A permissions scenario
Let's create a scenario to illustrate what can be done with folder permissions.

Imagine you're a Configuration Manager, and have set up public folders on a software engineering project. As the owner, you give your team of developers, system engineers, and database administrators permission to use the folders.

These folders will serve as a simple repository for project documentation, requirements, schedules, meeting minutes, code files, etc. For these folder items, you can apply custom views, create forms, custom fields, and rules. You can also determine and set a specific view that appears when users first open the folders.

To maintain control of the folders and preserve their content, you can allow users to save a personal view of the public folders to meet their specific needs. When saving a personal view, that view is always available to the user.

Setting folder permissions
As the owner of a public folder, you can determine users' ability to perform certain functions. You can give users permission to: create, read, edit, and delete folder items; and create subfolders. This is determined by adding the user names, distribution list names, or public folder names to the Name box on the Permissions page, as shown in Figure C.

FIGURE C

The Outlook Properties window allows the folder owner to set and control user permissions. Click picture for a larger image.

Set permissions using the following steps:

1. In the Folder List, right-click the public folder for which you want to set permissions, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.
2. Click the Permissions page.
3. To add a user name to the list, click Add.
4. Choose a name from the Address Book, and then click OK.
5. Select the user's name in the Name box for whom you want to change permissions.
6. In the Roles box, choose the role for this user. The permissions check boxes will automatically revert to the default values for this role.
7. If you want to define a custom role, select the permissions check boxes that you require for this user. The value in the Roles box will change to "Custom."
8. When you have set the roles for all the users, click OK on the Properties page.
9. To remove a name, select the name, and then click Remove. You can remove any name from the Name box except Default.

As you can see, Microsoft Outlook is an excellent tool to use on any size project or within any organization to effectively manage shared information. If you've been apprehensive about exploring and experimenting with public folders, why not give it a try?

Begin with simple tasks, such as coordinating meetings and the department vacation calendar. Then, gradually move on to task management and venture out into large volume data management. However you and your team choose to use public folders, you are bound to be more organized because of it.

Kathy Evans-Davis is a technical writer in the information technology industry in the greater metropolitan Washington, D.C.-Baltimore, M.D. area and owner of QuantumScribe Freelance Writing at http://www.quantumscribe.com. Reach Kathy by email at kathy@quantumscribe.com.