Windows Messaging

hi tfr,
This article is written by Sue Mosher Web resource site for Exchange and Windows Messaging users at  www.slipstick.com/ exchange. .
===========MAKE SURE YOU'RE UPDATED AND SETUP RIGHT,
You use Microsoft Mail and need access to shared folders.
You have only 8 MB of RAM, which causes Microsoft Exchange to run
slowly.
You're trying out an add-on product that requires Windows Messaging.

Windows Messaging also includes some bug fixes for the Internet Mail service
and an update for the Microsoft Fax service. (However, be sure to check out the
section "Cautions for Microsoft Fax Users" if you use Microsoft Fax.)
CompuServe Mail users should be aware that they won't be able to download
remote message headers in Windows Messaging. We'll examine other changes in
this update in the section "What to Expect".

If you recently purchased a new PC with Windows 95 pre-installed, you may
already have Windows Messaging. (It's part of the OEM Service Release 2, the
latest version of Windows 95 for new PCs.) To find out, go to Control Panel and
open the Add/Remove Programs applet. When you see the Add/Remove Programs
Properties sheet, select the Windows Setup tab. Now, look in the Components list
box to see if Windows Messaging is an option. If it is, then you've got the OEM
Service Release 2 version of Windows 95.

When you check to see if Microsoft Messaging is available on your system, also
note whether the utility has a check mark in the box beside it. If it does, then
Windows Messaging is already installed; if it doesn't, simply select the check box
and click OK to enable Windows Messaging. When you do, Windows 95 may ask
for your installation media.

If you're running the full client for Microsoft Exchange Server, you won't need
Windows Messaging. If this is the case, you can simply obtain the update for the
Internet Mail Service for Windows 95, which is available separately at

www.microsoft.com/windows/software/inetmail.htm

Obtaining the update

Once you decide that you want the Windows Messaging update, you can
download it for free from Microsoft's Web site at

www.microsoft.com/windows/software/exupd.htm

Make sure you keep a copy of the file EXUPDUSA.EXE, since you'll need it if you
ever want to uninstall Windows Messaging.

Cautions for Microsoft Fax users

Windows Messaging causes a new set of problems for Microsoft Fax users. One
is that you probably won't be able to send faxes that contain information in the
Subject field. If you fill in the Subject field, Microsoft Fax routinely pops up a
General Error! message, and the fax fails. Many users have also reported that
after installing Windows Messaging, they can't schedule a fax to be transmitted at
a particular time. So if you're using Microsoft Fax, you may want to pass on
Microsoft Messaging and stick with the version of Microsoft Exchange that came
with Windows 95. You might also consider upgrading to Microsoft Outlook (part
of Microsoft Office 97), which doesn't seem to suffer from these problems.

Preparing to set up Windows Messaging

Because of some quirks in the Windows Messaging update, you need to do more
preparation than is necessary with other Microsoft updates. To save yourself lots
of headaches, follow these steps:

1.If you plan to use Microsoft Fax or The Microsoft Network, make sure
these separate Windows 95 components are working properly before you
install Windows Messaging. If you don't have these components on your
PC before you install Windows Messaging, you'll be forced to uninstall
Messaging before you can add them. To install these components, go to
Control Panel and double-click Add/Remove Programs. When you see the
Add/Remove Programs Properties sheet, select the Windows Setup tab.
You can enable Microsoft Fax and The Microsoft Network by selecting the
check boxes beside these options in the Components list box and clicking
OK.
2.Select Exit and Log Off from Exchange's File menu.
3.Make backup copies of all the PAB (Personal Address Book) and PST
(Personal Folders) files on your system.
4.Make a backup copy of MAPISVC.INF, which you'll find in your
WINDOWS\ SYSTEM folder.
5.Press [Ctrl][Alt][Del] to determine whether MAPISP32.EXE is still
running. If you see it in the Close Program dialog box, select it and click
End Task to shut it down.

At this point, you're now ready to run the file EXUPDUSA.EXE, which will
extract the Windows Messaging setup files and run the setup program. If you
encounter a message saying that you need to remove Exchange before installing
Windows Messaging, then you're using the Microsoft Exchange Server client and,
therefore, don't need Windows Messaging after all.

Deleting your old version of Exchange

Once you've installed Windows Messaging, you'll want to remove your old
version of Microsoft Exchange, which should be in the \PROGRAM
FILES\MICROSOFT EXCHANGE folder. Before you do so, be sure to move any
PAB and PST files from this folder to a new location, and then delete the entire
Microsoft Exchange folder. Don't skip this step, because any shortcuts that point
to the old copy of EXCHNG32.EXE will cause the Microsoft Exchange splash
screen to stay onscreen until you quit Windows Messaging. The next time you use
a shortcut to the old EXCHNG32.EXE, Windows 95 will automatically look for
the new version of the file. You will, however, need to manually redo any links to
the old EXCHNG32.EXE file that might appear on the toolbar for Microsoft Office
or other applications. Follow the particular program's instructions for relinking
with Windows Messaging, which usually ends up in the \PROGRAM FILES\
WINDOWS MESSAGING folder. You may also want to remove the Microsoft
Exchange shortcut from the Start menu and place it on the Desktop or in another
folder, since Windows Messaging puts its own icon on the Programs menu.

Changing the MSG association

If you save messages as MSG files, you need to change their file type association
so they'll open with Windows Messaging. To do so, follow these steps:

1.In Windows Explorer, select the Options... command from the View menu
and then click the File Types tab.
2.In the Registered file types section, select Mail Message, then click the
Edit... button.
3.In the Actions section of the Edit File Type dialog box, select Open and
click the Edit... button.
4.In the Application used to perform action text box, enter "C:\PROGRAM
FILES\WINDOWS MESSAGING\ EXCHNG32.EXE /F" (including the
quotation marks). (Of course, if you installed Windows Messaging in a
different location, you'll use that path instead.)
5.Click OK to return to the Edit File Type dialog box.
6.In the Actions sections of the Edit File Type dialog box, select Print and
click the Edit... button.
7.In the Application used to perform action text box, enter "C:\PROGRAM
FILES\WINDOWS MESSAGING\ EXCHNG32.EXE /P" (including the
quotation marks).
8.Click OK to return to the Edit File Type dialog box.
9.Click Close twice to save the new file type association and return to
Windows Explorer.

Adding Microsoft Mail shared folders

To access the shared folders on your Microsoft Mail server, you need to remove
Microsoft Mail from your Windows Messaging profile and then add it back. To do
so, go to Control Panel and double-click the Mail icon. (Note that Windows
Messaging may have changed the name of the Control Panel applet from Mail to
Fax and Mail.) Now, select Microsoft Mail from the list box and click the
Remove button. When Windows Messaging asks if you want to remove the
information service from the profile, click the Yes button. Next, add Microsoft
Mail back to the list of installed services by clicking the Add... button, selecting
Microsoft Mail from the list, and clicking OK. At this point, Microsoft Mail will
ask you for the path to your post office. Enter the path in the format \\SERVER
NAME\POST OFFICE (or use the Browse... button to locate the post office) and
click OK. At this point, click OK twice to return to Control Panel. Now, switch to
Windows Messaging and select Exit and Log Off from the File menu. The next
time you start Windows Messaging, you'll be able to work with shared folders.

Re-enabling WordMail

If you use WordMail (Word 7.0) as your E-mail editor, you may need to re-enable
it after installing Windows Messaging. To do so, run Setup.exe /Y from your
Microsoft Office or Microsoft Word CD. (Running Setup with the /Y switch
refreshes Windows 95's Registry without copying any files.)

Restoring missing services

Another odd effect of the Windows Messaging update is that it's often impossible
to add the Microsoft Fax or Microsoft Network service to a profile, even though
these services worked fine under Exchange. This idiosyncrasy indicates a
damaged MAPISVC.INF file. Fortunately, you can repair it with the backup copy
you made before installing Windows Messaging. To begin, use NotePad to open
both the backup and the damaged copy of MAPISVC.INF, which you'll find in
your \WINDOWS\SYSTEM folder. Then, locate the [Services] section at the top
of both files. Look in the backup copy of MAPISVC.INF for services that are
missing from the System folder copy of MAPISVC.INF. These missing services
might include:

AWFAX=Microsoft Fax
MSN=The Microsoft Network Online Service

Copy these lines from the [Services] section of the backup copy to the [Services]
section of MAPISVC.INF in the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM folder. (The order in
which you enter these lines doesn't matter, since Windows Messaging displays
available services in alphabetical order.) For each service that you added to the
[Services] section, copy the corresponding sections from the backup copy of
MAPISVC.INF to the end of the MAPISVC.INF file in \WINDOWS\SYSTEM. Be
sure to copy the entire section, including the heading and all the lines below it. For
example, if you added the line for AWFAX, you must add the following lines:

[AWFAX] [AWFAX_AB] [AWFAX_XP]

If you added The Microsoft Network line, you should add these sections:

[MSN] [MSN_ABP] [MSN_RXP]

After you've copied the necessary sections to the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM folder
copy of MAPISVC.INF, save the file. The next time you try to add services to a
profile, you should see Microsoft Fax and Microsoft Network on the list of
available services.

What to expect

Now let's take a look at the changes you can expect to find in Windows
Messaging. Some of these changes are cosmetic, but others can be a big boost to
your productivity.

Startup changes

When you start Windows Messaging, it should load a little faster than Microsoft
Exchange did. However, the difference will probably be less pronounced if you
use the Microsoft Fax service, since it needs to initialize your modem as part of
the startup process. If you previously set up Microsoft Exchange to always use a
particular profile, Windows Messaging may begin prompting you for a profile
each time you start it. To turn off this option, pull down the Tools menu, choose
Options..., and then select the Always Use This Profile check box.

Once Windows Messaging opens, click on the Tools menu bar item. There will be
a slight delay before the menu pops up. This delay occurs because of the way
Microsoft has optimized Windows Messaging; some components, like the Tools
menu, don't load until you actually need them.

Short send form

Another change involves the short send form. When you try to send E-mail by
clicking on a Web page hot spot or pulling down the File menu and choosing Send
in an application that supports the Web, a different message window appears. This
new window is called the Fast Send Note window. It loads faster than the regular
compose window because it has only one toolbar, can't spell-check, and doesn't
have fixed borders. If you need spell checking and formatting for sending files and
handling Web notes, you won't want to use the Fast Send Note. To disable it,
open Windows Messaging, pull down the Tools menu, choose Options..., and
select the Send tab. Now, deselect the box labeled Use Simplified Note on Internet
'mailto:' and File Send.

Remote Mail

Windows Messaging greatly simplifies the Remote Mail function, making it a
one-step process. Like anything new, the process can take some getting used to.
The new Remote Mail window includes just two commands: Connect and
Disconnect. When you click the Connect button (or select Connect from the
Tools menu) to access a mail server, Windows Messaging does more than just
send the messages in your Outbox. It also processes any messages that you've
marked to be downloaded or deleted and retrieves the headers for any new mail
waiting for you.

When you've finished reading your mail, click the Disconnect button (or select
Disconnect from the Tools menu) to break the connection to the mail server.
Note: The CompuServe Mail service for Microsoft Exchange can't completely use
the updated version of Remote Mail. Clicking the Connect button will send
messages, but it won't retrieve any headers from messages pending on the server.
You'll need to use the Deliver Now option to receive your incoming CompuServe
mail.

Uninstalling Windows Messaging

Even though the Windows Messaging Update 1 is listed on the Install/Uninstall tab
of the Add/Remove Programs Properties sheet, you can't remove it in the usual
way. Instead, you must run the EXUPDUSA.EXE file that you downloaded earlier
and then choose the Remove All option.

Conclusion

Windows Messaging is a significan't update to the Windows 95 operating system.
However, it does present some potential problems. The bugs involving Microsoft
Fax can't be avoided, but others can be dodged with some good preparation and
follow-up to the Windows Messaging installation.

Regards,
Bud