Project Professional 2003 Database Compatibility Scripts for Microsoft Project Server 2002 (June 23)
Due to the addition of new features in Microsoft Office Project Professional 2003, you cannot use Project Professional 2003 to save projects to an existing Microsoft Project Server 2002 installation without first making some minor modifications to the database schema. You can load and view projects from an unmodified Microsoft Project Server 2002 database in Project Professional 2003, but if you want to make changes or create new projects in Project Professional 2003 and save them back to Project Server 2002, you must download and run the four SQL scripts provided here. These scripts will add some additional fields to the database tables that are required by Project Professional 2003, but will be ignored by earlier versions, so users of Microsoft Project Professional 2002 or Microsoft Project Standard 2002 can continue to connect as normal to the upgraded Microsoft Project Server 2002 database.
Download: Project Professional 2003 Database Compatibility Scripts for Microsoft Project Server 2002
Project Server 2003: Project Web Access ActiveX Controls (June 23)
ActiveX controls for Project Web Access are installed by default when you install Project Server. You can install Project Web Access (PWA) ActiveX controls on client workstations manually in cases where your organization operates in a locked-down environment in which users cannot install OCX controls.
Download: Project Server 2003: Project Web Access ActiveX Controls
Microsoft hopes younger eyes have Office vision (June 21)
When it comes to improving the spelling checker in Word or finding new ways to draw charts in Excel, Microsoft probably has things covered.
But to figure out the broad changes needed for its venerable Office software, Microsoft is turning to an Indian medical student, an aspiring architect from Kenya and 13 other young adults from across the globe.
The young people, ages 19 to 24, are part of an “Information Worker Board of the Future” that will spend this week touring Microsoft’s campus and discussing their ideas for the future of work and software.
Microsoft hopes the investment will pay off with some insight into how their flagship Office software needs to evolve.
“We want them to tell us what we don’t know,” said Dan Rasmus, a former Giga Information Group analyst who joined Microsoft last year to head up its Information Work Vision effort.
View full article: Microsoft hopes younger eyes have Office vision
Migrating Microsoft Word VBA Solutions to Visual Studio Tools for Office Sample (June 21)
This sample demonstrates how to migrate an existing Word VBA solution to a Visual Studio Tools for Office solution.
Download: Migrating Microsoft Word VBA Solutions to Visual Studio Tools for Office Sample
Interview with Steve Ballmer, Chief Executive Officer (CEO): Microsoft Corporation (June 17)
ActiveWin interviewed Steve Ballmer and asked him about anything including the MVP Program on which I would like to say; “Thanks, and you’re welcome! :-)”
ActiveWin.com: How do you feel the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) program has impacted Microsoft customers and technical communities worldwide?
Steve Ballmer: MVPs have a tremendous impact on Microsoft customers and technical communities worldwide, and their passion for technology is inspiring. Their commitment to helping customers optimize their use of Microsoft technologies is key, as is the feedback they provide, which is vital to product development and R&D. When I spoke at this year’s MVP summit, it was the largest ever, with MVPs representing 63 countries. We can’t thank the MVPs enough for their contributions.
View full interview: Interview with Steve Ballmer, Chief Executive Officer (CEO): Microsoft Corporation
Deploying a Worldwide Site Consolidation Solution for Exchange Server 2003 at Microsoft (June 16)
Deploying a Worldwide Site Consolidation Solution for Exchange Server 2003 at Microsoft Detailed discussion on how Microsoft IT used Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and Microsoft Office System 2003 to enable a consolidation of Exchange sites from 75 to just seven worldwide. To accomplish this task, the IT Messaging team gathered and analyzed detailed wide area network (WAN)-level network measurements on a site-by-site basis to determine if consolidation was viable. It then consolidated its mailbox server infrastructure on Windows server clusters using storage area network (SAN) storage enclosures. Follow-up network measurements were taken after each group of sites was migrated to ensure latency and performance requirements were met.
Download: Deploying a Worldwide Site Consolidation Solution for Exchange Server 2003 at Microsoft
Office 2003 Publication: Office Online Training Courses Quick Reference Cards Content (June 16)
Free Web-based training courses on Office Online are one of the best ways to gain valuable expertise on the Microsoft Office System programs. What’s in a course?
Easy-to-understand audio and visual aids.
Fully integrated practice sessions that use the actual application.
Self-evaluation tests that confirm your understanding.
Quick Reference Cards to refer to after you’ve taken the course.
If you already own a Microsoft Office 2003 product, you have access to these Web-based courses. If you do not own an Office 2003 product, you can learn about these courses by taking a special tour. You can also download a Microsoft Office Word 2003 document to view the content of the Quick Reference Cards.
Download: Office 2003 Publication: Office Online Training Courses Quick Reference Cards Content
Microsoft Outlook Web Access 2003 Web-based Administration (June 16)
The Microsoft Outlook Web Access 2003 Web-based Administration tool provides a long-awaited way of easily (and safely) making UI changes that previously required direct manipulation of the registry.
View: Microsoft Outlook Web Access 2003 Web-based Administration
Download: Exchange 2003: Outlook Web Access Web Administration
Exchange Server 2003 Clustering Quality Assurance Checklist (June 16)
Exchange Server 2003 Cluster Configuration Checklist Discussion of the top cluster configuration issues developed through the operational experience of Microsoft IT that can adversely affect the performance and stability of Microsoft Exchange Server 2003. By addressing the cluster configuration concerns outlined in this document, IT shops will prevent many of the most common problems that affect Exchange.
Download: Exchange Server 2003 Clustering Quality Assurance Checklist
U.S. declines to create do-not-spam list (June 15)
The Bush administration will not immediately create a national do-not-spam registry to discourage unwanted e-mails, saying using current technology to do so might generate even more unsolicited sales pitches across the Internet, according to documents obtained Tuesday.
The Federal Trade Commission, expected to announce its decision later in the day, said it feared that unscrupulous senders of unwanted e-mails would mine such a registry of e-mail addresses looking for new victims, according to a summary of the FTC’s decision obtained by The Associated Press.
The commission, which was obligated to consider the proposal under the “can spam” legislation that Bush signed in December, concluded that it would be “largely powerless to identify those responsible for misusing the registry.”
View full article: U.S. declines to create do-not-spam list
Added to site: Backup and Restore (June 15)
With today’s use of e-mail you almost can’t afford to loose a single e-mail so let alone your entire mail archive. This guide is all about backing up and restoring your Outlook Data. It describes various methods and explains which method is best to be used in which scenarios.
How To: Backup and Restore
Word 2003 Sample: Practice files for Introduction to XML (June 15)
This download is a collection of sample files for use with the Introduction to XML in Word 2003 training course on Office Online.
Download: Word 2003 Sample: Practice files for Introduction to XML
Added to site: Edit the HTML Source Code while composing a Message (June 14)
Editing the HTML source code has been made very easy in Outlook Express. In Microsoft Office Outlook… well, not so much and I doubt whether the tool available has actually been designed for this since the process is anything but intuitive. But it can be done! Click the link below for detailed instructions.
How To: Edit the HTML Source Code while composing a Message
Microsoft sues 200 accused ‘spammers’ (June 12)
The Redmond, Wash., company, in an effort to slow the a barrage of junk e-mail directed at its customers, filed four lawsuits on Wednesday and four others on June 2, each naming at least 20 defendants whose identities are not known.
“These are high-volume spammers that are responsible for sending hundreds of millions of spam messages,” said Tim Cranton, a senior lawyer at Microsoft. The company also named Florida resident John Hites, who as recently as November was listed as one of the world’s top 10 spammers by Spamhaus, a nonprofit antispam group in Britain.
Microsoft said Mr. Hites is connected to HB Systems and Ads Inc., two foreign companies thought to have operations in the United States. Pin Point Media, a company based in either Coral Springs, Fla., or Weston, Fla., also was named. Mr. Hites and representatives from the three companies could not be reached for comment. Microsoft said it hopes to identify unknown defendants through the discovery process. It is seeking injunctions against the defendants and could collect as much as $1 million in civil fines from each one.
View full article: Microsoft sues 200 accused ‘spammers’
Exchange guides (June 10)
Journaling with Exchange 2003
Originally posted May 2004. Reposted June 9, 2004. See Additional Information for details. This guide discusses how the enhancements to the Journaling feature in Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) (and Exchange 2000 Server SP3, with the envelope journaling software update) makes messaging data more manageable for a broader compliance solution.
Exchange Server 2003 Message Security Guide
Reposted 1/19/2004. See Additional Information for details. This book discusses how, when using S/MIME, encryption protects the contents of e-mail messages and digital signatures verify the identity of a purported sender of an e-mail message.
Exchange Server 2003 Disaster Recovery Operations Guide
Originally posted May 2004. Reposted June 9, 2004. See Additional Information for details. This guide explains how to back up and restore the critical data in your Exchange organization.
