Outlook - keep it running

[pooley]

I have been asked by the HT to make sure all staff have outlook running when they log into the pc's.

 

I have setup richprofile and set outlook to run (from the startup folder) but this does not stop them (the teachers) from closing it immediatly.

 

I tried srvany to install outlook as a service - but it failed.

 

Anyone got any idea's on how I can ensure outlook is running or get it to re-open if closed.

 

Thanks

 

Si

[theboyhope]

OLKeeper 1.0 might be worth trying, though I don't think it'll do exactly what you've asked for.

 

Can't he just tell them not to close it anyway?

[Mcshammer_dj]

set the machines to log off when outlook closes down!!!

 

They would soon learn

[Michael]

From memory there was a function whereby you can get Outlook to run minimised, so it appears as an icon in the notification area (bottom right).

 

I don't think there's any other realistic way of stopping users closing the application.

[TechMonkey]

Best way I can think of would be to make a tiny app that would check if outlook.exe is running every x seconds. If it is then go back to sleep else open outlook.exe. Would

[powdarrmonkey]

From memory there was a function whereby you can get Outlook to run minimised, so it appears as an icon in the notification area (bottom right).

 

There is, you right-click the tray icon and pick it from the context menu. However, I don't know if you can do this programatically or not, or whether you can launch Outlook minimised to drop it straight into the tray.

 

 

Edit: Ok, I should have looked in the registry before posting. You want:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Outlook\Preferences\MinToTray (dword)

 

You could use Autoit in a logon script to start outlook and immediately minimise it, but it's a bit of a bodge.

 

 

Running it as a service will run it in the local system account, not as the user, so that's a dead end. Sorry.

[Michael]

There is, you right-click the tray icon and pick it from the context menu. However, I don't know if you can do this programatically or not, or whether you can launch Outlook minimised to drop it straight into the tray.

 

That's the one, and you're right, it requires a reg tweak.

[pooley]

Thanks guys.

 

I have tried educating the masses and just minimise but 1st instinct is to close not minimise.

 

Any suggestions on a script to check aftter x mins if running then open outlook.exe if not running ?

[Michael]

I'm not sure how you could script this. FN-GM is probably the king of scripts on these forums. A scheduled task might work however.

 

If you use BGInfo, you could put a nice message on teachers screens. Just an idea

[powdarrmonkey]

Thanks guys.

 

I have tried educating the masses and just minimise but 1st instinct is to close not minimise.

 

Any suggestions on a script to check aftter x mins if running then open outlook.exe if not running ?

 

You'll really bug them if there's a legitimate reason for it being closed (teaching on a whiteboard, for example, could reveal sensitive emails to the class). Much better to get it to go into the tray on startup, then they can just forget that it's there.

[powdarrmonkey]

I'd go for Autoit.

[teejay]

If you are going with the minimizes route, make sure you turn off the show new mail desktop alert. We've had it a few times where teachers have been using an IWB and the little popup showing the first few lines of the email pops up with something confidential:doh:

[penfold]

Comes down to a training issues not a technical one. All staff should be trained in how to use the software(not necessarily by you). But creating more work for someone just because people cant minimise a window is a bit backwards thinking.

 

If Outlook is going to be the standard then staff should know how to use it. Would it not be much easier and quicker to knock up a how-to guide for using outlook and force teachers to use it?

[ajbritton]

Comes down to a training issues not a technical one. All staff should be trained in how to use the software(not necessarily by you). But creating more work for someone just because people cant minimise a window is a bit backwards thinking.

 

If Outlook is going to be the standard then staff should know how to use it. Would it not be much easier and quicker to knock up a how-to guide for using outlook and force teachers to use it?

 

Totally agree. Although this could be accomplished fairly easily using AutoIt, it's just a bad idea. Does the HT imagine that the staff will sit around waiting for emails to arrive and respond instantly as if they had nothing better to do? The whole point of email is that it stacks up and you get to it when it is convenient for you, not the sender. Perhaps some kind of IM solution would be more appropriate if HT needs a way of getting info out to as many staff as possible.

[FN-GM]

I'm not sure how you could script this. FN-GM is probably the king of scripts on these forums.

 

 

You can use the .adm files to minimize outlook to the icon tray, thats how we do it. Somewhere i have a script that runs at login opens outlook and minimizes it.

 

If you use that with the group policy you can set it so when the user logs on outlook is open in the icon tray and running in the background. Not sure of a way to stop them from opening it from there and closing it though.

 

If your interested in the script let me know i will see what i can dig out.

 

Z

Edit: What version of outlook are you running?

Edited September 25, 2008 by FN-GM