Question

Outlook 2000: How do I add 2008-2012 US holidays via Group Policy?

Asked by: hattybin

We have 50 installations of MS Outlook 2000 that I would like to update the US Holidays in the default calendar.  

I have an OUTLOOK.TXT file with all the dates and I have successfully imported them manually to a single computer by replacing the original OUTLOOK.TXT in C:\PROGRAM FILES\MICROSOFT OFFICE\OFFICE\1033\ and reloading them in Tools>Options>Calendar Options...>Add Holidays...>Uncheck/Check United States.

I would like to be able to deploy this file to the correct folder with Group Policy and also log successful deployments to either a network share in a txt file or a mysql db on my pc.  I don't expect to be able to perform the "refresh" of the OUTLOOK.TXT file automatically. (though it would be nice)

I would like to use VBScript if possible, but if you feel there is a better solution which fits what I'd like to do, I am open to all options.

This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.

Subscribe now for full access to Experts Exchange and get

Instant Access to this Solution

  • Plus...
  • 30 Day FREE access, no risk, no obligation
  • Collaborate with the world's top tech experts
  • Unlimited access to our exclusive solution database
  • Never be left without tech help again

Subscribe Now

Asked On
2008-01-11 at 15:48:35ID23077276
Tags

Microsoft

,

Outlook

,

2000

Topics

Outlook Groupware Software

,

VB Script

,

Windows Networking

Participating Experts
1
Points
500
Comments
6

Trusted by hundreds of thousands everyday for fast, accurate and reliable tech support.

  • "The time we save is the biggest benefit of Experts Exchange to Warner Bros. What could take multiple guys 2 hours or more each to find is accessed in around 15 minutes on Experts Exchange." Mike Kapnisakis, Warner Bros.
  • "Our team likes having a resource that is more secure than just using Google and most experts using this service really know their stuff. It's nice to look here first versus using Google." Dayna Sellner, Lockheed Martin
  • "Anytime that I've been stumped with a problem, 9 out of 10 times Experts Exchange has either the accepted solution or an open discussion of the potential solution to the problem." Kenny Red, eBay Inc.

See what Experts Exchange can do for you.

Got a question?

We've got the answer.

Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Need individual assistance?

Our experts are ready to help.

If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Want to learn from the best?

Read articles from industry experts.

Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.

Screenshot of an Article

Working on a long term project?

Store your work and research.

Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Access the answers to your technology questions today.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

What Makes Experts Exchange Unique?

Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.

Trusted by the world's most respected brands.

image of each brand's logo

Faithfully serving IT professionals since 1996.

Experts Exchange Logo

Try it out and discover for yourself.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

Related Solutions

    Free Tech Articles

    1. WARNING: 5 Reasons why you should NEVER fix a computer for free.
      It is in our nature to love the puzzle. We are obsessed. The lot of us. We love puzzles. We love the challenge. We thrive on finding the answer. We hate disarray. It bothers us deep in our soul. W...
    2. SCCM OSD Basic troubleshooting
      SCCM 2007 OSD is a fantastic way to deploy operating systems, however, like most things SCCM issues can sometimes be difficult to resolve due to the sheer volume of logs to sift through and the dispe...
    3. Migrate Small Business Server 2003 to Exchange 2010 and Windows 2008 R2
      This guide is intended to provide step by step instructions on how to migrate from Small Business Server 2003 to Windows 2008 R2 with Exchange 2010. For this migration to work you will need the fo...
    4. Create a Win7 Gadget
      This article shows you how to create a simple "Gadget" -- a sort of mini-application supported by Windows 7 and Vista. Gadgets can be dropped anywhere on the desktop to provide instant information, ...
    5. Outlook continually prompting for username and password
      There have been a lot of questions recently regarding Outlook prompting for a username and password whilst using Exchange 2007. There are a few reasons why this would happen and I will try to cover t...
    6. Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windows Backup
      There seems to be quite a lot of confusion around the ability to backup Exchange 2010 using the built in Windows Backup feature. This stems from the omission of this feature prior to Exchange 2007 s...

    Cloud Class Webinars

    1. Avoiding Bugs in Microsoft Access
      Alison Balter takes and in-depth look at avoiding bugs in Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the immediate window to debug your applications, invoking the debugger, using breakpoints to troubleshoot, stepping through code, setting the next statement to execute, ...
    2. Top 10 Best New Features in Visio 2010
      Scott Helmers gives live demonstrations of the top 10 new features in Visio 2010. This webinar will teach you how to create compelling diagrams by adding shapes to the page with a single click, linking the shapes in a diagram to data in Excel (or SQL Server, or SharePoint), ...
    3. IT Consultant Business Secrets Revealed
      Michael Munger, Experts Exchange tech pro and IT consultant, pulls back the curtain on his very successful businesses and answers question on every IT consultant and business owner should know about. He shares secrets on what he did to solve the 5 most common problems in IT, ...
    4. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
      Quest CTO, Mike Billon, gives an overview of the steps involved in building a dunamic disaster recovery plan. Through case studies and an examination of software/hardware tooles for monitoring and testing, you'll gain a better understandin of where you are, where you want ...
    5. Organize Your Visio Diagrams with Containers and Lists
      Scott Helmers uses cross functional flowcharts, wireframe diagrams, data graphic legends and seating charts to teach you: how to ustilize all three new structured diagram components in Visio 2010, the best practices for organizeing shapes in previous version of Visio, how to organize ...
    6. How to Us Objects, Properties, Events and Methods in Microsoft Access
      Alison Dalter gives an in-depbth look at objects, properties, events and methods in Microsoft Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the object browser, referring to objects, working with properties and methods, working with object variables, understanding the ...

    Join the Community

    Give a Little. Get a Lot.

    Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.

    Join the Community

    Answers

     

    by: adamdrayerPosted on 2008-01-12 at 13:26:04ID: 20645330

    The easiest way to do it would be to include a logon or startup batch file.  

    Put the Outlook.txt file somewhere on the network and create a batch file in notepad that looks like this:
    @copy \\server\share\outlook.txt C:\PROGRAM FILES\MICROSOFT OFFICE\OFFICE\1033\

    Create a Group Policy object, and under the user configuration, add this batch file to the list of logon scripts.

     

    by: hattybinPosted on 2008-01-14 at 10:24:04ID: 20655193

    Thanks for the reply.  That would work, though I was hoping to incorporate some sort of logging system.  I want to take the script out of group policy once the majority of systems have had the file copied so I need a way to keep track of which computers have been updated.

    I used this code to copy the file over.  It works, but also doesn't perform any logging.

    Set WshNetwork = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Network")
    Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
     
    strComputer = WshNetwork.ComputerName
    strFilePath = "\\server\share"
    strFileName = "Outlook.txt"
    strDestination = "c:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\1033\"
     
    objFSO.CopyFile strFilePath & "\" & strFileName, strDestination
     
    WScript.Quit
    
                                                  
    1:
    2:
    3:
    4:
    5:
    6:
    7:
    8:
    9:
    10:
    11:
    

    Select allOpen in new window

     

    by: hattybinPosted on 2008-01-14 at 10:33:59ID: 20655285

    I've tried using this code to log to a local file and copy it to the network share where I have a results folder.  I've tried placing it in the computer settings>startup scripts and get an error:
    Line: 109
    Char: 1
    Error: Object required : 'objFSO'
    Code: 800A01A8
    Source: VBScript Runtime Error

    Also once logging in, a disconnected network drive "Z:" still apears in explorer but I cannot remove it.  I assume this is because the script errored out and didn't process the disconnect network drive part of the script.

    Also, am I correct in assuming that the reason for the error is that I'm calling a FSO object before there is a user logged in?  If so, I also placed this script in windows settings>logon scripts...with this I noticed the outlook.txt file doesn't get copied, the local log file isn't generated and there are not errors in the event log.  I don't know why it doesn't work as a logon script.

    Set WshNetwork = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Network")
    Set WshShell = CreateObject("Wscript.Shell")
    Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
     
    strComputer = WshNetwork.ComputerName
    strFilePath = "\\server\share"
    strFileName = "Outlook.txt"
    strDestination = "c:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\1033\"
    strDriveLetter = "Z:"
     
    bEnableLogging = True
    bIncludeDateStamp = True
    bPrependDateStampInLogFileName = False
    sLogFileLocation = "C:\"
    sLogFileName = strComputer & ".log"
    sOverWriteORAppend = "append"
    vLogMaximumLines = 0
    vLogMaximumSize = 0
     
    Sub LogToFile(Message)
    'LogToFile.vbs 10-18-07
    'This script is provided under the Creative Commons license located
    'at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ . It may not
    'be used for commercial purposes with out the expressed written consent
    'of NateRice.com
     
        If bEnableLogging = False Then Exit Sub
     
        Const ForReading = 1
        Const ForWriting = 2
        Const ForAppending = 8
     
        If sLogFileLocation = "relative" Then
            Set WshShell = CreateObject("Wscript.Shell")
            sLogFileLocation = WshShell.CurrentDirectory & "\"
            Set WshShell = Nothing
        End If
       
        If bPrependDateStampInLogFileName Then
            sNow = Replace(Replace(Now(),"/","-"),":",".")
            sLogFileName = sNow & " - " & sLogFileName
            bPrependDateStampInLogFileName = False       
        End If
       
        sLogFile = sLogFileLocation & sLogFileName
       
        If sOverWriteORAppend = "overwrite" Then
            Set oLogFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile(sLogFile, ForWriting, True)
            sOverWriteORAppend = "append"
        Else
            Set oLogFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile(sLogFile, ForAppending, True)
        End If
     
        If bIncludeDateStamp Then
            Message = Now & "   " & Message
        End If
     
        oLogFile.WriteLine(Message)
        oLogFile.Close
       
        If vLogMaximumLines > 0 Then
          Set oReadLogFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile(sLogFile, ForReading, True)   
          sFileContents = oReadLogFile.ReadAll
          aFileContents = Split(sFileContents, vbCRLF)
          If Ubound(aFileContents) > vLogMaximumLines Then
            sFileContents = Replace(sFileContents, aFileContents(0) & _
            vbCRLF, "", 1, Len(aFileContents(0) & vbCRLF))
            Set oLogFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile(sLogFile, ForWriting, True)
            oLogFile.Write(sFileContents)
            oLogFile.Close
          End If
          oReadLogFile.Close
        End If
        
        If vLogMaximumSize > 0 Then
          Set oReadLogFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile(sLogFile, ForReading, True)  
          sFileContents = oReadLogFile.ReadAll
          oReadLogFile.Close
          sFileContents = RightB(sFileContents, (vLogMaximumSize*2))
          Set oLogFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile(sLogFile, ForWriting, True)
          oLogFile.Write(sFileContents)
          oLogFIle.Close
        End If
        
        objFSO = Null
    End Sub
     
    'copy outlook.txt to local path
    objFSO.CopyFile strFilePath & "\" & strFileName, strDestination
     
    'write to log file
    LogToFile(strComputer & " - Outlook 2008-2012 Holidays Updated")
     
    'check if mapped drive exists
    Set AllDrives = WshNetwork.EnumNetworkDrives() 
     
    AlreadyConnected = False 
    For i = 0 To AllDrives.Count - 1 Step 2 
      If AllDrives.Item(i) = strDriveLetter Then AlreadyConnected = True 
    Next 
     
    If AlreadyConnected = False then 
      WShNetwork.MapNetworkDrive strDriveLetter, strFilePath
    Else 
      WShNetwork.RemoveNetworkDrive strDriveLetter 
    End if
     
    'copy log to results log share
    objFSO.CopyFile "C:\" & strComputer & ".log", "Z:\Results\" 
     
    'clean up
    objFSO.DeleteFile "C:\" & strComputer & ".log", True
    WShNetwork.RemoveNetworkDrive strDriveLetter 
     
    WScript.Quit
    
                                                  
    1:
    2:
    3:
    4:
    5:
    6:
    7:
    8:
    9:
    10:
    11:
    12:
    13:
    14:
    15:
    16:
    17:
    18:
    19:
    20:
    21:
    22:
    23:
    24:
    25:
    26:
    27:
    28:
    29:
    30:
    31:
    32:
    33:
    34:
    35:
    36:
    37:
    38:
    39:
    40:
    41:
    42:
    43:
    44:
    45:
    46:
    47:
    48:
    49:
    50:
    51:
    52:
    53:
    54:
    55:
    56:
    57:
    58:
    59:
    60:
    61:
    62:
    63:
    64:
    65:
    66:
    67:
    68:
    69:
    70:
    71:
    72:
    73:
    74:
    75:
    76:
    77:
    78:
    79:
    80:
    81:
    82:
    83:
    84:
    85:
    86:
    87:
    88:
    89:
    90:
    91:
    92:
    93:
    94:
    95:
    96:
    97:
    98:
    99:
    100:
    101:
    102:
    103:
    104:
    105:
    106:
    107:
    108:
    109:
    110:
    111:
    112:
    113:
    114:
    115:
    

    Select allOpen in new window

     

    by: adamdrayerPosted on 2008-01-14 at 10:51:04ID: 20655427

    You're getting that error because you are calling a sub LogToFile where the last line is " objFSO = Null"

     

    by: hattybinPosted on 2008-01-14 at 12:01:43ID: 20656156

    Thanks you for finding that!

    Once I got past that error, it worked great.  I removed the drive mapping from the script also.

    Set WshNetwork = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Network")
    Set WshShell = CreateObject("Wscript.Shell")
    Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
     
    strComputer = WshNetwork.ComputerName
    strFilePath = "//server/share"
    strFileName = "Outlook.txt"
    strDestination = "c:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\1033\"
    strDriveLetter = "Z:"
     
    bEnableLogging = True
    bIncludeDateStamp = True
    bPrependDateStampInLogFileName = False
    sLogFileLocation = "C:\"
    sLogFileName = strComputer & ".log"
    sOverWriteORAppend = "append"
    vLogMaximumLines = 0
    vLogMaximumSize = 0
     
    Sub LogToFile(Message)
    'LogToFile.vbs 10-18-07
    'This script is provided under the Creative Commons license located
    'at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ . It may not
    'be used for commercial purposes with out the expressed written consent
    'of NateRice.com
     
        If bEnableLogging = False Then Exit Sub
     
        Const ForReading = 1
        Const ForWriting = 2
        Const ForAppending = 8
     
        If sLogFileLocation = "relative" Then
            Set WshShell = CreateObject("Wscript.Shell")
            sLogFileLocation = WshShell.CurrentDirectory & "\"
            Set WshShell = Nothing
        End If
       
        If bPrependDateStampInLogFileName Then
            sNow = Replace(Replace(Now(),"/","-"),":",".")
            sLogFileName = sNow & " - " & sLogFileName
            bPrependDateStampInLogFileName = False       
        End If
       
        sLogFile = sLogFileLocation & sLogFileName
       
        If sOverWriteORAppend = "overwrite" Then
            Set oLogFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile(sLogFile, ForWriting, True)
            sOverWriteORAppend = "append"
        Else
            Set oLogFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile(sLogFile, ForAppending, True)
        End If
     
        If bIncludeDateStamp Then
            Message = Now & "   " & Message
        End If
     
        oLogFile.WriteLine(Message)
        oLogFile.Close
       
        If vLogMaximumLines > 0 Then
          Set oReadLogFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile(sLogFile, ForReading, True)   
          sFileContents = oReadLogFile.ReadAll
          aFileContents = Split(sFileContents, vbCRLF)
          If Ubound(aFileContents) > vLogMaximumLines Then
            sFileContents = Replace(sFileContents, aFileContents(0) & _
            vbCRLF, "", 1, Len(aFileContents(0) & vbCRLF))
            Set oLogFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile(sLogFile, ForWriting, True)
            oLogFile.Write(sFileContents)
            oLogFile.Close
          End If
          oReadLogFile.Close
        End If
        
        If vLogMaximumSize > 0 Then
          Set oReadLogFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile(sLogFile, ForReading, True)  
          sFileContents = oReadLogFile.ReadAll
          oReadLogFile.Close
          sFileContents = RightB(sFileContents, (vLogMaximumSize*2))
          Set oLogFile = objFSO.OpenTextFile(sLogFile, ForWriting, True)
          oLogFile.Write(sFileContents)
          oLogFIle.Close
        End If
        
        'objFSO = Null
    End Sub
     
    'copy outlook.txt to local path
    objFSO.CopyFile strFilePath & "/" & strFileName, strDestination
     
    'write to log file
    LogToFile(strComputer & " - Outlook 2008-2012 Holidays Updated")
     
    'copy log to results log share
    objFSO.CopyFile "C:\" & strComputer & ".log", strFilePath & "/" & "Results/", True
     
    'clean up
    objFSO.DeleteFile "C:\" & strComputer & ".log", True
     
     
    WScript.Quit
    
                                                  
    1:
    2:
    3:
    4:
    5:
    6:
    7:
    8:
    9:
    10:
    11:
    12:
    13:
    14:
    15:
    16:
    17:
    18:
    19:
    20:
    21:
    22:
    23:
    24:
    25:
    26:
    27:
    28:
    29:
    30:
    31:
    32:
    33:
    34:
    35:
    36:
    37:
    38:
    39:
    40:
    41:
    42:
    43:
    44:
    45:
    46:
    47:
    48:
    49:
    50:
    51:
    52:
    53:
    54:
    55:
    56:
    57:
    58:
    59:
    60:
    61:
    62:
    63:
    64:
    65:
    66:
    67:
    68:
    69:
    70:
    71:
    72:
    73:
    74:
    75:
    76:
    77:
    78:
    79:
    80:
    81:
    82:
    83:
    84:
    85:
    86:
    87:
    88:
    89:
    90:
    91:
    92:
    93:
    94:
    95:
    96:
    97:
    98:
    99:
    100:
    101:
    

    Select allOpen in new window

     

    by: adamdrayerPosted on 2008-01-14 at 12:08:29ID: 20656204

    no problem!  I think I am one fo the few people who thoroughly enjoys debugging other people's code.

    20120131-EE-VQP-002

    3 Ways to Join

    30-Day Free Trial

    The Experts

    98% positive feedback on 31,087 answers since March 2000. angeliii is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with MS SQL Server & Develoment.

    He has also proven his knowledge of Visual Basic Programming, PHP Scripting and Oracle Databases.

    The Experts

    97% positive feedback on 10,752 answers since July 2000. lrmoore has more than 18 years experience in the networking industry.

    The six-time Mircosoft MVPs specialties include firewalls, virtual private networking, and network management.

    Testimonials

    "...and excellent source for support... Kind of like having your very own IT dept." Electriciansnet

    Testimonials

    "I was apprehensive at signing up at first. However... it has already made my life as an IT administrator much easier." JaCrews

    Testimonials

    "WOW! You guys have great, active, and knowledgeable people on here." moore50

    Business Clients

    Business Clients

    In the Press

    "If you’ve got a question... Experts Exchange can supply an answer.”

    In the Press

    "...an invaluable aid for both IT professionals and those who require tech support."

    In the Press

    "where IT professionals provide quick answers on just about any topic"

    Business Account Plans

    Loading Advertisement...