Setting up an Outlook 2003 Profile for Thoughtbus – using RPC over HTTP

Introduction

This procedure walks through the steps required for Outlook 2003 to connect to the Thoughtbus Exchange service via RPC over HTTP.  Both Outlook 2003 and Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7 are required on the client PC in order for this capability to function.  Using RPC over HTTP should provide you with the best experience since it avoids VPN connections and the firewall issues of regular RPC.

Outlook 2003’s ‘typical’ installation provides full support for Microsoft Exchange Server.  As long as the ‘Outlook Messaging Components / Outlook Mapi Service Providers’ option is included in the install (and it is by default), the ‘Microsoft Exchange Server’ connection option will be available when you set up your profile.

If you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7, you can skip to Part 2.  Please note that screenshots are from Windows XP, but the procedure is identical for Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Part 1 – Ensuring the Windows XP Pre-Requisites are Installed

Using RPC over HTTP in Outlook 2003 requires that your PC’s installation of Windows XP either have:

- Service Pack 1, and have a Hotfix applied

Or

- Service Pack 2

(Otherwise, the ‘RPC over HTTP’ option will not be shown when setting up the Outlook profile.)

To check the version of Windows XP you are running:

1. Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
2. The version of the operating system and service pack is displayed under System. If you do not see a service pack version, there is no service pack installed.

If you are running Service Pack 2, you will not need a Hot-Fix, and can proceed to Part 2 (below).

If you are running Service Pack 1, you’ll need to install the Hot-Fix. To verify it isn’t installed yet:

1. Start Control Panel and open ‘Add or Remove Programs’.
2. Under ‘Currently Installed Programs’, search for the item ‘Windows XP Hotfix (SP2) Q331320’.
3. If the item is not present, go to Windows XP Patch: RPC Updates Needed for Exchange Server 2003 and follow the instructions there to download and install the Hot-Fix.

Part 2 - Setting up the Outlook Profile

1. Either:
1. Start the ‘Control Panel’, and double-click the ‘Mail’ icon. (Note – you may need to switch the Control Panel to ‘Classic View’ to see this applet.)

Or

2. Right-click the ‘E-mail -- Microsoft Office Outlook’ icon in the ‘Start menu’ and select ‘Properties ‘from the pop-up menu:

2. If you see the ‘Mail Setup…’ window, then click the ‘Show Profiles…’ button.
3. The following window will appear:

4. Press the ‘Add…’ button – this will bring up the ‘New Profile’ window:

5. Enter any profile name and press ‘OK to display the ‘E-mail Accounts’ window:

6. Select ‘Add a new e-mail account’, then press ‘Next’, to display the ‘Server Type’ window:

7. Check the ‘Microsoft Exchange Server’ check-box and press ‘Next’. You’ll see the following dialog:

8. In this dialog, enter ‘mail30.thoughtbus.com’ as the ‘Microsoft Exchange Server’, and enter your Thoughtbus primary email address in the ‘User Name’ field, (Note: we recommend using the ‘Cached Exchange Mode’ to get the best performance from your Thoughtbus mailbox.) Then press ‘More Settings…’.
9. At this point, depending on your firewall configuration
   a. you may have to wait as much as two minutes, after which this window will appear:

This is actually OK, so press the ‘OK’ button. Next, you'll be prompted for the Exchange Server and User name again, press 'Cancel' there.

OR

b. You will be prompted for your user credentials – press the ‘Cancel’ button here.

10. You will then see the ‘Microsoft Exchange Server’ window. Navigate to the ‘Connection’ tab.

12. Check the ‘Connect to my Exchange mailbox using HTTP’ check-box, then press the ‘Exchange Proxy Settings…’ button.  The following window displays:

13. Fill out the form as shown above; in particular:
1. URL is ‘mail.thoughtbus.com’
2. Check the ‘On fast networks, connect using HTTP first, then connect using TCP/IP’
3. In the ‘Proxy authentication settings’ section, choose ‘Basic Authentication’.
14. Once you’ve filled out the form, press the ‘OK’ button.
15. In the ‘Microsoft Exchange Server’ dialog, press the ‘OK’ button.
16. In the ‘Exchange Server Settings’ dialog, press the ‘Check Name’ button.
17. You are next prompted for your user credentials. Note that here, your ‘User name’ can either be entered as ‘ENOMIA\’ followed by your Thoughtbus username, or as your username@your domain.  Note that this does not necessarily equal your primary email address:

18. Press the ‘OK’ button after entering your credentials. If they are correct, you’ll return to the ‘Exchange Server Settings’ dialog, and the server and user name data will be resolved and underlined.
19. Press ‘Next’ in the ‘Microsoft Exchange Server Settings’ dialog.
20. Press ‘Finish’ in the ‘Congratulations!’ dialog.
21. Next, ensure that the profile you just created is listed in the ‘Always use this profile’ field, in the ‘Mail’ dialog.  Or, be sure that ‘Prompt for a profile to be used’ is selected.
22. Press ‘OK’ in the ‘Mail’ dialog.
23. To verify the profile is setup properly:
1. Run Outlook.
2. Enter your user credentials.
3. Verify Outlook starts and successfully opens your Thoughtbus mailbox.

(end of procedure)