Updated: 2009-01-15

This topic lists the changes in Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 from Office 2003.

ACT! and Schedule Plus

Description: ACT! and Schedule Plus import are no longer supported.

Reason for change: The technology is no longer used or has other supported import mechanisms.

Migration path: Use a previous version of Outlook to import the data into a .pst file for Schedule Plus import. Use that .pst file in Office Outlook 2007.

Attachments

Description: The Attachments feature has a new user interface and enhanced functionality.

Reason for change: Customers can now preview attachments.

Calendar

Description: The Calendar feature has the following changes in Office Outlook 2007:

  • The Week view is replaced by a new Week view.

  • The Free/Busy bar does not show on Calendar items if the item is Busy.

  • The Meeting icon is removed from Calendar items.

  • The default detail level of the Month view is changed.

Reason for change: This change simplifies the Calendar user interface and allows more text to appear on Calendar items.

E-mail: Categories

Description: In previous versions of Outlook, categories could arrive on incoming mail and were automatically reapplied on replies and forwards to categorized mail. Categories are no longer assigned to incoming mail, and are not automatically reassigned to replies and forwards.

Reason for change: The new Colored Categories feature makes categories visually louder. Most users do not want to receive categorized mail, which they perceive as spam.

Forwarding out-of-date meeting requests

Description: In earlier versions of Outlook, the user could forward an out-of-date meeting request. If a user tries to forward an out-of-date meeting request in Office Outlook 2007, Office Outlook 2007 automatically sends the most recent copy of the meeting.

Reason for change: Customers no longer miss meetings because of out-of-date meeting requests.

Migration path: Office Outlook 2007 automatically forwards the most recent meeting request.

MAPI DLLs

Description: The user interface and functionality for MAPI DLLs are separated. The functional DLL is installed into a language-agnostic folder under OfficeVer. This change has no effect on end users. ISVs must use LoadLibrary and the default search path to load the Outlook MAPI Provider. If they do not, the ISV is broken.

Reason for change: This change results in smaller Language Interface Pack (LIP) downloads.

Migration path: Use LoadLibrary and the default search path to load the Outlook MAPI Provider.

Non-delivery receipt

Description: When a mailbox is full, submission fails on the client side instead of on the server side. The recipient still receives a message stating that their mailbox is over the message limit.

Reason for change: This change was made in response to customer feedback.

Personal Address Book

Description: The Personal Address Book, an ANSI address book that is part of Outlook 96, is removed. The Personal Address Book was replaced by Outlook Contacts in Outlook 97. Personal Address Book entries were stored in the local computer files with the extension .pab. Office Outlook 2007 does not support .pab files. During configuration, all contacts in the Personal Address Book are migrated to the default Outlook Contacts folder. Customers can choose to move their contacts to a different folder, or to cancel the migration and import the .pab file later. The .pab file continues to exist in the file system, but the Personal Address Book is not accessible from Outlook. Customers cannot re-add the Personal Address Book, because Outlook does not provide this as an option in the E-mail Accounts configuration.

Reason for change: Outlook Contacts provides more functionality than .pab files.

Migration path: Office Outlook 2007 migrates the .pab file during configuration.

Reply in IRM e-mails

Description: Replies to protected e-mails in the 2007 Microsoft Office system contain the original text. The replier can add comments, but cannot extract the original content. When the user replies to a Do Not Forward e-mail message, the original content is preceded by a yellow bar that tells the user what actions can be performed. Users can still view and respond to all protected e-mail they have received from earlier versions of Outlook.

Reason for change: Customers asked for this change to be able to provide feedback to protected e-mail.

Migration path: Install Office 2003 SP2 or the 2007 Office system.

Scripting agent

Description: Using Outlook to administer Exchange Server scripts is possible only by downloading the Scrptxtn.dll file from the Microsoft Download Center.

Reason for change: Most customers do not use this feature.

Migration path: Download and install Scrptxtn.dll from the Microsoft Download Center.

Security settings

Description: Security settings from Tools, Options are moved into the Trust Center.

Reason for change: This change creates a more consistent environment by aggregating security settings in a single location.

Show Views in Navigation Pane

Description: The View, Arrange By, Show Views in Navigation Pane feature is moved to View, Navigation Pane, Show Views.

Reason for change: This change creates a more consistent experience and increases usability.

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