Alexander’s Blog

If you are unable to preview Word, Excel and PowerPoint files in Outlook 2010, make sure that the previewers are not disabled. The attachment previewers are enabled by default. Here’s how the previewers work in Outlook 2010.

First of all, make sure that the attached file that you are trying to preview in Outlook has the application installed. In other words, if you are trying to preview a Word file in an Outlook message then Microsoft Word must be installed on your computer. For security reasons, you have the option to selectively remove some or all the attachment previewers.

If you want to selectively use only certain attachment previewers in Outlook then follow these steps.

1. Click the File tab.
2. Click Options
3. Click Trust Center.

   

4. Under Microsoft Outlook Trust Center, click Trust Center Settings, and then click Attachment Handling.
5. Do one of the following:
   • To turn off all attachment previewers, click Turn off Attachment Preview.
   • To turn off a specific attachment previewer, click Attachment and Document Previewers, clear the check box for a previewer that you want to turn off, and then click OK.

   

I recently ordered an HTC EVO 4G through my telecommunication Web site. Because I am a broker for all the major wireless providers in USA, I have the luxury to pick from one of the more than 65 free phones, or get one of the high-end phones at a discount. After researching for over two months, I decided to settle on HTC EVO 4G from Sprint. I have to wait for four weeks because HTC EVO is one of the most popular smart phones in the market today and HTC can’t make them fast enough to keep up with the demand. Especially, with all the iPhone issues in the news lately, people are very interested in HTC EVO 4G. Luckily, 4G wireless network is widely available in the Seattle area.

The wait for my HTC EVO was totally worth it. I could have waited for Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 smart phone but just like any other product, it will take Microsoft a while to fix all the bugs. Although everything I have heard about Windows Phone 7 is encouraging and Microsoft is supposedly going to spend 1 billion (that’s not a misprint…..that’s a billion with a B) to market Windows Phone 7 around the world. I like Windows Mobile OS but wanted to try Android for a change.

Here are the step-by-step instructions on how to synchronize your HTC EVO Contacts list to Outlook.

1. Download and install the latest version of HTC Sync here. At the time of writing, the latest version was 2.0.40 that came out on 6/16/2010. I have tested the software successfully on Windows 7 and Windows XP SP3.
2. Start the HTC Sync software from Start, All Programs, HTC, HTC Sync. You won’t be able to configure the Sync Manager until you have plugged the USB cable from your phone (micro USB connector) to the USB port on your PC.
3. On your HTC EVO you will see a screen that prompts you to choose a connection type. There are four options:
   1. Charge only
   2. HTC Sync
   3. Disk drive
   4. USB tethering
   Select HTC Sync and then tap Done.
4. You will be prompted to select a name for your phone. The default option is “My HTC Evo 4G.”
5. As soon as you are connected to your PC, you will see a third option on your HTC Sync screen on your PC called Application Installer.

   

6. Double-click the Sync Manager and then click the icon next to Settings to load the Sync Manager Settings window. Here you can configure the options to sync only the Contacts, or the Calendar, or both. You can also configure how to resolve any conflicts between the contacts on your mobile phone and the Outlook.

   

7. Configure the settings as necessary. For example, if you have multiple Contacts lists, such as one in your Inbox and one in your PST file, and you want to make sure that you keep your Mobile Contacts list separate from your Outlook Contacts list like I do, you need to specify which Contacts list you want to sync. By default, the HTC Sync will synchronize the default Contacts folder, which may be the one in the Inbox. If you only have one Contacts list and you want it to be the same on both your HTC EVO and Outlook then you have nothing to worry about. On the other hand, if you want to keep the two lists separate, like I do, then you need to be careful or else you will end up making a mess of your existing Contact list. If you have more than one Contacts list, click on the Properties button in step 6 and then clear the box Use default Contacts folder.Note: As a precaution, you should backup your Outlook Contacts list and also export your contacts list on your HTC EVO. To export HTC Contacts list go to Contacts, Menu, Import/Export, Export to SD card. If it’s the first time you are exporting the list you will be prompted to export your Contacts list to “/sdcard/pcsc_pcsc_00001.vcf”. If it’s the second time the name will be “/sdcard/pcsc_pcsc_00002.vcf”, and so on. Click OK to export the list. You can import a backed up list at a later time if necessary.
8. Click the Set Folder button and select the appropriate Contacts list.

   

9. If you don’t want to synchronize the calendar, then clear the box Synchronize this category under Categories, Calendar.
10. Usually you don’t have to modify the Conflict Policy and Silent Sync options.
11. Click Automatic Sync and select the appropriate options. I prefer a manual sync because I don’t sync my calendar, I only sync my Contacts list and it doesn’t need to be synchronized too often. If you are synchronizing your calendar then you may be interested in the automatic start of synchronization.
12. Click OK to apply the changes and close the Sync Manager window.
13. You can start the synchronization either from the Sync Manager on your PC or your mobile phone HTC EVO. I usually start the synchronization from my mobile phone.
14. You will see the synchronization process start as the data is prepared from your phone.

    

15. During the synchronization process you will see the progress as records are added (if it’s the first time) or synchronized with your Outlook.

    

16. Once the process is complete you can verify that all the Contacts were added, updated, or removed.

    

17. The Synchronization Summary report shows you all the details.

    

18. It also shows you the options that you select in the Used settings section.

    

So far I am loving HTC EVO 4G. Because there are so many things you can do on a smart phone these days, I think securing the information should be a major concern for all the mobile phone users. I hope to write about securing smart phones, especially HTC EVO in a future post.

Troubleshooting Tips

As you can see, the process of synchronization of data between your Outlook and HTC EVO is pretty straight forward. However, there a couple of things to keep in mind when you are troubleshooting.

Make sure that you configure the Sync  Manager before you start synchronization because if you accept all the defaults it will synchronize the default folder. This is not an issue if you have only one Contacts list but if you have multiple Contact lists you may experience some unpleasant surprises.

If you are unable to get your data synchronized, make sure that you select the second option “HTC Sync” in step 3 on your HTC EVO. Sometimes if you are not looking at your cell phone, the option may default to Charge only and disappear off your screen.

The following is a list of common Exchange Server 2010 features that are managed in the Exchange Management Console (EMC), as documented by Microsoft.

By default, Exchange names the first database “Mailbox Database” and adds a random number to it, e.g. Mailbox Database 1743522922. The random number ensures that the database is going to be unique. Obviously, as an Administrator I would prefer to have names that make more sense to me. I would much rather name my databases Mailbox Database 1, Mailbox Database 2, etc. or perhaps Mailbox DB1, Mailbox DB2, etc. Fortunately, moving the mailbox and the log file path to a different location and renaming the mailbox database is very simple. There is no need for you to first create a new database, move everything to that new database and then delete the old database.

Here are the step-by-step instructions on how to move the mailbox and the log file path and then rename the mailbox database in Exchange Server 2010.

Moving the Database & Log File Path

1. Open Exchange Management Console (EMC) and go to Organization Configuration, Mailbox.
2. Right-click Mailbox Database in the center pane and select Move Database Path.
   
3. Enter the database file path and the log folder path. For example, if you would like to rename the new database Mailbox DB1 and move it to Drive D, then enter something like the following:
   D:\Exchange Databases\Mailbox\Mailbox DB1\Mailbox DB1.edb
   D:\Exchange Logs\Mailbox DB1

   Notice that the current name of the database is grayed out. In a moment we will rename the original database.
   

4. Click Move, then click Finish.

Renaming the Original Database

1. Right-click the database and select Properties.
   
2. Change the name of the Mailbox in the description box and click OK. This is all you have to do to rename the database. In my case the original name was Mailbox Database 1743522922 and I changed it to Mailbox DB1.
   

There is no need to reboot the server. At this point I’ve renamed the original database called Mailbox Database 1743522922 to Mailbox DB1 and moved the database file as well as the log file path to a new location.

I have been discouraging people from sending error reports to Microsoft for years. Microsoft’s own security experts agree that sending error reports to Microsoft is not a good idea for security reasons. One reason that I have been given was the fact that the information is sent to Microsoft unencrypted. Well, with Exchange Server 2010 Microsoft has announced that it is now using HTTPS to secure the transmission when the errors are reported to Microsoft. That’s good news. However, what is not good news is that your personal information may still be at risk. If you are okay with risking your personal information, then sending error reporting to Microsoft can be a noble cause. For those of you who are not okay with risking your private information, I suggest you do not enable error reporting.

Here’s the screen shot from Exchange Server 2010 installation wizard telling you that your transmission will be secured with HTTPS and at the same time warning you that your personal information may be at risk. However, Microsoft should be commended for making the default option to be NO, even though their recommended option is YES. I like it when vendors don’t intentionally try to trick consumers and let the consumers decide what they want after they have been given all the options. While in some other cases, such as certain Windows Vista and Windows 7 features and Microsoft Security Essentials, the exact opposite is true, in this case Microsoft and the Exchange team deserves a thank you and a pat on the back.