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Outlook 2016: Remove Duplicate entries in Room Finder

Posted on April 12, 2017 by Office 365

In Outlook 2016 some users may noticed dual entries in the Room List:

The room list behavior that we see  in Outlook is by design. When we  use a Room List  for a meeting, it is stored in the  Most Recently Used entries in the registry. When we create a new meeting, we will see this MRU entry in the top of the Room Lists . The same Room List will be seen again in the drop down which is accessed from the Exchange Server/ Online.

To prevent the duplicate entries seen in the Room List, create the below registry entry with blank data to disable the  Most Recently Used  Room List in Outlook.

Path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Preferences

Key: RoomFinderRecentRooms
Key: RoomFinderRecentRoomList

If these entry already exist just empty the values.

After Outlook Restart:

 Only single instance of the rooms list now showing! 🙂

Hack: Microsoft Outlook AutoComplete

Posted on March 6, 2017 by Office 365 Windows

Outlook maintains the AutoComplete list. The list is used by both the automatic name-checking feature and the automatic completion feature. The AutoComplete list, also known as the nickname cache, is generated automatically when you send email messages from Outlook. The list contains SMTP addresses, LegacyExchangeDN entries, and display names for people to whom you have sent mail previously.

Note The AutoComplete list for Outlook is specific to Outlook and is not shared by Outlook Web App (OWA). OWA maintains its own AutoComplete list.

The following sections provide information about the AutoComplete feature.

Limit to the number of entries

Outlook limits the number of entries that you can save in the AutoComplete list. After you reach this limit, Outlook uses an internal algorithm to determine the best names to remove from the list. It does this based on a usage weighting. Therefore, you may find some names unexpectedly removed from your nickname cache. There are two general approaches that you can use to avoid this situation:

  1. You can proactively remove AutoComplete list entries that you no longer need. This is the preferred approach. For more information about how to do this, see the section titled “How to remove AutoComplete list entries one at a time.”
  2. You can increase the limit for the nickname cache. If you have a larger nickname cache, you could also lose a larger number of cached entries if your nickname cache becomes unusable because of corruption.

The limits are as follows:

  • Outlook 2016: 1,000 entries
  • Outlook 2013: 1,000 entries
  • Outlook 2010: 1,000 entries
  • Outlook 2007: 2,000 entries
  • Outlook 2003: 1,000 entries

How to enable the AutoComplete feature

Outlook 2010, Outlook 2013, and Outlook 2016

To access the AutoComplete setting, follow these steps:

  • On the File menu, click Options.
  • Select the Mail tab.
  • Scroll approximately halfway down until you see Send messages. Make sure that the Use Auto-Complete List to suggest names when typing in the To, Cc, and Bcc lines box is checked. If you need to disable Auto-Complete uncheck the box.

How to import .nk2 files into Outlook 2010, Outlook 2013, and Outlook 2016

Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 and earlier versions store the AutoComplete list in an nickname (.nk2) file on the disk. Outlook 2010, Outlook 2013, and Outlook 2016 store the AutoComplete list as a hidden message in your primary message store. Outlook 2010, Outlook 2013, and Outlook 2016 let you import the older .nk2 files.

For more information about how to import .nk2 files in Outlook 2010, go to the following Microsoft website:

Import Auto-Complete List from another computer

 

How to import .nk2 files into Outlook 2013 or Outlook 2016

When you start Microsoft Outlook 2013 or Outlook 2016 for the first time, your nickname cache (stored in the  profilename.nk2 file) is imported into a hidden message in your default message store.

Note profilename is the name of your Outlook profile.

For example, if you are using a Microsoft Exchange account, the nickname cache is imported into a hidden message in the Exchange mailbox.

Note Outlook 2007 and earlier versions store the nickname cache .nk2 file in the following folder.

  • Windows XP
    Drive:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
  • Windows Vista and later versions
    Drive:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Outlook

After the nickname cache is imported, the
profilename.nk2 file is renamed to
profilename.nk2.old. On the next start of Outlook, your nickname cache is not imported. Outlook 2013 and Outlook 2016 do not use the .nk2 file for maintaining your nickname cache. All updates to your nickname cache in Outlook 2013 and Outlook 2016 are made to the hidden message in your default message store.

Note If you have multiple Outlook profiles, the nickname cache from each profile is merged into your new Outlook 2013 or Outlook 2016 nickname cache on the first start of Outlook by using that profile. Therefore, you may find more than one .nk2 file renamed to .nk2.old.

However, there may be situations where you have to import a nickname cache file after this first-run nickname cache import process has finished. For example, a colleague wants to share their nickname cache with you and you want to update your existing nickname cache with your colleague’s data.

To import .nk2 files into Outlook 2013 or Outlook 2016, follow these steps:

  • Make sure that the .nk2 file is in the following folder:
    %appdata%\Microsoft\Outlook

    Note The .nk2 file must have the same name as your current Outlook 2013 or Outlook 2016 profile. By default, the profile name is “Outlook.” To check the profile name, follow these steps:

    1. Click Start, and then click
      Control Panel.
    2. Double-click Mail.
    3. In the Mail Setup dialog box, click
      Show Profiles.
  • Click Start, and then click
    Run.
  • In the Open box, type
    outlook.exe /importnk2 , and then click
    OK. This should import the .nk2 file into the Outlook profile.
Note After you import the .nk2 file, the contents of the file are merged into the existing nickname cache that is currently stored in your mailbox.
Note The .nk2 file is renamed with a .old file name extension on the first start of Outlook 2013 or Outlook 2016. Therefore, if you try to re-import the .nk2 file, remove the .old file name extension.

How to copy the AutoComplete list

The steps to export and import the AutoComplete list are different, depending on the version of Outlook that you are using.

Outlook 2010, Outlook 2013, and Outlook 2016

To copy the AutoComplete list in Outlook 2010, Outlook 2013, and Outlook 2016, follow these steps:

Note: Please make sure the you are using the appropriate MFCMAPI for x86 or x64.

Step 1

To export the AutoComplete mailbox message, follow these steps:

  1. Exit Outlook, and then close Outlook Web Access or Outlook Web App (OWA) on all workstations that are connected to your mailbox.
  2. Download and install MFCMAPI from http://mfcmapi.codeplex.com.
  3. Run mfcmapi.exe.
  4. On the Session menu, click Logon.

  5. If you are prompted for a profile, select the desired profile name, and then click OK.

  6. In the top pane, locate the line that corresponds to your mailbox, and then double-click it.
  7. In the left-side navigation pane, expand Root Container, and then expand Top of Information Store or IPM_SUBTREE.
  8. Right-click the Inbox folder, and then click Open Associated Content Table. This action opens a new MFCMAPI window that contains various properties.

  9. Under the Subject column, right-click the item that has the subject IPM.Configuration.Autocomplete,


    and then click Export Message. This action opens the Save Message To File window.

  10. In the drop-down list, select MSG file (UNICODE), and then click OK.
  11. Select a folder location to which you want to save the message, and then click Save. Note this location.

Step 2

To import the AutoComplete mailbox message, follow these steps.

  1. Exit Outlook, and then close Outlook Web Access or Outlook Web App (OWA) on all workstations that are connected to your mailbox.
  2. Download and install MFCMAPI from http://mfcmapi.codeplex.com
  3. Run mfcmapi.exe.
  4. On the Session menu, click Logon.
  5. If you are prompted for a profile, select the desired profile name, and then click OK.
  6. In the top pane, locate the line that corresponds to your mailbox, and then double-click it.
  7. In the left-side navigation pane, expand Root – Mailbox, and then expand Top of Information Store or IPM_SUBTREE.
  8. Right-click the Inbox folder, and then click Open Associated Content Table. This action opens a new MFCMAPI window that contains various properties.
  9. To avoid duplicate entries, you must delete the existing AutoComplete message.
    Note: Before you delete the IPM.Configuration.Autocomplete message, you must export the message.

    To delete the existing AutoComplete message, follow these steps:

    1. In the Subject column, locate the item that has the subject IPM.Configuration.Autocomplete.
    2. Right-click the item, and then click Delete message. This opens the Delete Item window.
    3. In the drop-down list, select Permanent deletion (deletes to deleted item retention if supported), and then click OK.
    4. On the Folder menu, click Import, and then click From MSG.

    5. Locate the .msg file that you created in step 11 of the “How to Export the Auto-Complete List” section, and then click OK.
    6. In the Load MSG window that appears, select Load message into current folder in the Load style list, and then click OK.

The AutoComplete information is imported from the IPM.Configuration.Autocomplete_<hexadecimal code>.msg , where the placeholder <hexadecimal code>  represents a long string of numbers and letters.

How to remove AutoComplete list entries one at a time

To remove entries from the AutoComplete cache one entry at a time, follow these steps:

  1. Open a new email message.
  2. Type the first few characters of the AutoComplete entry that you want to remove.
  3. When the entry appears in the list of suggested names, move your mouse pointer over the name until it becomes highlighted, but do not click the name.
  4. When the “X” icon appears next to the highlighted name, click X to remove the name from the list, or press the Delete key on the keyboard.

How to clear the whole AutoComplete list

This section explains how to delete the AutoComplete list.

Outlook 2010, Outlook 2013, and Outlook 2016

Use one of the following two methods to delete the AutoComplete list in Outlook 2010, Outlook 2013, and Outlook 2016.

Method 1

  1. Open Outlook.
  2. On the File tab, click Options.
  3. Click the Mail tab.
  4. Under Send Messages, click Empty Auto-Complete List.

  5. Click Yes.

Method 2

Start Outlook by using the /CleanAutoCompleteCache switch. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Click Start, and then click Run.
  2. Type Outlook.exe /CleanAutoCompleteCache .

    Note If Outlook is not installed in the default location, you must point to the path of Outlook.exe.

Filling the Auto-Complete list with Contact addresses

You can directly fill the list again by creating a new message addressed to all your contacts at once.

  1. Place Outlook in ‘Work Offline’ mode (see instructions below)
  2. Create a new message.
  3. Press the To… button.
  4. Select the contact list in the right top corner from which you would like to add the contacts from.
    Examples; Contacts folder, Global Address List (GAL) or a contacts folder in a Public folder.
  5. Select the first contact.
  6. Scroll all the way down to your last contact.
  7. Hold the SHIFT button on your keyboard while clicking on the last contact to select them all.
  8. Press the To –> button to add them all to the To… field.
  9. Repeat step 3 to 7 if you have contacts in additional lists that you would like to add.
  10. Press OK to close the dialog and to return to the newly created message.
  11. Now when you address a new message the AutoSuggest/Auto-Complete feature will pop-up again.

For Outlook 2010, Outlook 2013 and Outlook 2016, you must send the message to actually store these addresses in the AutoSuggest cache. However, by placing Outlook in Offline Mode first via the Send/Receive tab, you can easily prevent it from actually being sent by removing it from the Outbox and then place Outlook back online mode.

Working in Offline Mode

This is fairly simple for folks that dont know.

The main confusion is about Work Offline icon which is being displayed on the Send/Receive tab in the Ribbon in Outlook 2010 and Outlook 2013; you’ll find a globe with a red cross in front of it. This doesn’t mean you are in Offline Mode as the icon is always like this. The icon doesn’t change to for instance a globe without a red cross when you are Online

When you actually are in Offline Mode, the icon will show highlighted (as see below, when using a black color theme for Office 2016)  and your Status Bar will also show “Working Offline”. Clicking on the icon then will bring you back to Online Mode.

Status Bar:

POP3 Accounts:

When you are using a POP3 account, you can reuse your original pst-file on another computer or when reconfiguring the account without losing your AutoComplete cache. However, it is important that you do this in the correct way or the list will still be lost.

Cleaning up Office365 Groups Mess

Posted on February 23, 2017 by Azure Office 365 SharePoint

Office 365 Groups are a shared workspace for email, conversations, files, and events where group members can collectively get stuff done. It compliments the introduction of Microsoft Teams. The main thing to keep in mind is that this feature is still evolving.

Why is it important to control Office 365 Group creation?

This feature is enabled by default. So its better to put restrictions in place or later clean up sites, groups, permissions set by organization users.

Which Group?

SharePoint frequently reuses terms, which often makes conversations and forum posts a lot of fun. There’s at least three “Groups” in Office 365:

  • Active Directory Groups: Groups at the AD level. Outside of SharePoint. Useable across all site collections, and other applications. A “Sales Managers” AD group can be created once, updated in one place and used across all site collections in the tenant.
  • SharePoint Groups: Collections of users (people) and AD groups. Scoped to a single site collection. A “Sales Managers” SharePoint group would need to be created in each of the site collections and all updates repeated across all of the site collections.
  • Office 365 Groups: A new collaboration option! A combination of a mailbox and a site collection. Not a group useable for managing access to SharePoint sites.

Office 365 Groups

Office 365 Groups are a combination of an Exchange email account with the group’s name that is used to store conversations, and a “OneDrive – like” site collection to store files.

A collection of Office 365 Groups facts:

  • Internally, to distinguish traditional groups from the new Office 365 Groups, Groups are called “Unified Groups”. Externally they should be called “Office 365 Groups”, not “SharePoint Groups”.
  • Creating a Group creates an AD Distribution group, an email address and a “hidden” SharePoint Site Collection. The site collection is not visible in the tenant admin pages. The AD group is not manageable from Azure AD, only from the tenant admin Groups pages. (You can see members in Azure AD, but cannot edit them.)
  • Groups can be created from:
    • Outlook (OWA).
    • A user’s OneDrive.
    • The “GROUPS” page in the tenant Admin site. Here you can create both “Office 365 Groups” and “security groups”.
  • Conversations are stored in Exchange inboxes and files are stored in SharePoint Site Collections.
  • Groups are defined and managed in Azure AD. (Which explains why the PowerShell cmdlets for Groups are not in the SharePoint Online cmdlet library.)
  • Each user may create up to 250 Groups and can be a member of up to 1,024 Groups. There’s no limit for number of Groups per tenant.
  • Emails can be sent in the name of the group by members. (Requires a PowerShell based change.)
  • Groups will not be deleted if the Group’s owner is deleted.
  • Groups use a OneDrive for Business site under the covers. (Template: GROUP#0)
  • URL for the files site collection looks like a normal team site instead of a OneDrive site:  https://yourdomain/sites/groupsitename
  • If there is a URL conflict, a number is appended to the name: https://yourdomain/sites/groupsitename51
  • URL for the mailbox is “guessable”: https://outlook.office365.com/owa/#path=/group/yourGroupName@yourDomain.onmicrosoft.com/people
  • Groups site collections are not (currently) displayed in the admin Site Collections page. You may discover their existence when you create a new site collection that has the same name as a group site. “The site collection already exists. Please enter a different address.”
  • PowerShell:
    • Get-SPOSite does not return Groups site collections, but you can access a Groups site by URL.
    • Get-SPOUser does not return users for Groups sites.
  • Groups file storage is counted against the tenant quota. It’s not considered to be a personal OneDrive. There is no “user” for the Group OneDrive. The mailbox can store up to 50GB of messages, posts and calendar entries. The SharePoint Site Collection has a max of 1TB.
  • Search: There is a search box, but it opens the Search Center in a new window/tab and searches all of SharePoint, not just the Groups file site.
  • The document library in the Group site is very much like a OneDrive for Business library. No ribbon, no custom columns, no metadata and no Content Types. The Groups library is very limited:
    • Only one library, and it’s not customizable.
    • Can’t check out/in. (I saw this listed as a feature, but it’s not in my tenants.)
    • Versioning is enabled (Major only)
    • Cannot add/delete columns (i.e. use any custom metadata that might be useful to search or eDiscovery.)
    • Cannot use workflows.
    • Cannot audit security from the browser.
    • No branding. Cannot be opened by SharePoint Designer.
  • The Site Collection is VERY limited.
    • Almost all of the links for site or list maintenance are redirected to the home page.
    • There is no Settings page.
    • There is no Site Permissions page, so there’s no Site Permissions page or 2nd tier recycle bin.
    • You cannot create new lists or libraries.
  • Library Sync: The Sync button works with the new OneDrive for Business sync client. So, keep in mind that group members of easily offline all of the content.
  • Recycle Bin:
    • There is a recycle bin, but you can only access the user level.
    • If you share a file with a non-member with “Edit”, they can delete the file, but get “Sorry, you don’t have access to this page” when they click the Recycle Bin link.
    • There is no Site Collection recycle bin page available. The Groups “owner” can’t recover files deleted by members.
  • Can be administered and reported on from PowerShell as part of the Exchange Online cmdlets.
    https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj200780(v=exchg.160).aspx
    cmdlets: Get/Set/New/Remove-UnifedGroup and Get/Add/Remove-UnifiedGroupLinks
    https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Use-PowerShell-to-manage-Office-365-Groups-aeb669aa-1770-4537-9de2-a82ac11b0540
  • Groups can be disabled for all users. (PowerShell)
  • Groups can be disabled for a subset of users. (Requires PowerShell.)
  • Security:
    • New groups default to “Public”. Everyone has access. You must remember to choose Private when you create the group.
    • I can’t find a place to change Public/Private status after the group has been created.
    • The names of groups are not private. They will be seen in “Send to”, “Share” and other places where user names can be seen. All groups, public and private, are listed in the “Browse Groups” screens. (Train your users not to use group names that reveal confidential data. You know, names like “IT Layoff Planning Group”. 🙂 )
    • Files can be shared with the “group”. They will be listed in the “Shared with us” tab.
    • Files that are shared with the “group” will be visible to all users even for Private groups! (I think this is a bug!) (The user must know the URL to the Files site.)
    • Files can be “reshared”. Sam has a site named “My Private Group”, which is Private, He shares a file with Robert (with Edit or View). Robert can only see that one file in the group site. Robert shares with Susan. Susan can then share with………
    • Users who guess the URL to the file site can see the site, but no files, or only files shared with them. They can see the list of “members” and who the owner is.

Groups vs. Team Sites

Groups Team Sites
Can add lists/libraries No Yes
Can add pages No Yes
Can add columns/metadata No Yes
Can use Content Types No Yes
Can hide membership No Yes
Can brand No Yes
Can be fully managed with PowerShell No Yes

Cleaning up the mess

So since this feature is enabled by default. Users in your organization may have already started creating groups and hidden SharePoint site.

So first we need to disable this option right away.

Prerequisites:

Check your Company-level configuration settings

Now need to check your company-wide configuration settings through the Get-MsolCompanyInfo Windows PowerShell cmdlet. This cmdlet will display your current company-wide configuration settings that affect all users. You specifically need to verify that the UserPermissionToCreateGroupsEnabled parameter is set to False.

To check your Company-level configuration settings

You will first need to connect to your Office 365 service. In the Windows Azure Active Directory Module for Windows PowerShell, type and enter the following:

In the Sign in to your Account screen, enter your credentials to connect you to your service, and click Sign in.

You will be returned to a prompt in the Windows Azure Active Directory Module.

You will need to display your company-wide configuration settings. To do this, type and enter:

This will display a listing of the current configuration settings that apply to all users in your company.

As you can see the value for the UsersPermissiontoCreateGroupsEnabled setting is True. We need to change this to False.

To change the UsersPermissionToCreateGroupsEnabled setting value

You will first need to use the Set-MsolCompanySettings cmdlet to change the UsersPermissionToCreateGroupsEnabled parameter to False. In the Windows Azure Active Directory Module for Windows PowerShell, type and enter the following:

You will be returned to a prompt in the Windows Azure Active Directory Module.

After changing the setting, you then need to run the Get-MsolCompanyInfo cmdlet to verify that the value has changed to True.

After running the cmdlet, check the displayed information to verify that the UsersPermissionToCreateGroupsEnabled setting value has changed to False.

Identifying the site collections in PowerShell

Connect to SharePoint

Get a list of Site Collections
More than likely the Group SharePoint Site is restricted to the user that may have created it. You may get this error when trying to remove it:

To remove it you need to take ownership as the CollectionOwner

Now if you want to do this for all the site collections:

Once this is applied the admin will be able to remove the hidden Sharepoint collection. Remove the site collections that are no longer needed.

Deleting the Groups

Now to delete the groups that the users created. Head over to the Office365 Admin Portal.

Click the “Office 365 group” from the selection to show all groups (These should be all cloud based)

Once the groups are displayed remove them as necessary.

Groups are no longer in your environment.

Planning for the future: Migration of Distribution Groups to Groups

If you are in Hybrid mode you cannot user Groups in a clean fashion. It will get messy. Sooner or later you will need to plan for migration of your distribution groups to Groups. Know your current limitations and hold.

Migrate distribution lists to Office 365 Groups – Admin help

Distribution list eligibility for migration

The following table lists which distribution lists are eligible or not eligible for migration

Property Eligibility
On-premise managed distribution list. Not eligible
Nested distribution lists. Distribution list either has child groups or is a member of another group. Not eligible
Moderated distribution list Not eligible
Distribution lists with send on behalf settings Not eligible
Distribution lists hidden from address lists Not eligible
Distribution lists with member RecipientTypeDetails other than UserMailbox, SharedMailbox, TeamMailbox, MailUser Not eligible
Distribution lists with member join or depart restriction as Closed Eligible. Converted to a private Office 365 Group.
Distribution lists with custom delivery status notifications. ReportToManager = true, ReportToOriginator = false ReportToManager = false, ReportToOriginator = false Eligible. Office 365 groups don’t understand these properties, and delivery status notifications are always sent to the person that sent the email.

How to force update GlobalAddressList in Office 365?

Posted on December 7, 2016 by Office 365

This post explains how to manually force and update the global address list in Office 365.

Updating the global address list requires to have the Address List Management role. By default, nobody has this role.

1. Assign the AddressList Management role

    • Login with your administrator account to the Office 365 portal.
    • Go to Exchange Admin center, Permissions and admin roles.
    • Create a new role group and assign the AddressList role.addresslistrole

2. Update the AddressList

Once you have the AddressList role assigned, you can use the powershell commands to update the address list. You will have to wait for sometime until the new cmdlets are available.

  • First thing, logon to Exchange online using PowerShell.
  • Run the command Get-AddressList and verify that it’s working. (This may take some to work after creating the role)
  • Run Set-AddressList -Identity “All users”
  • Your address book is now updated

Cannot migrate user from Exchange 2010 to Exchange Online

Posted on August 19, 2015 by Office 365

So I came across this error while migrating some accounts from On-Premise Exchange 2010 Server to Exchange Online.

Error: The subscription for the migration user [email protected] couldn’t be loaded. The following error was encountered: A subscription wasn’t found for this user.

migrationbatch

In short, there is an address conflict between the user properties of the exchange server and the synced object on Office365. Lets go back to the basics to get this fixed.

Environment: Exchange 2010 in Hybrid Mode with Exchange Online. Migrating accounts using a staged migration approach. The problematic user in Exchange Online is properly licensed.

Setup for Staged Migration.

  • Exchange Online: Stop the problematic migration batch and delete it
  • Exchange 2010: Even though the user account may show that it is a Remote mailbox or just a User Mailbox. Right click and hit Disable. (This will remove the exchange properties for the user.)
    option1
  •  option2
  • Exchange 2010: Search your Exchange database and find the user’s on-premise mailbox. This is easier if you have just 1 or 2 databases. In an enterprise environment this may be a task by itself. Open EMS and type the following:
    If the result set it too long, you may want to save the contents to a file.
    Open the file and search for the user you disabled in step 2
  • Now you need to delete the problematic user in Exchange Online. Open up PowerShell ISE and type the following:
    After supplying the Global Admin credentials and successfully logging in, do the following:
  • Now the object is not in Exchange 2010 and Exchange Online
  • Attach the user back to Exchange 2010. Open up EMS and type the following:
  • The mailbox should show up in Exchange 2010. Make sure that the SMTP address includes: [email protected] address.
  • In a  few minutes DirSync will sync the object back to Exchange Online (This depends on your DirSync time interval)
  • When the user shows up – make sure you assign the user a license in Exchange Online.
  • Start a new migration batch for the user.
  • Migration will go through as expected.
Mo Wasay
My name is Mo Wasay. I work with a variety of technologies and engage with the community and customers around the world. I am located in Dallas, Texas, U.S.A. I like to share my knowledge and experiences and help others who come across similar situations. My current focus is Microsoft Azure, Azure Stack and Windows Server.
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