Email access via the Internet Outlook Web Access SiX Document Title/ Search Keyword(s): Email access via the Internet Outlook Web Access Service Group: E-Learning & Information Management Contact Details: ICT Helpdesk ICTHelp@somerset.gov.uk 01823 355090 Email access via the Internet Outlook Web Access You can access your Somerset County Council email account over the Internet at any time, wherever you are. The access is provided through Microsoft Outlook Web Access, or OWA. For the majority of users access to email through the latest version of OWA will meet their requirements. This can either be through the Somerset Learning Platform or directly from the web address. The information below describes how to access OWA and how the screen may differ from full Microsoft Outlook. OWA has recently been upgraded and now incorporates many of the features found in Outlook 2003. OWA has less functionality than the full Outlook 2007 application; staff who utilise the advanced functions within Somerset Learning Platform (for example integrating calendars) are recommended to use the Outlook 2007 application in school. If you are unable to connect to OWA at school please contact your technical support provider. Please note: this document is for guidance only and is not a training document. How to access your email over the Internet Wherever an Internet connection is available (a broadband or ISDN connection is recommended), type the following into the address field of your browser: https://lea-owa.somerset.gov.uk It is vital that https:// is entered correctly at the beginning of the address.
Before logging in you can choose between the security settings of Public or Shared Computer or Private Computer. The Private option should only be used if you are using a computer in school (logged on as yourself on the network) or on a PC at home that you supervise at all times. When Private is selected your session will keep you logged in for an hour before logging you off. Outlook Web Access Light Option The Light option is targeted at users of older versions of Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari. If you choose this option you will have a lot less functionality. We recommend you use OWA in Internet Explorer 7 or 8. Enter your user name and password Your user name will not be your email address. It will be the user name that you use to log into Outlook within school (e.g. SAJones ) For the password please enter your email password you use in Outlook. After clicking OK the OWA screen will appear: OWA can also be accessed through the Somerset Learning platform by clicking Email on the Staff page. You will not need to log on again.
All users will experience the following limitations: Personal folders are not available through OWA, sub-folders off the inbox will be available. Moving all the emails in your Personal Folders to the Inbox may cause your email to slow down we recommend you only use this area for current emails and not for emails you wish to archive. It is not possible to set calendar visibility options or import/export calendar. OWA email accounts cannot be synchronised for use offline Menu bar and personalising options The menu bar at the top of the screen will be the browser (i.e. Internet Explorer) options and will not give you access to your standard Outlook options menu. With OWA 2007, a number of options are available on the right of the screen, including: Regional; Messaging; Spelling; Calendar Options; Out of Office Assistant; Rules; E Mail Security; Junk E-Mail; Change Password; General Settings; Deleted Items; Mobile Devices. It should be noted that the options that you change will only apply when you log into OWA. For example, if you set the spelling option to not check on words in uppercase in OWA, when you return to the standard Outlook application at school, the spellchecker will still be checking words in uppercase. Improvements in OWA 2007 (Before August 2009 all users were on OWA 2003) OWA has been improved to make the user experience resemble more closely that of the full client version of Outlook 2003. It is now possible to see any other shared mailboxes you have access to e.g. the school mailbox. Click on your name in the top right of the screen and enter your school email address to open the mail folders. This access is only possible if you can already access your school mailbox from your Outlook client in school. It is also possible to see other staff user s mailboxes if they have delegated permissions to you. Other improvements are listed below (please see appendix for further description of each improvement). Message views are always up to date in OWA, email appears automatically as it arrives in your inbox and the unread counts in the folder tree stay up to date Drag & drop functionality (Appendix 1) More options on right click menus (appendix 2) Mailbox size quota alerts (Appendix 3)
Managed folders (appendix 4) Autocomplete cache for recently used email names (Appendix5) Rich text editor (Appendix 5) New spell check functionality (Appendix 6) Detailed user properties viewable on right-click menu (Appendix 7) Message Priority, read receipts and compliance label options available (Appendix 8) Exchange rules enhanced for routing messages to specific users (Appendix 9) Webready feature allows attachments to be read even if user doesn t have certain applications installed on their computer (Appendix 10) Sort messages by criteria, priority, read/unread, message threads (Appendix 11) Integrated buttons on reading pane for responding to calendar items Responses to meeting invitations can be edited before sending, calendar is updated automatically Improved flagging features (Appendix 12) Pop-ups removed New categories feature (Appendix 13) Search feature improved (Appendix 14) Calendar The OWA 2007 calendar has been completely redesigned with improved functionality and visuals. Improvements include: integrated date based navigation, a next/previous and Now indicator (Appendix 15) Coloured staus indicators and coloured categories (Appendix 16) Current time indicator (Appendix 17) Improved views e.g. Day, Work Week, Week (Appendix 18) Create new calendar function for managing multiple calendars (Appendix 19) Reading pane preview added for all views allows one click opening of appointment details (Appendix 20) Smart scheduling feature makes creating new appointments easier (Appendix21) Drag and drop functionality allows appointments to be moved (Appendix 22) Create recurring meeting option added Contacts It is easy to manage your contacts and view the address book. Contacts can be accessed as a preview; the same as the address book. You can create and edit personal contacts and managed contact lists in folders. Can browse and search the global address book and the Contacts module and address book have a new view options and search field.
Tasks Anything which has been flagged can now be viewed in one place, called Tasks. Flagged items and tasks can also now be sorted and Flagged emails also display in the tasks pane and can be replied to form there. The details of tasks can be viewed in the reading pane alongside the task list. Folders can also be created to manage tasks. Documents OWA now allows users to access files in Windows file shares and Sharepoint document libraries. Documents can be viewed as web ready documents if the application not installed locally. Once a document is displayed in OWA it can be added to your Favourites list making it available the next time OWA is accessed. Administrators can define documents and file shares available to users via OWA document s module. Changing Your Password Click on Options (see screen above) scroll down the screen to the Password option. Note: The password is the same for both Outlook access at school, SLP and OWA, so if you change it here it will be changed for your Outlook access at school and SLP. There is a minimum requirement of 8 characters and it must include at least one capital letter and one number. Searching for names in the address book OWA now includes a full feature address book that can be opened when you click the address book icon or the To or Cc buttons. You can search the address book and browse addresses in both your personal contacts and the Company address book.
Logging out of your email When logging on, if you chose the Public option then whenever you close your Internet browser, your email will automatically log out. If you then open a new browser you will need to log back on. If you selected the Private option at logon then OWA will remain logged on until you log out. In either case if you keep the browser open, and enter a new address for a different website, your email account will remain logged in. You can use the navigation button Back on your browser to go back to your email account (alternatively you can use the history to navigate back to the email). It is important if you are using a computer that is accessible to other people that you manually log out of the email account before leaving the computer. If this isn t done, other people will be able to access your email. A message will prompt you to close the browser. OWA Options Greater Language Support: OWA can now run in 46 languages Work days and hours can be set by checking them in the calendar. Out of Office Assistant: Specific out 0f office times can now be scheduled by setting on and off times. OWA will also remind users if their Out of office Replies are on. Different out of office replies can be set for internal and external senders. Deleted Items: These can be deleted automatically on logoff. Mobile Device Functionality will only work with mobile devices running Windows Mobile / Active Sync Mobile Devices : Active mobile devices can be accessed through Exchange, for example the last sync date or to perform a remote data wipe. Note : Exchange Unified Messaging and telephony/voicemail functions will not be available. Voicemail (Requires Exchange Unified Messaging) : Provides access to a user s inbox and calendar through a telephone. Voice mail options allow users to set alternate greetings for when a user is in or out of the office. Missed call notifications can be routed to a users inbox. Users can also retrieve their messages via telephone. Exchange will read the message.
Appendix Appendix 1 Drag & Drop Functionality You can drag and drop single or multiple items from the mail list into folders in the folder tree in the left mail pane. The folder structure will expand automatically when hovering over the folder, then drop the item into the correct folder. Appendix 2 Right Click Menus Right click the folders to reveal a context menu for a number of action options available to the folder, including; Open, Open in New Window; Delete; Rename; Create New Folder; Mark as Read; and Empty Folder. Right click options are available on all other items in the Mail pane.
Appendix 3 Mailbox size quota alerts You will be notified by Quota Alerts when your mail box is approaching its quota. You can also hover over your mailbox name and a tooltip message will show your maximum size and current usage. Appendix 4 Managed Folders Note : Managed Folders will not be used unless requested. Managed folders can be provided to users in the folder tree, these folders have specific policies that apply to them, such as the ability to rename, move or delete folder, the number of items allowed in the folders, the length of time items can remain in the folder before they expire. Managed folders appear in the folder tree, if a policy has been applied to a folder, the policy explanation will appear above the folder. Appendix 5 Autocomplete Cache A new feature is the autocomplete cache for recently used email names, begin typing a name and the autocomplete cache will finish the name provided a message has been addressed to the individual before. If a user is not in the autocomplete cache, the user s address can be resolved by pressing the Check names button provided they are in the contacts list or global address book. You can browse both your contacts and the global address book from the address book feature. Appendix 6 Rich text editor A new text formatting tool in the message form allows users to change font, size, colour and formatting as well as add hyperlinks.
Appendix 7 Detailed User Properties are viewable on right click A detailed view of a user s properties can also be viewed, for example their availability. Appendix 8 Message Priority As well as message priority, read receipts, it also possible to apply compliance label s to restricted messages and legal documents. Message compliance labels can be customized. Once a classification has been chosen, both sender and recipient will see a information bar notifying them of the classification. Appendix 9 Exchange rules can be set Exchange Rules can route documents to specific users automatically. For example if the user selects a project name classification then the message may be automatically copied and sent to the person managing the project. Appendix 10 Webready Working with attachments can create problems for users without the appropriate application required for viewing the attached document. The Webready document is a new feature in OWA 2007, dealing with documents such as email attachments is now much easier. When a user receives an email message containing an Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Adobe Acrobat, the user will always be able to read the document even if they do not have the applications installed on their computer. OWA will convert the
document to a webpage for viewing through a web browser. Formatting, pictures and links are preserved; the document is also converted into a printer friendly format. Converts document to a web page for viewing. Web ready documents also improve the printing of attachments. Appendix 11 Message sorting Improved Message Sorting - there is now a facility to arrange by function incorporated into the message window to improve message sorting. Search is also added into the messages pane. Messages can be sorted according to a range of criteria. Messages are also indented depending on the order of response. Threads can be collapsed or expanded to show all the read and unread messages. Entire message threads can be deleted.
Appendix 12 Improved flagging OWA has a much improved flagging feature, flags are now associated with start dates for tasks, you can choose from preset dates (tomorrow) of pick a custom date directly from the right-click menu. Although all flags are colour coded red, you can categorise items using the categories feature. Reminders are no longer displayed as popups, so they will not be blocked reducing the chance of missing a reminder. New item notification has been integrated into the folder title area, it appears for 5 seconds in a small area, with the sender and subject name. Users will be able to see this regardless of the module a user is working in. Realtime notifications also appear in task items. Appendix 13 New Categories Feature The new categories feature allows users to add one or more categories to messages, calendar items, contacts or tasks. Categories are associated with colours, allowing a user to see categorized items at a glance. Categories can be added to an item by clicking on the category item icon. New categories can also be added at the item level. Items can also be searched for according to category through the advanced search option.
Appendix 14 Search Feature Improved The search feature has been improved and is available throughout the OWA modules. Appendix 15 Integrated date navigation The calendar now has improved functionality and visuals. It now contains integrated date based navigation, a next/previous and Now indicator. Appendix 16 Coloured Status indicators Coloured Free and Busy status Indicators now appear based on how a user has responded to meeting. Coloured categories have been added to calendar items for easier scanning of the calendar. Appendix 17 Current time indicator A Current Time Indicator indicator now appears in the calendar.
Appendix 18 Improved views The calendar contains improved views including work week (This can be set by the user). Appendix 19 Create new calendars Users can create and manage multiple calendars Appendix 20 New reading pane preview in calendar A new calendar reading pane has been added, so that users do not have to double click to open an appointment, the appointment appears in a preview pane next to the calendar displaying the full details of the event. Appendix 21 Smart scheduling Creating a new appointment using the new Smarter Scheduling is easy. Click on the date and time you wish to create a new appointment, enter a subject and location, set the text and attach documents. Click the invitees button to insert rows for required, optional and resources or click on the scheduling assistant.
The scheduling tab allows users to check each attendee s availability and also lets them find which meeting rooms are available during specific times. Select rooms from the address book, this keeps all rooms recently used rooms available for the next meeting. After entering the attendees and rooms, the meeting suggestions area will update to show a range of suggested dates ranging from Good to Poor depending on attendee availability. Every suggestion includes information on the number of attendees and rooms available during that particular time.
Appendix 22 Drag and drop functionality in calendar Meetings can be updated by dragging the appointment to another location in the calendar. If this is a meeting you have scheduled; an alert will ask if you would like to notify attendees of the update. Meetings can also be set up as recurring events. When opening a recurring meeting, you will be asked whether you wish to the meeting or the whole series of meetings.
OWA Lite Unlike OWA 2003 many more features of the premium client are now available in the lite version: OWA Lite provides faster logon times for slow connections. Improved accessibility: Works in locked down browser modes, where for example popups are blocked. The absence of pop-ups now allows users to access the core functions of Outlook. OWA Lite allows users to : Navigate through mail folders Read and Reply and forward messages, create new messages and search through the mailbox. When composing an email, a list of most recently mailed recipients is available. It also contains a fully functional calendar, allowing users to create new appointments and meeting requests.
The scheduling assistant is also available in the Lite version. Much improved search capabilities; search is now available in the Lite version.