Create an Outlook form [Outlook 2003 Forms Help]

  • Article

All custom forms must be based on standard Microsoft Outlook forms. Some of the default pages of these forms can be customized. If you do not wish to use the default form functionality provided by Outlook, you can customize the page, or hide one or more of the default pages and use extra blank pages to create a custom form.

There are a few criteria you should consider when selecting the standard Outlook form for your custom form solution:

  • Routing versus folder-based solutions

    If you plan to distribute the custom form by e-mail, you should choose the standard mail message form. If you plan to post the custom form in a public folder, then you should choose the standard post form.

  • Built-in fields on the standard form

    Select the form for the type of item that has fields best suited to the needs of your custom form solution. Each type of Outlook item has a set of fields built into it. For example, to see all the fields that are available in a mail message, click All Mail Fields in the Field Chooser. See Use the Field Chooser for more information.

  • Extent of customization

    When selecting a standard form, consider the extent of customization you are ready for. Most standard forms have more than one page on the form, but only the pages on the mail and post forms, and the General page on the contact form are customizable. To change many of the existing standard form pages, you need to hide the existing page on the form, create a new page, and add fields or controls to that page.

To begin designing an Outlook form:

  1. On the Tools menu of the form, click Design Form, and then select the standard form on which you will base your custom form.

  2. Add the fields, controls, and code that you want to your new form. For more information, see the sets of topics under "Working with Fields and Controls" and "Using Visual Basic to Customize Outlook."

  3. Set form attributes for the custom form

    You can customize how you intend the form to be used. For example, you can specify whether to password-protect the form from modification, whether to send the form definition with the form, and the actions supported by the form such as replying to the form. For more information, see the set of topics under "Working with Form Attributes."

  4. Publish the form

    To make the custom form available for creating new items in a folder, you must publish the form to the folder. If you want the form to be available to other users, publish the form to a public folder so that it is available for users who have permissions to that folder. If you want the form to be available only for your own use, publish it in a personal folder. For more information, see the set of topics under "Testing and Distributing a Form."