1. About this guide

This document provides a guide to using KnowledgeWorker™ Outlook Integration. The product overview describes the scope and key functionality of the product and specifically, how you can access the KnowledgeWorker™ repository from Outlook. The Outlook Integration Interface provides a step-by-step guide to using the facility.

IMPORTANT

Throughout this document all references to searching and publishing documents assume that the user understands the concept of the permissions controls provided by KnowledgeWorker™. For example, searches will only return references to folders and documents that the user has permission to see.  Documents can only be added to folders to which the user has been given modify permissions.

2. Product Overview

2.1 General

In earlier versions of KnowledgeWorker™, Outlook integration was a component of the Office Integration Add-In.  With Version 3.1 Outlook integration has become a separate component effectively providing complete access to KnowledgeWorker™ functionality from the Outlook folder pane.

Emails, including any attachments, may be moved, or copied from the standard Outlook folders to the KnowledgeWorker™ repository.

2.2  Microsoft Office Version Compatibility

Outlook Integration is provided for the following versions of Microsoft Outlook:

• 2000 (SP3)
• 2002

IMPORTANT

Outlook integration is provided as an Add-In to the installed version of Microsoft Outlook.  The previous office integration component should be removed from the client machine prior to the installation of the latest version of Outlook integration.  This can be achieved by using Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel on the client machine. You must ensure that Microsoft Outlook has been closed before this operation and it is also advisable to delete the component directory that can typically be found in:

C:\Program Files\KW_ADDIN_OL

3. The Outlook Integration Interface

3.1 Features

The Outlook Integration interface is a totally revised method of saving your emails to the KnowledgeWorker™ repository.  In addition to managing your emails, you may now access and manage your repository with much of the functionality previously only available through the browser interface.

Connection to your repository is now available from within the Outlook folder pane. To ensure that this window is visible in Outlook select the main menu item View and select Folder List.

Users of Microsoft Outlook 2002 can enjoy the benefits of drag-and-drop to move or copy emails to the repository.

IMPORTANT

If you are using Microsoft Outlook 2000 please DO NOT USE DRAG-AND-DROP.  Whilst drag-and-drop will appear to work in Microsoft Outlook 2000, there are limitations in the ability to control Outlook’s functionality. Microsoft Outlook 2000 does not support the transfer of emails and attachments to the repository using drag and drop. If you should move or copy emails using drag-and-drop in Microsoft Outlook 2000 it is important that you recover these items prior to closing Outlook otherwise the mails will be deleted.

3.2 How to – Login / Connect

When you make the Outlook folder list visible after installing Outlook integration you will see that KnowledgeWorker™ appears as a new folder.

The first time you access Microsoft Outlook after installing the Outlook integration add-in you will need to provide the connection information.

You may also access the connection information at any time by clicking the Settings folder as described in Step 1 below.

1. Expand the KnowledgeWorker™ item to display the folder contents of the repository.

Select the Settings folder to access the settings dialogue.

The settings information consists of:

URL - Location of the KnowledgeWorker™ website scripts folder including the character ‘/’.  This will relate to the normal site that you would use from the browser.

WSDL-Path - Location of the KnowledgeWorker™ Outlook WSDL virtual directory that would be supplied to you by the system administrator.

Server - The repository name.

User - The username or identity that is normally used to connect to the repository.

Password - The password that is normally used to connect to the repository.

Language - The installed language of the application will determine that language used in the Microsoft Outlook application, but the user can define a language in which the right pane of pages from the repository are presented in.

Upload path - A directory / folder location on the local machine for temporary files used by the Outlook integration add-in.

3.3 How to – Access and use features from within Outlook

Outlook integration allows access to the complete KnowledgeWorker™ functionality.  Essentially, after clicking one of the repository folders the right-hand pane in Microsoft Outlook behaves very much like your browser window.

See the Search Page displayed below.

Once you have entered a functional area, such as the Search as shown above, the operation is as described in the user guide for the browser interface.

NOTE - This level of functionality is provided to allow users to easily access the key functions without having to have a separate login to repository via the browser.

It should be borne in mind that this functionality only emulates a browser.

The emulation does not provide the controls that are available in the browser, such as those for ActiveX, caching, and Page Forward / Page Back buttons.

Disclaimer - No responsibility is accepted for any issues that arise from using the emulation rather than the browser.

You may switch folders by clicking the different folder names but extensive browsing through the repository is better achieved using your browser.

 3.4 How to – Store an email in the repository

Adding emails to the repository is simply a matter of the following:

1. Identifying and select the email that is to be saved.

2. Select Copy to … or Move to … from the menu that you will find in the Outlook Edit main menu.

3. Use the repository dialogue to locate the folder in the repository and click OK.

The email, and any attachments, will be transferred to the repository.

REMINDER

For Microsoft Outlook 2002 the user is also free to use the drag-and-drop functionality to complete these activities.  Drag-and-drop must NOT be used with Microsoft Outlook 2000.

3.5 How to – View items in the repository

The email can now be viewed and opened in the same was as any other item within the KnowledgeWorker™ repository, either from the browser or, as shown below, from within Outlook.

3.5.1 Viewing Project Folders

Note - the project folders are equally available for viewing and storing emails however, in the Outlook presentation, your associated Forums and News items are displayed together under the Forums and News folders respectively. Only Forum folders containing entries will be shown. 

The figure shows all the users forum items for three projects.

3.6 Attaching emails to a workflow

In addition to storing emails in the Library and Project areas you may also attach emails to a workflow by selecting the required task from the repository dialogue.

The email will appear as an attachment in the selected workflow’s tasks.

3.7 Viewing and performing workflow tasks

As part of providing a more comprehensive interface to the repository you may view and perform workflow tasks from Microsoft Outlook.

Below is shown the standard Outlook Tasks folder containing the user's current repository task Inbox.

To perform the tasks from the Microsoft Outlook task folder you should complete the following steps.

1. Open the Outlook task

The main body of the Task will contain a URL link to the workflow task in the repository task Inbox.

2. Perform the task and close the browser window

The workflow task page will be opened in a browser window as shown below.

Once the task is performed you should close the browser window. This window does not contain the full KnowledgeWorker™ functionality, i.e. there is no main menu frame because the window is provided purely for performing the workflow task.