Is it Service Pack time already?

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THIS WEEK'S POWERTIP
Is it Service Pack time already?
By Diane Poremsky

Although Office 2003 was released just three months ago, Microsoft is already planning for Service Pack 1. While service packs rarely contain new features, they do try to fix existing features that aren't working the way users expect them to.

I'm compiling a list of things that I think need fixed in SP1, including the ability to choose between re-using Internet Explorer windows or opening new windows when opening URLs from Outlook. Customizing the Navigation pane, including the ability to remove Favorite Folders is also on my list.

If there is a feature in Outlook 2003 that you feel isn't working correctly, email me at outlook@cdolive.com as soon as possible and I'll add it to my list. Be sure to explain why you think the feature needs changed. You can also send requests to mswish@microsoft.com, entering Outlook in the subject line. Again, be sure to include why your wish is important or useful.

While I can't guarantee they will follow our suggestions, it doesn't hurt to ask.

One suggestion that won't make it into SP1 is newsgroup support, but just because Microsoft won't add it doesn't mean you can't have newsgroups in Outlook. An Outlook add-in called Newsgator (at http://www.newsgator.com) pulls RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds into Outlook and can pull newsgroup posts from any news server. At this time, you can't use it to post to newsgroups, but it's great if you like to read newsgroups and rarely post or want to create an archive of your favorite newsgroups.

IntraVnews (at http://www.intravnews.com) is another RSS addin for Outlook. While it doesn't pull newsgroups, it can pull complete news articles into Outlook, so you can read the articles offline. Because the articles are HTML, they often are in the 50 to 100kb range.

My favorite RSS feeds include Dilbert (http://dwlt.net/tapestry/dilbert.rdf), Slipstick.com's Outlook and Exchange news (http://www.slipstick.com/rssnews/rssnews.aspx), and my own Outlook Tips (http://lists.outlooktips.net/rss/index.rdf). OutlookPower itself also has an RSS 0.92 feed, at http://www.outlookpower.com/shares/userland-rss/channeldata.xml. These "feeds" all require you to use an RSS reader, a program different from your browser.

We'll be talking more about what RSS is, and how you can take advantage of it in Outlook in future issues.

Product availability and resources
For more information on Newsgator, visit http://www.newsgator.com.

For more information on IntraVnews, visit http://www.intravnews.com.

To get your Dilbert fix via RSS, visit http://dwlt.net/tapestry/dilbert.rdf (requires an RSS reader).

To get Slipstick.com's Outlook and Exchange news via RSS, visit http://www.slipstick.com/rssnews/rssnews.aspx (requires an RSS reader).

To get Diane's Outlook Tips via RSS, visit http://lists.outlooktips.net/rss/index.rdf (requires an RSS reader).

For OutlookPower's own official RSS 0.92 feed, visit http://www.outlookpower.com/shares/userland-rss/channeldata.xml (requires an RSS reader).

Diane Poremsky is the president of CDOLive LLC and a Microsoft Outlook MVP. She's author of Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours (Sam's, 2003) and coauthor of OneNote 2003 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide). For questions or suggestions for future columns, write her at outlook@cdolive.com.