The following describes how to set up and use Net Folders with Outlook 2000. Net Folders is a means of sharing Outlook Folders with anyone you can send e-mail to. The following topics are described:

• Net Folder Requirements
• Add the Net Folders Component
• Share a Folder
• Set Permissions for Members
• Updating Shared Folders
• Stop Sharing

• Net Folders require Outlook 98 or later.
• Before using Net Folders, verify that you are able to send and receive rich-text messages. The folder owner and subscribers should be able to send and receive in Rich Text Format (RTF).
• Net Folders are intended to work with a small LAN-based or Internet Mail system. Net Folders will not work in the following configurations:

  Attempting to share folders on an Exchange Server; or
  Attempting to share folders on an IMAP store.

• Net Folders are designed to work for a group of up to 20 subscribers and will not scale well beyond that number.
• If you need to share information with more than 20 people, use another solution, such as Microsoft BackOffice« Small Business Server.
• If your mail server (or ISP) does not allow Autoreplies to the Internet, Net Folders will not function properly.
• Net Folders was designed as a solution for small LAN-based mail systems and for light use on the Internet. If you are using Net Folders beyond this scope, or in a high volume manner, you may experience problems.

To add the component to Outlook:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon.
3. Click Microsoft Office 2000, and then click Add/Remove.
4. Click Add or Remove Features.
5. Click the plus sign (+) next to Microsoft Outlook for Windows to expand the branch.
6. Click the icon next to Net Folders, and then click Run From My Computer.
7. Click Update Now to install the feature.
8. Click OK when Setup has finished.

Net Folders is a means of sharing Outlook Folders with anyone you can send e-mail to. The only folders that you cannot share through Net Folders are your default Inbox folder, and any folders that are located in a Microsoft Exchange Server mailbox.

An invitation message is sent to potential members and they must accept the invitation before any information is sent to them. After the person accepts the subscription, a shared folder is created on the member's store with the name selected, and mail is sent back to the owner, and updates are sent to the member. All updates from either the members or the owner are moved into a hidden folder when they are delivered and processed there roughly every 30 seconds when Outlook is idle.

When processed, messages are placed automatically into the correct folder. This is why it is possible to briefly see Net Folder messages blink through your Inbox. When new or changed items are delivered into the shared folder, they are marked as unread and the unread count goes up for that folder and it is set bold in the folder view.

The updates are processed by the Rules Wizard in Outlook, hence the brief flashing in the Inbox. The Rules Wizard intercepts these messages based on a specific text string found in the message subject. When the updates are received, Net Folders work in the background to process the updates and populate the shared folder with the owner's data.
Processing these Net Folders update messages may be a timely process, only occurring during idle time in Microsoft Outlook.

Last in this process, the subscriber should begin to see updates appear in the shared folder.

1. In Outlook, click to select a folder to share.
2. On the File menu, point to Share, and then click This Folder.
3. Click Next, and then click Add to add people from your Contacts, Personal Address Book, or another source.
4. With the new member selected, click Permissions, and then click to set the permission level of the selected member.
5. Click OK, and then click Next.
6. Add a description as appropriate. This will be sent to the new member you have just added. Click Next, click Finish, and then click OK.

One quick way to check that a folder has shared successfully is, after the owner has sent all the folder (the Outbox is empty), check the sizes of the shared folder on sending and receiving machines.
To check folder size

1. Display Properties dialog
2. On the first page of the dialog is a button marked Folder Size
3. Click on Folder Size to display the size of the folder.

Depending on the permission level given to the member, changes that the member makes are sent back to the owner and then out to the rest of the members. All conflicts are resolved by the owner. Changes made in the either the owner's or subscriber's folder are caught, and updates are sent automatically at the time indicated on the Sharing property page for the folder. However, a user can also force an update to be sent immediately by clicking Send Updates Now on the same page.

1. In Outlook, in the Folder List, select the folder for which you want to set member permissions.
2. On the File menu, point to Share, and then click This Folder.
3. If you want to stop sharing this folder, click Stop sharing this folder, and then click Yes. If you want to change permissions on this folder, click Next.
4. Click to select the member permissions that you want to change, click Permissions, and then click to select the permissions you want. Click OK, and then click Next.
5. Change the description as appropriate. This will be sent to the new member you have just added. Click Next, click Finish, and then click OK.

If their permissions allow it, the subscribers may add, modify, or delete items in that folder. These updates will be processed accordingly: the folder owner and other subscribers will see the changes. After the folder has been successfully shared, updates and changes will be processed. Changes are processed according to the Update settings on the Sharing tab of the shared folder. The Sharing tab is the last page of the Properties dialog.

Updates can also be forced by the subscriber or the owner by clicking the Send updates now button on the Sharing tab. The maximum update size defaults to 1 MB. Microsoft recommends that the maximum update size be increased to the maximum setting of 2 MB. You can increase this setting by going to the properties of the shared folder and clicking the Sharing tab.

After you have successfully shared the folder, you can adjust the update frequency by going to the properties of the folder. This setting is incrementally adjustable from 5 minutes to 1 day.

Another property of the owner's shared folder is the time value for the frequency of verifying contents of members' folders. This property can be set to a value between 1 and 30 days. This feature can also be disabled by changing this folder setting to Never.

The owner can stop sharing the Net Folder by clicking the Stop Sharing This Folder button on the folder properties page. This does not mean that the shared folder will be removed from the subscriber's system. The former subscribers can still use this information, but will no longer receive any updates.

The above information applies to:

• Microsoft Outlook 2000

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Outlook 2000