OWA (Outlook Web Access) - Algonquin College

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Table of Contents Outlook Web Access (OWA) ......................................................................................................... 4 The Logon Screen ....................................................................................................................... 5 OWA’s Interface ......................................................................................................................... 6 The Navigation Pane ................................................................................................................... 7 The Toolbar Options ................................................................................................................... 8 Accessibility for Blind and Low Vision Users ............................................................................... 9 Composing and Sending Messages ............................................................................................... 10 Creating a New Message .......................................................................................................... 10 Message Toolbar Options ......................................................................................................... 11 Saving a Message ...................................................................................................................... 11 Adding a Signature ................................................................................................................... 12 Flags and Reminders ................................................................................................................. 13 Apply Category ......................................................................................................................... 13 Moving or Copying an Item ...................................................................................................... 14 Searching for an Item ................................................................................................................ 14 Working with Attachments ........................................................................................................... 15 Adding an Attachment .............................................................................................................. 15 Removing an Attachment ......................................................................................................... 15 Opening an Attachment ............................................................................................................ 16 Working with Calendars ............................................................................................................... 17 Requesting a Meeting ................................................................................................................... 18 Meeting Request Toolbar Options ............................................................................................ 19 Modifying a Meeting ................................................................................................................ 19 Replying To or Forward a Meeting Request............................................................................. 20 Replying a Meeting Request ..................................................................................................... 20 Forwarding a Meeting Request ................................................................................................. 20 Working with Contacts ................................................................................................................. 21 Creating a Contact..................................................................................................................... 21 Creating a Distribution List ...................................................................................................... 22 Using the Global Address List .................................................................................................. 23 Working with Tasks ...................................................................................................................... 24 Creating a Task ......................................................................................................................... 24 Task Toolbar Options ............................................................................................................... 25 Options .......................................................................................................................................... 26 Regional Settings ...................................................................................................................... 26 Language ................................................................................................................................... 26 Date and Time Formats ............................................................................................................. 26 Messaging ................................................................................................................................. 26 Message Options ....................................................................................................................... 27 Email Signature ......................................................................................................................... 27 Message Format ........................................................................................................................ 27 Message Tracking Options ....................................................................................................... 27 ii

Reading Pane Options ............................................................................................................... 28 Spelling ..................................................................................................................................... 28 Spelling Options........................................................................................................................ 28 Dictionary Language ................................................................................................................. 28 Calendar Options ...................................................................................................................... 29 Calendar Options ...................................................................................................................... 29 Calendar Work Week ................................................................................................................ 29 Date and Time Formats ............................................................................................................. 29 Out of Office Assistant ............................................................................................................. 30 Change Password ...................................................................................................................... 31 General Settings ........................................................................................................................ 31 Email Name Resolution ............................................................................................................ 31 Appearance ............................................................................................................................... 31 Accessibility.............................................................................................................................. 31 Deleted Items ............................................................................................................................ 32 Recover Deleted Items .............................................................................................................. 32 Virtual Private Network (VPN) .................................................................................................... 33 References ..................................................................................................................................... 35

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Outlook Web Access (OWA) Outlook Web Access is a browser-based email client accessible from the web. OWA is ideal for accessing your email from home or when you are using a shared computer or computers that do not have an email client such as Microsoft Outlook 2007. OWA Web link: https:\\owa (will replace with a real link). NOTE: When using OWA outside of the college, you MUST use the Virtual Private Network (VPN) to connect to the college’s network. If you have never used VPN before, please follow the steps below. Note that you only have to go through these steps for the first time. Once you are familiar with the process, you can use the direct link to connect through VPN. See below. 1. Open a web browser. 2. Type in www.algonquincollege.com/its in the address bar. Press . 3. Click on Technical Support. 4. Click on “click here to go to the support page” within Connecting from Home. 5. Then click on WebVPN within VPN (any internet provider).

To use VPN, click on this direct website: http://algvpn.algonquincollege.com

You can copy this VPN link http://algvpn.algonquincollege.com as a shortcut to your desktop by pasting it to the desktop. Or, you can click on Favorites on the toolbar and Add to Favorites.

For more instructions on how to connect through VPN. Please see Virtual Private Network (VPN in page 33.

The Logon Screen On the logon screen, you will find a lot more options than just entering the username and password. This is a public or shared computer: Select this option if you use OWA on a public computer. Be sure to log off when you have finished and close all windows to end your session. This is a private computer: Select this option if you are the only person who uses this computer. Your server will allow a longer period of inactivity. Use Outlook Web Access Light: The light client provides fewer features and is sometimes faster. Use the Light Client if you are on a slow connection or using a computer with unusually strict browser security settings. If you are using a browser other than Internet Explorer 6 or later, you must use the Light Client. Domain\user name and Password: Type in woodroffe as the domain and a backslash (\) and your network username followed by your password. Click on Log On.

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OWA’s Interface The OWA interface is Outlook 2007 “look-alike”. G

I

H

J

F D A C

E

B

A Navigation Pane: Contains buttons and icons you can click to move among Outlook’s folders and tools.

B

Navigation Pane Buttons: Displays folders and tools for a certain category—i.e. Mail, Calendar, or Contacts. D

C Inbox: Folder that displays your incoming e-mail messages.

Search: OWA gives several ways to search for information in your Exchange mailbox.

E Reading Pane: Displays the selected message.

F Help: The Help feature gives access to a complete OWA knowledge base.

G Global Address List: Access to your contacts as well as everyone within the organization. I

Options: You can customize OWA by controlling features such as language settings and message and calendar options. You can perform maintenance tasks like changing your password.

H

Open Other Mailbox: You can access to mailbox other than your own. J

Log Off: Protect your privacy by logging off every time you are finished using OWA.

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The Navigation Pane Each type of folder in your mailbox (mail, calendar, contacts, and tasks) has its own set of toolbar options that are specific to its function or purpose. Mail

Provides access to all of the folders in you Microsoft Exchange mailbox (deleted Items, Calendar, Contacts, Drafts, Inbox, Junk EMail, Notes, Outbox, Sent Items, and Tasks) and any personal folders that you have created.

Calendar

Lets you navigate your calendar and create additional calendar folders.

Contact

Lets you view and work with your calendar and create additional calendar folders. The options in Contacts also let you create additional contact folders and select with contacts to display.

Tasks

Lets you view and work with your tasks. The options in Tasks also let you create additional task folder and select which tasks to display.

Documents

Gives you access to Windows file shares. NOTE: This feature requires the use of SharePoint, and is not yet available at the College.

Public Folders

Lets you view and manage public folders. NOTE: This feature requires the use of SharePoint, and is not yet available at the College.

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The Toolbar Options This feature provides a one-click access to all folders in your mailbox. Create a new email message. Show or hide the reading pane. Display each email message on a single line. Display each email message on multiple lines. Delete the selected email message or messages. Check the server for new messages. The button also refreshes your browser window. Reply to the sender. Reply to all recipients. Forward an email to a recipient or recipients. To jump to the start of the folder contents. To open the previous page in the folder. To open the next page in the folder. To jump to the end of the folder contents.

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Accessibility for Blind and Low Vision Users Many accessibility features are built into OWA. These features are available to everyone, without the need for additional assistive technology products. OWA Light is optimized for accessibility, including users who are visually impaired or who have low vision. OWA Light provides fewer features than OWA Premium, however it contains full screen tips, logical reading order (from left to right), and header navigation.

To Switch to OWA Light 1. Click on Options. 2. Select General Settings. 3. On the General Settings page, under Accessibility, select Use the blind and low vision experience. 4. Click on Save or press CTRL + S to save your changes. 5. You must log off from OWA and log on again to complete the change to OWA Light. 9

Composing and Sending Messages This module explains the basics of creating an email.

Creating a New Message

1. Click on the Mail tab in the Navigation Pane. 2. Click on the New button on the Toolbar. 3. Enter the recipient’s email address in the To:, Cc: and/ or Bcc: field(s). To show the Bcc: field, click on Options and click on check mark on Show Bcc. 4. Type in the subject of the email in the Subject field. 5. Click on the body of the message to write your message. 6. Click on Send to send the message.

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Message Toolbar Options Sends the message to the recipients. Saves the message in the Drafts folder but does not send the message. Attaches a file to the message. Opens the Address Book to look up recipient names. Checks the names of the message recipients in the Global Address Book. Sets the importance of the message to High. Sets the importance of the message to Low. Insert a signature at the end of the message. Checks the spelling in the body of the message. Sets the Format of the message to HTML or plain text.

Saving a Message You can save a message for future completion. By default, saved messages are stored in the Drafts folder. 1. Open a new message, or reply or forward an existing one. 2. On the toolbar, click on the Save ( ) button or press CTRL + S.

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Adding a Signature A signature is a file that appears at the bottom of all of your outgoing messages.

1. Click on Options. 2. Select Messaging. 3. In the Messaging page, under E-mail Signature box, type and format the signature that you want to use. 4. To add your signature to all outgoing messages, select the Automatically include my signature on outgoing messages check box. 5. Click on the Save (

) button or press CTRL + S.

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Flags and Reminders Use the flags to remind yourself to follow up on specific items in your Inbox. OWA provides five preconfigured reminder flags. You can also set the due date yourself.     

Today Tomorrow This Week Next Week No Date

1. Click on the flag ( flag an item.

) icon to

You can also right-click on the flag, then select the flag that you want from the menu. You also have the option to modify or remove and set a date reminder for the flag.

Apply Category Categories help you organize items in your mailbox. Each category is assigned a colour and a name. You can apply a category to anything in your mailbox, a calendar item, a contact, and or a task.

1. Click on the category (

) icon to categorize an item.

You can also right-click on the ( )category, then select the category that you want from the menu. You also have the option to modify or delete the category.

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Moving or Copying an Item You can reorganize email messages, appointments, meetings, contacts, and tasks in your mailbox. You can also move or copy any item to an existing folder by dragging items between folders.

1. Select the item that you would like to move. 2. Drag the item to move it to the destination folder.

Searching for an Item OWA lets you search for any item in your mailbox or address lists. Calendar does not have a search window, but meeting requests and responses are included in search results.

1. Click on the text box, type in the keyword, then hit Enter. 2. Click on the chevrons ( ) to the right of the search window to select additional options to narrow the range of your search.

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Working with Attachments You can attach one or more files to a message such as pictures, documents, and PDFs. Some attachments may be removed or blocked by Algonquin College’s anti-virus software that is being used at the college or by the organization of the recipients of your email.

Adding an Attachment

1. In a message, calendar item, contact, or task, click Attach File on the Toolbar. 2. In the Attach Files dialog box, click on Browse to locate the file. 3. Click to highlight the file that you would like to attach, and click Open to add it to the attachment list. 4. Click Attach and the file name will in the Attach Files dialog box.

Removing an Attachment You can remove an attachment from an item that you are going to send. 1. Open the item and click on the attachment that you want to remove. 2. Press DEL on the keyboard to remove the attachment.

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Opening an Attachment Whenever you see a paper clip icon ( ) next to a message, it is an attachment attached to the message. WARNING: Never open an attachment unless you know what it is. Be especially careful of .zip, .bat, and .exe files.

1. Open the message containing the attachment. 2. Double click on the attachment. 3. An Opening Mail Attachment dialog appears to remind you that you should only open files from a trustworthy source. If you do trust the sender, click on Open. If not, click on Cancel.

Saving an Attachment If you are making changes to an attachment, you will need to save it to your computer first.

4. Click on Save.

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Working with Calendars Meetings can be a single occurrence, or can be scheduled to recur on a regular basis, such as a weekly meeting to prepare a report.

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Requesting a Meeting A meeting is an appointment that you share with another person. When you request a meeting, in addition to setting a time and subject, you can add a list of attendees to invite. Recipients can respond to meeting requests by accepting, tentatively accepting, or declining your invitation.

1. In Calendar, on the toolbar, click New. 2. On the Appointment toolbar, click on Invite Attendees.

If one or more attendees have a schedule conflict, click the Scheduling Assistant tab to view everyone’s schedule.

3. In the Required and Optional text boxes, type the names of the people who should receive this meeting request. 4. In the Start time and End time lists, select the appropriate dates and times. If you want the meeting to occur regularly, click on Recurrence ( ). 5. In the Show time as list, select how your schedule to appear for the duration of the meeting. Your selection (Busy, Free, Tentative, or Out of Office) is what other people see when they view your schedule and schedules of all attendees. 6. Select the Reminder check box to be reminded about this meeting. 7. Type additional instructions as required in the message area to accompany your meeting request. Click on Send.

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Meeting Request Toolbar Options Sends the meeting request to the attendees. Saves the meeting to your calendar but does not send the meeting request to attendees. Attaches a file to the meeting request. Sets a recurrence interval for the meeting. Checks the names of the meeting request attendees in the Global Address Book or your Contacts Folder. Sets the importance of the message to High. Sets the importance of the message to Low. Cancels the meeting. Checks the spelling in the text area. Applies a category to the meeting. Prints the meeting.

Modifying a Meeting You can open meetings that you’ve previously created and make changes. You can also drag meetings from one time to another in any view. To change the time of a meeting, drag the item to the new time. If you change the time of the meeting, OWA will prompt you to send an update to the attendees. 1. Click on Calendar in the Navigation Pane, double-click the meeting that want to modify. 2. In the meeting request form, make changes to the meeting, such as adding attendees, changing date or time, or adding information. 3. Click(

) Send Update.

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Replying To or Forward a Meeting Request When receiving a meeting request, you have a few options. Accept: Accepts the meeting, adds it to your Calendar, and notifies the person who sent you the meeting that you have accepted. Tentative: You are not sure you are able to attend the meeting. The request is then added to your calendar and notifies the person who sent you the meeting that your attendance is not guaranteed. Decline: Declines the meeting and notifies the person who sent you the meeting that you have declined.

Replying a Meeting Request You can reply to a meeting request without accepting the invitation. 1. To send a message only to the meeting organizer, click Reply in the meeting request. 2. To send a message to everyone who was invited, click Reply to All. 3. In the message body, type your reply and then click Send.

Forwarding a Meeting Request You can forward a meeting request to someone who should attend the meeting but did not receive the original invitation. 1. In the meeting request, click Forward. 2. In the To box, type in the name or alia of the recipient, and click on Check Names to resolve the name. 3. Click Send.

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Working with Contacts The contacts contain information about people and organizations whom you interact with. The Contacts List lets you enter as much or as little information about your contact required (for example: names, job titles, phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses).

Creating a Contact Create a contact to store the information about people you communicate with, including their email address, street address, telephone numbers, and other information. 1. Click on Contacts in the Navigation Pane. 2. On the toolbar, click New. 3. Enter as much information as you wish in the window. 4. Click Save & Close button. 21

Creating a Distribution List The Distribution List is a collection of two or more contacts. You can then easily send an email message to everyone on the list by simply selecting the list from your address book when addressing the message. There is no need to add each person individually into the message’s To: field.

1. Click on Contacts in the Navigation Pane. 2. Click on the arrow to the right side of the New button, select Distribution List. 3. Type in the name in the Name field. 4. Click on the Select Members icon. 5. Type in the name of the members that you would like to add in the Global Address List. 6. Click Save & Close button.

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Using the Global Address List The Global Address List (GAL) is a directory service with the Exchange email system. The GAL contains information for all email users, distribution groups and Exchange Resources within Algonquin College.

1. In the text box on the banner, type in the first and/or the last name, or the email address and press . 2. The results are listed by the person’s first, last name, and email address if there are common names. Click on the name of the person that you are looking for.

Another way to perform a search, click on the GAL icon ( ) on the banner, type in the first and/or the last name, or the email address and press .

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Working with Tasks A task lets you create and track a project or an assignment. For example, you can create a task to with a document or report, then add a reminder, start date and due date, and notes to the task.

Creating a Task

1. Click on Tasks in the Navigation Pane. 2. Click on New. 3. Enter the subject and other properties that you want to include. 4. Click Save & Close button.

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Task Toolbar Options Saves the task and closes the task from the browser. Marks the task as complete. Attaches a file to the task. Sets a recurrence interval for the task. Forwards the task to a recipient. Deletes the task. Applies a category to the task.

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Options You can customize OWA by controlling features such as language settings, message and calendar options as well as setting up for Out of Office Assistant. After you make changes to the settings on the Options page, be sure to click on Save on the toolbar to apply your changes.

Regional Settings You can configure the languages that are available and the date and time formats. 1. Click Options on the banner. 2. Click Regional Settings from the list. 3. Make the changes and click on Save on the toolbar to apply your changes.

Language The Language settings let you change the language that is used for OWA.

Date and Time Formats These settings let you set the date style, time style and current time zone that is used for OWA.

Messaging The messaging options in OWA let you configure individual message settings such as notifications, email signature, and message format.

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Message Options You can configure the number of items to be displayed in increments of 5 up top 50, and to 75 and 100. You can also enable or disable notifications when new items arrive.

Email Signature An email signature that you can manually or automatically add to the end of an outgoing message.

Message Format You can compose messages in HTML or plain text. HTML lets you control the font and the size, style, and colour.

Message Tracking Options You can control how OWA responds to email messages that you receive for which the sender has requested a read receipt.

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Reading Pane Options The reading pane lets you read items in your mailbox without opening them. It is available in all views (Mail, Calendar, Contacts, and Tasks).

Spelling OWA will check the spelling of outgoing messages for you.

Spelling Options Select the option that best suites you. You can check the spelling of a message while you are composing it by clicking Checking Spelling or by pressing F7.

Dictionary Language The Dictionary Language settings let you choose the language that you want to use and the spell checker then flags any works that may not be spelled correctly.

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Calendar Options You can modify the way the calendar is displayed.

Calendar Options You can select the first day of the work week. You can choose 15minute increments or 30-minute increments.

Calendar Work Week By default, the work days are Monday through Friday. You can also set the start and end time of the work days.

Date and Time Formats By default, reminders are turned on.

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Out of Office Assistant When the Out of Office Assistant is turned on, it generates replies to senders based on the Out of Office message that you have created.

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Change Password Waiting for final decision…

General Settings Email Name Resolution By default, Global address list is selected. This means OWA uses the college’s contact directory first. If you choose Contacts, OWA uses only the default Contact folder.

Appearance You can select a colour scheme for OWA.

Accessibility You can also choose to optimize OWA for accessibility at the login page. 31

Deleted Items You can set Deleted Items to permanently delete all the items in the Deleted Items folder when you log off and end of your OWA session.

Recover Deleted Items You can recover items that have been emptied from the Deleted Items folder.

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Virtual Private Network (VPN) Algonquin WebVPN We have now implemented a new way of connecting to Algonquin College using VPN: WebVPN. This allows you to connect to the VPN using your web browser instead of having to download and install a separate program. The WebVPN works with any operating system. 1. The first step in using the new WebVPN is to point your browser to: http://algvpn.algonquincollege.com 2. You should now see a login screen that looks like this one:

3. This screen is used to login to the WebVPN service. Please user your NT username and password to log into the system. Note: This is the same password you would use to login to a computer on the Algonquin campus. 4. At this point, if you have already installed the VPN plug-in, the browser will flash through a series of screens and pause for a second on a screen similar to the following.

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5. When the plug-in has finished starting, the screen will change to the one below.

6. This means that the browser was able to load the plug-in. You may not actually notice this screen as the plug-in is set to close the browser automatically at this point and add the following icon to those in the bottom right by the clock.

7. Congratulations, you have now connected to Algonquin's WebVPN service. If your browser does not close, it is safe to close it at this time (or simply to close the page that is currently open). There is no requirement to have the browser open once the key appears by the clock.

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References OWA References: Outlook Help

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