There are three common scenarios that Outlook developers have problems with when they work with collections in the Outlook object model. Because collections, especially the Items collection, are in integral part of the Outlook object model, you should be familiar with these issues. For additional information about how to avoid potential problems when you use collections, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 222481 OL2000: How to Properly Reference Members of a Collection 222482 OL2000: How to Handle Unexpected Items in a Collection 222480 OL2000: How to Delete Items in a Collection Generate reports based on data that is stored in Outlook

There are a few approaches that you can take:

• Import the data into another program and use that program's report generating capabilities. Microsoft Access is typically the best program to use because you can use the Link Exchange/Outlook Wizard in Access. However, this wizard does not support user-defined Outlook fields and some of the Outlook standard fields. If you require additional fields that the wizard does not support, you must create custom code to transfer the data from an Outlook folder into an Access table.
• Automate another program from Outlook to generate a report. You can do this by using VBScript in an Outlook form, Visual Basic for Applications, or a COM add-in.
• Use a third-party tool to generate reports. One available utility is Business Objects Crystal Reports. For more information about this utility, view the following Business Objects Web site:

  http://www.businessobjects.com/products/reporting/crystalreports/default.asp

Creating a custom Outlook form solution is typically not the best approach to implement a routing or workflow solution. If you are not familiar with designing custom Outlook forms, implementing this type of solution is often more complex than it appears. For additional information about what to consider if you want to implement a routing solution, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 252976 OL2000: Overview of Implementing Workflow or Routing Solutions Integrate address books with a solution

The Outlook object model does not provide a way to display an address book dialog box, but you can access most address book information. If you require more functionality that the Outlook object model provides, the Collaboration Data Objects (CDO) object model most likely provides the functionality that you require. For additional information about how to work with address books in a custom solution, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 231290 OL2000: Using Address Books in an Outlook Solution The above applies to:

• Microsoft Outlook 2000