Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server Adminstrator's Companion
Outlook Web Access (OWA) is a way of accessing mail and scheduling information from an Exchange server, just as you would from Outlook, through a standard Web browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer 3 or later and Netscape Navigator 3 or later. The version 3 or later browsers are necessary to support the functionality required by HTML 3.2, such as frames, advanced scripting, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), and Java.
OWA is a way to access e-mail over port 80 from a browser. You can install OWA when you install Exchange 2000 Server. Thereafter, a user can access several of the functions available through Outlook, using the browser. Users can have access to functionality for basic e-mail, basic calendar and group scheduling, basic public folders, and collaborative applications. OWA is not intended to replace the full-featured Outlook messaging client for 16-bit Windows operating systems or Macintosh. The following are some of the items that are not available when using OWA:
- Personal address books (because they are stored on your workstation)
- Spelling checker
- Replied and forwarded flags in list view
- Message flags and Inbox rules
- Three-pane view
- Dragging and dropping to a folder
- Searching for messages
- WordMail and Microsoft Office integration
- Viewing free/busy details
- Task lists and task management
- Exporting to a DataLink watch or other devices
- Outlook forms
- Synchronizing local offline folders with server folders
- Access to your .PST file
Outlook Web Access simulates the look and feel of Outlook 2000, as shown in Figure 15-6. The universality of the browser client makes OWA an attractive choice in environments that have a diverse mix of clients (such as Windows, Macintosh, and UNIX) and that require a shared messaging client. OWA is extremely beneficial for users, such as information systems staff, who move around to different workstations frequently during the day. They can simply check their mail using OWA instead of creating a mail profile on each of the workstations.
Figure 15-6. Outlook Web Access client.
There is no specific integration between Microsoft Office or Internet Explorer and OWA, and OWA does not provide any task management capabilities. OWA does allow users to access Exchange public folders and to query Active Directory for mail-enabled objects.