UAB Information Technology is upgrading from Exchange 2007 to Exchange 2010; with this migration comes several new features that benefit the user in Exchange 2010/OWA. The following is a list of these features and a brief description. Links are provided when additional information is available.
New Features of Exchange 2010 include:
Mail Tips
MailTips are automated alerts that can be added to messages before they are sent to prevent accidental delivery or policy violations. For example, MailTips will generate an alert if the sender is about to send a message to a large group or reply-all to a message on which the sender was blind carbon copied (Bcc’d). MailTips also provides alerts when the recipient is external, moderated or restricted. MailTips are available in both Microsoft Outlook Web App and Microsoft Outlook 2010. Custom MailTips can also be created to remind users about specific policies and processes that need to be followed before sending a message.
End-to-end message tracking
Exchange 2010 transport provides users with the ability to track messages from submission to the final destination. There is a new message tracking tool that makes it easy for any user role, from end-user to administrator, to track messages.
Introducing the New and Improved Outlook Web App (OWA)
Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 and Microsoft Outlook Web App deliver a rich, familiar Web e-mail experience that enables your users to work and collaborate more effectively wherever they are. Users can access email, instant messaging, and more—all in one place and through all major Web browsers. Conversation View puts messages in context, helping users manage large email volumes more efficiently. The presence indicator lets users see other users’ presence and choose the best communication mode—email, or instant message. Collaborating with colleagues outside the organization is also made easier with external calendar sharing. Across platforms and locations, Exchange Server 2010, and Outlook Web App delivers a great Web-based messaging experience to help your users be more productive and reduce inbox overload.
New features in Outlook Web App include:
Conversation
The new default message view is Conversation, which lets you see an entire message thread in one place. For more information see Learn About Conversations.
Filters
You've always been able to search your mail when using Outlook Web App. Now you also have the option to use a set of predefined filters to refine your search. For more information about filters, see Search for an Item.
Favorites
You might have noticed a new folder named Favorites at the top of your folder list. You can drag any folder up to Favorites to create a shortcut to that folder. Favorites can make it easier to access the folders you use the most. For more information, see Favorites.
Right-Click
Right-clicking almost anywhere in Outlook Web App will display a menu of things you can do. The actions available in the right-click menus have been expanded and made more consistent across your mailbox. Right-click a message, a folder, or a calendar entry to see the options that are available now.
Attach Messages to Messages
Sometimes you want to send an attachment with a message. In the past, you could attach a picture, a Word document, an Excel spreadsheet, or almost any file available to you to a message. But you couldn't attach a message from inside your mailbox to a message you were composing. Now you can. For information, see Working with Attachments.
Nickname cache
By storing the email addresses of recent recipients, the nickname cache helps users address email more quickly by providing a suggested name list as they type. The nickname cache combines all recent recipients of email from Outlook Web App and Outlook Mobile.
Conversation View
By grouping messages from a single conversation together, the new Conversation View enables users to quickly identify the most recent messages and related responses. Conversation View is always preserved, even if individual email messages are located in different folders in the mailbox. By treating an entire group of messages as a single conversation, they can be managed, ignored, moved or deleted as a whole. New messages that are part of a conversation the user has chosen to mark as “ignore” are set straight to the deleted items folder.
Search
Searching in Outlook Web App is now more powerful with advanced queries. Users can use searches such as “from:”, “to:”, “hasattachments:” and many others to specify filtering criteria and more quickly find the messages they are looking for. Favorite searches can be saved and accessed at the click of a mouse, providing faster access to information.
Single page of messages
Outlook Web App no longer has pages. No matter how big the folder, all messages are on one page. Users can scroll through every message without having to advance though pages, enabling them to more efficiently access messages and scan conversations to find the communications they are looking for.
View/Set status
In the Outlook Web App, colorful indicators in the contact list let users know if contacts are available to chat or not. This lets users choose the communication mode that will help them get the information they need most efficiently. Outlook Web App users can set their own status so other users on the network know if they are available to chat.
Calendar sharing
Outlook Web App now allows users to share calendars with people inside and outside the organization. They can view multiple calendars side by side in Outlook Web App and use the Scheduling Assistant to schedule meetings with people inside and outside the organization.
Multiple browser support
Users get the same great Outlook Web App experience within Internet Explorer 7 and later, Firefox 3 and later, Safari 3 and later, and Chrome 1 and later.
Optimized user interface
New device form factors such as netbooks, tablets and smartphones offer mobility but force users to get work done on ever-smaller screens. Outlook Web App has been redesigned to make better use of these new device screens, from easier button access to optimal display of message information. Even users with larger monitors can benefit from these new optimizations and get a better Web-based email experience.