduce the steps to one, when cleaning the spam folder.

    Make cleaning my junk less painful
    Exchange OWA spam suggestion. Please be a little smarter please
    If I say "Alex" is not spam... I wish it would be smart enough to move the rest of the emails from him

  12. OWA - Need a right click menu like outlook e.g. 'Reply to All'

    OWA Has No Right Click Menu
    Figure: No right click menu in OWA

  13. Let me edit the subject of an email in OWA

    Very often people don't follow rules ;-)
    So they change the email subject on an email thread, what they shouldn't do, see Rule

    How can I change the subject of an email if I am just using OWA?

    No edit subject
    Figure: OWA ?right click ?No "Edit subject"
    Edit message
    Figure: No "Edit message" with the option to change the subject

  14. I want nice URLs in OWA

    Creating nice URLs is easy with ASP.NET 4 Routing features.
    Please give me nice and easy understandable URLs

    BAD: mail.ssw.com.au/owa/?ae=Item&a=Open&t=IPM.Note&id=RgAAAAD3PIiVR9RLQ7MrvLiXEN66BwCwUlbTJLPVQIU6lf8q2bJXAAAHTUJLAACwUlbTJLPVQIU6lf8q2bJXAHWj3whFAAAJ

    GOOD: mail.ssw.com.au/owa/Emails/ShowDetails/Id=53311293

    URL for the OWA calendar
    Figure: BAD - URL for the OWA calendar

    Same nice URLs could be done for the calendar https://mail.ssw.com.au/owa/Calendar/ShowWeek/StartDate=20090917
    - link to same suggestion on SharePoint https://www.ssw.com.au/rules/rules-to-better-sharepoint/
    - link to same suggestion on CRM http://ssw.com.au/ssw/Standards/BetterSoftwareSuggestions/CRM.aspx#FriendlyURL
    - link to same suggestion on TFS http://www.ssw.com.au/ssw/Standards/Rules/RulesToBetterProjectManagementWithTFS.aspx#NiceURL

Acknowledgements

Adam Cogan