Presentation on various ways to integrate e-mail with SharePoint Server 2007, including OOB, Exchange 2007 managed folders and 3rd party solutions. Also includes other considerations such as public folders.
1. MOSS has mail! Integration, storage and management of e-mail in MOSS Kathy Hughes SharePoint MVP Quest SharePoint Seminar, Tuesday, 7th July, 2009, Sydney, Australia www.kathyhughes.com
2. Agenda The great debate: Public folders or SharePoint E-mail storage! Options for adding e-mail to SharePoint Pros and Cons of each option Deployment considerations – client/server Backup and upgrade considerations Format of destination e-mails Quotas and limits in SharePoint lists, management Q&A
3. Stick with Public Folders? Public folders are alive and well in Exchange 2007 Public folders will be supported in the next version of Exchange server and for at least 10 years following that SharePoint search can be configured to crawl Exchange public folders Concerns over storing e-mails away from Exchange Duplication – more dumping grounds! Security What about retention policies Backups I currently have e-mails stored in public folders, how can I move them to SharePoint? Should I move existing e-mails or not?
4. Exchange team recommends http://msexchangeteam.com/archive/2008/03/31/448537.aspx * Depending on scope of scenario, use Exchange PF's or SharePoint ** Depending on the scope of the application use Exchange Web Services and/or SharePoint
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6. Upfront Considerations - SharePoint? Two main approaches for integrating e-mail: Outlook Drag ‘n drop from inbox to SharePoint Outlook use Send (to, cc, bcc, part of distribution group) Primary deployment considerations: Office version (2007, 2003 or earlier)? Exchange version (2007, 2003, or earlier, OWA)? Server-side or client-side or both? Upgrade considerations? Retention policies, security PST’s – does your organisation support PST files?
7. Upfront Considerations (cont) Reversal strategy Format of e-mails – open MSGs in Outlook or EMLs in Outlook Express Policies and versioning Think about any limitations/policies you might want to place on e-mails in SharePoint, i.e. Expiration Metadata / search How do you want to expose your e-mails in SharePoint Key columns for search Number of users in organization Scalability of solution Licensing costs if you choose to go down the 3rd party add-on route IT resources complexity of solution, dependencies on IT resourcing for deployment and management
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10. Options for Integration Drag ‘n drop from Outlook to document library (between applications) Use “Connect to Outlook” from within document libraries and lists E-mail enable document libraries and lists and send e-mails (and attachments) from Outlook Send e-mails from SharePoint – DLs, Alerts (demo time permitting) Use Exchange 2007 managed folders to drag ‘n drop e-mails into SharePoint document libraries directly from Outlook Records management features Use a 3rd party product, like Colligo Contributor or Scinaptic OnePlaceMail – send via Outlook
11. I love Outlook! Outlook as the Principle Tool 3rd party – Colligo Contributor and OnePlaceMail– Outlook add-in Send to a Document Library userEmpowerment Exchange 2007 managed folders Connected SharePoint lists and document libraries Exchange public folders
12. Option 1:Drag ‘n Drop between Applications From Outlook to SharePoint Document Library Cannot always drag directly from Outlook into a Document Library/browser window Typically involves dragging an e-mail (including any attachments) from Outlook to desktop then drag e-mail into a document library in Explorer View Saves and stores e-mail (body+attachment/s) in .msg format Doesn’t understand content type Summary: Tedious and unproductive, especially for large volumes of e-mail or regular occurrences, no custom metadata, BUT install .MSG iFilter for search
13. Option 2: Connect to Outlook No additional configuration required post-install of SharePoint Works with Outlook 2007 Outlook 2003 users don’t see this option in document libraries, with the EXCEPTION of calendar / event lists Read-only in Outlook 2007, with the exception of Discussion lists! Can drag ‘n drop an e-mail into a connected Discussion list and the e-mail will appear as a new discussion thread Summary: Limitations with read-only local folders; metadata isn’t fully supported, i.e. e-mails dropped into connected Discussion lists only include Subject and Body Creates PST file on the client – consider PST policies Some offline capabilities
17. Option 3: E-mail Enabled Libraries and Lists SharePoint Central Administration configuration Farm-wide setting Works with Exchange Server 2000/2003/2007 Additional configuration for Exchange 2007 Separate OU in Active Directory Site owners access “Incoming e-mail settings” in document libraries and lists throughout site collections Each library/list has its own unique e-mail address, suffixed by SMTP server/domain FQDN, e.g. libraryaddress@server.domain.com Creates contact objects back in Active Directory How do you manage this? Naming conventions, lots and lots of objects added to AD…
18. Types of Lists you can e-mail Document libraries Announcements Discussion Calendar Forms libraries
19. Dependencies Initial configuration done by AD, Exchange and SharePoint administrator/s SharePoint AD contact may fail to include all attributes required for in-coming e-mail and attachments This may result in failure to receive attachments when sending e-mail to SharePoint document libraries See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/926891 for further details
25. E-mail Enabled Libraries and Lists (CONT) New library/list e-mail addresses are added to the designated OU on the Exchange server Show or hide addresses in the GAL Add addresses to Distribution lists E.g. Project distribution list so that a project site captures all project-related e-mails E-mails can be accepted to libraries and lists based on user permissions Avoid spam (to some degree!) Libraries and lists capture both the e-mail body and any attachments Configurable per library/list
29. E-mail Enabled Libraries and Lists (CONT) Summary E-mails sent to libraries and lists by default don’t understand content types If ‘Document’ is the default content type then the e-mail will be associated with the Document content type Does not understand custom metadata, i.e. required columns are ignored E-mails are stored in libraries as .EML format – not the .MSG type – inability to access with Outlook, reverts to a Web page instead OR open with Outlook Express E-mails sent to discussion lists are stored as a ‘Discussion’ content type – including subject and body E-mails sent to Calendars are added as an appointments
32. Option 4:Exchange 2007 Managed Folders Allow end users to drag ‘n drop to a SharePoint document library without leaving Outlook 2003/2007 The strength of Exchange 2007 Managed Folders is in applying managed folders to the SharePoint records repository (Record Center) template The managed folder journaling feature includes a ‘label’ parameter which is understood by the routing table in the records repository so that e-mails are stored specific to their ‘type’ - metadata Managed folders are created/controlled by Exchange admin and can be selectively deployed to end users (through Outlook 2003/2007) Placing retention on a managed folder, such as ‘delete after 3 months’ won’t apply to e-mails auto-forwarded to libraries and lists Even after running ‘start-managedfolderassistant’ once e-mails are deleted from the Exchange server
37. Demo Exchange 2007 managed folders Route e-mails to a Document library Sending e-mails to a SharePoint records repository
38. Option 5:Search Public Folders Stick with public folders Crawl/search public folder contents from SharePoint Users navigate outside SharePoint to access contents of e-mails
41. Option 6:3rd Party options Purchase a 3rd party e-mail integration tool like Colligo Contributor or Scinaptic’sOnePlaceMail This will solve metadata issue Other options including the ability to be able to add e-mails directly to folders with document libraries Familiar Outlook environment Configuration by IT personnel, client/server components
42. 3rd Party options Content type recognition, custom metadata, folder selection
43. Demo 3rd party option Quest has just released a new open source e-mail uploader http://sharepointforall.com/media/p/401.aspx Specific to e-mail attachments
44. Other:InfoPath & Outlook forms (custom sol) Doesn’t require InfoPath on the client Users fill in InfoPath forms within e-mail Completed form or form data is submitted to SharePoint list or Forms library Metadata is captured and exposed in SharePoint Subsequent workflows Other option - build a solution around Outlook forms – integrate with SharePoint document library
45. Considerations OOTB features – Connect to Outlook, Send e-mail to library/list, drag ‘n drop from desktop into MOSS library Resourcing costs to configure Central Administration and Active Directory No additional licensing costs Runaway train risk around AD contacts Exchange 2007 managed folders Requires Exchange 2007 Enterprise server Resourcing to configure/manage Exchange managed folders (IT)
46. Considerations (cont) Purchase 3rd Party add-ons – Colligo Contributor and Scinaptic OnePlaceMail (mentioned during today’s presentation) See respective sites for pricing and feature details Is it based on CALs and/or server - licensing? May include options around volume licensing IT planning and resourcing for deployment and management of client-side components What are their plans around future upgrade scenarios – maintenance, etc.
47. Considerations (cont) Capacity planning around document libraries Remember best practices for view limits @ 2000 Different to total items or lists including folders Be careful when planning e-mail lists/libraries You could very quickly end up with large amounts of e-mails if sending e-mails to an e-mail enabled library as part of a distribution group, i.e. All threads, etc., throughout a project lifecycle (~3-6 months or greater) Leverage views and folders (folders for large lists including e-mail) Note, you can’t send e-mails to folders in document libraries using the OOB e-mail enabled library feature
48. Recommendations If possible, maintain e-mails sent to SharePoint sites in .MSG format Easier to retrieve and open in source Outlook application If you must maintain an e-mail retention policy, then consider creating an e-mail content type and associating an information management policy to that content type, i.e. after X number of months route e-mails to the Record Center Create a separate e-mail document library for each site, or an e-mail document library for each respective project within a site, e.g. ProjectX_emails Part of upfront planning and design
49. Recommendations (cont) Plan e-mail storage as part of your upfront design/deployment Remember, incoming e-mail settings are done on a per farm basis Do you want all sites throughout your site collections to have e-mail enabled libraries and lists Consider creating custom site definitions with the option to e-mail enable a site removed Do you want to send / route all e-mails to a Record Center? Avoid dumping ground syndrome Search - install an iFilter for .MSG files
50. Recommendations (cont) Consider including document library/list e-mail addresses within distribution groups so the library/list automatically receives a copy of an e-mail, e.g. project e-mails Finally, document and train your end users on the designated method/s for integrating e-mail in SharePoint libraries and lists If it’s using Exchange 2007 managed folders then show them how to set up rules to automatically send e-mails to managed folders in their Outlook client If it’s using Colligo Contributor or Scinaptic OnePlaceMail, then train them on use of the product and address any policies around use of the product/s
51. Resources How to configure MOSS and Exchange 2003 and Exchange 2007 for incoming e-mail - whitepapers Steve Smith, MVP, Combined Knowledge http://www.combined-knowledge.com Configuring Exchange 2007 managed folders and SharePoint Records Repository – whitepaper Kathy Hughes, MVP http://www.kathyhughes.com Scaling papers: http://office.microsoft.com/download/afile.aspx?AssetID=AM102377231033; http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc262787.aspx E-mail Webinars - Colligohttp://www.colligo.com/articles/ResourceCenter.asp Scinaptic OnePlaceMail - http://www.scinaptic.com/ Me – kathy@kathyhughes.com
