MS Outlook - How to edit the front page of the 'Task' form

[M Greenaway]

Do any MS Outlook boffins out there know how to edit the front page of the 'Task' form in MS Outlook.

I have used the 'Task' form to create a new form for document approval, all I want to do at present is add a yes/no box to the front page next to the '% complete' field. But when I go in to edit this form it will not allow me to edit the front page, only the subsequent pages.

Any ideas ?

 

[HFowler]

Martin,

I don't know if this is the answer to what you want, but if you "right click" on the checkbox, you can format that column to "yes/no" versus "icon".

Regards,
Hank Fowler

 

[James Gutherson]

At last!

Hi Martin, I've said this in the cove a few times before, Outlook is a great little tool for this isn't it

Unfortunatly however some of the standard forms, Task's included don't let you modify their priginal pages.

What you need to do is copy and paste all the elements from the front page to one of the blank pages and then make your changes. Remember to then hide the original front page. You might also get some errors about there being only one memo field allowed per form. I just ignore this and every thing works fine.

If you haven't seen the MSPress book "Building Applications with MS Outlook" is would suggest it is invaluable.

For others out there, I use Outlook for all my databases, CA/PA, Customer feedback, Doc control,... everything.

 

[M Greenaway]

Yes James

Outlook looks good, I am just starting to explore its potential. Being an avid Access fan I might take some convincing, but I like the idea of the seamless link with e-mail and tracking facilities.

I created a new form the other day and sent it to someone, but they got the standard e-mail form, and when I looked in my 'sent' folder it also looked like the standard e-mail form - how comes ?

 

[James Gutherson]

Flexibility

It is the flexibility of Outlook that I like, as well as the fact that everyone here knows how to use it quite well. The included search engine, reporting tools and email routing are also a bonus.
I am using it pretty much as a flat file database, except for email addresses, but you can do much more.

We are using the public folders of our corporate exchange system and it is in this that both the data and the forms definitions are stored.

What I first do is create a new public folder and define the 'base' type of item, task, email, calendar, etc. Then I open the default form and make the changes I want, adding new fields and controls if necessary.

You then need to 'publish' the form to that public folder. The folders store the data on the forms in one file, and the definition (layout) of the forms in others, but all in the one public folder. (This is how I understand it, some exchange guru might have different ideas but this is how it work in my mind).

You can then change the properties of the file to control who has access to it and what type of access, what forms to use, which is the default form. You can also define the default view (database list) of the folder to show the fields you want.

Anyone doing this type of work, I would suggest the MSPress book "Building Applications with MS Outlook".

 

[James Gutherson]

Oops forgot to answer your question

I would guess, that you didn't publish the form to the appropriate folder, or if you did that you haven't set your new form as the default for the folder.

That way the data from your new form has simply been rendered in the default form for the folder.