Using Outlook Web Access (OWA) on IE7 and Windows Vista

Hi, I’m B. Ashok, the Product Unit Manager for Web Development Tools.  As mentioned in my earlier post last summer, we have removed the DHTML Editing Control from Windows Vista as part of making the operating system more secure. 

One application that used the DHTML Editing Control in the past was OWA (Outlook Web Access). We have issued a required update to both Exchange 2000 and 2003 that enables OWA support for IE7 in Windows Vista. However if your server does not have this update applied, you may experience the inability to compose and edit e-mail messages on OWA when running IE7 in Windows Vista. When this happens, you will see a red ‘x’ in place of your e-mail message body.

The Exchange team has a good blog post which explains the issue in more detail, and describes how to update your Exchange 2000/2003 server to remedy this issue. The update does not require a reboot of the Exchange server and will fully enable OWA to work for clients using IE7 in Windows Vista. If you run into this problem, we highly recommend that you contact your Exchange 2000/2003 administrator to make sure they have installed this update.

One other item to note is that the update referenced in this post, was re-released on Feb 2007 to fix two additional issues:

• Fixed inability to edit replies to messages composed in Entourage Exchange client
• Fixed inability to edit replies to meeting requests

If you are running into either of these two issues, installing the current version of the update should fix the problem.

Hopefully this helps anyone using Windows Vista who may be experiencing this issue with OWA.

--Bash

Edit: title correction

• Anonymous
  March 14, 2007
  PingBack from http://thisoldcode.microfisch.com/PermaLink,guid,3afa2394-39eb-4bc1-b8cc-b2a45738ec27.aspx

• Anonymous
  March 14, 2007
  WOW! I just lost all my work in Photoshop due to IE7 Again. The 3rd time. No I won't curse you here like others do. But it doesn't mean you won't reap the consequences. Bye bye

• Anonymous
  March 14, 2007
  We use Lotus Notes at work. There are times when we have to use Notes web access to get to our emails. Vista IE7 reads those emails fine. But composing emails is broken, probably because of the missing DHTML control? Any work arounds (other than using Firefox ;) (which I do))?

• Anonymous
  March 14, 2007

1. As far as I know, the word "access" has TWO "c".
2. Internet Explorer Developer Toolbar does not work under Vista x64.

• Anonymous
  March 15, 2007
  Dear group, Sorry for posting here, I am new to this place and am finding my way around. I do have a problem with sending out messages in Outlook espress.  Unless I go directly to my tiscali.com, I cannot send out ANY messages at all!  I do receive them but no longer have the advantage of sending out a message through outlook.  I have studied the TOOLs and can't understand what has gone wrong.  I am using Windows XP, btw. hope you can help me! Susan in Italy

• Anonymous
  March 15, 2007
  I am sorry that I ever downloaded IE7.  My first problem was the cutsy menu.  I much prefer the standard worded menu.  Eventually, I did find the Menu Bar Option under Tools.  Since then, I have a more severe difficulty.  I have been unable to connect to any site, either from my favorites or from typing the address.  The telephone stays connected, but IE7 disconnects and is unable to reach any requested web site.  How can I go back to version 6?

• Anonymous
  March 15, 2007
  I am sorry I ever downloaded IE7.  My first problem was with the cutsy menu.  Eventually I found the Menu Bar option under Tools, which does solve that problem.  Since then, the program has been disconnecting itself, and will not go to any address I request:  either from the favorites, or by direct reference. How can I go back to the previous version of IE?

• Anonymous
  March 15, 2007
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  March 15, 2007
  @I just lost all my work in Photoshop due to IE7 Sure you did.  'Cuz everything is IE's fault.

• Anonymous
  March 15, 2007
  Mit Outlook Web Access (OWA) lassen sich Mails auf dem Exchange Server in der Firma über den Browser abrufen und verschicken. Dies wird über ein DHTML-Steuerelement zur Bearbeitung von HTML-Inhalten realisiert. In Vista wurde dieses Steuerel

• Anonymous
  March 15, 2007
  @Will It's easy to dismiss my words like that, but if you knew how windows works better, you'd understand that my words are true. Applications use handles. Handles for every window, button, menu, panel etc. There exists a limit for total number of handles. IE7 has good engine, but bad browser with very bad architecture built around it. This architecture causes ENORMOUS handle usage (and leaks). So the story is simple: I work with photoshop and browse the Web at the same time. Little by little IE7 eats nearly all available handles. I know nothing about is since there isn't any indicator. So after finishing the project in Photoshop I click File/Save As. Photoshop wants to open Save As dialog, but fails to do so because there aren't enough free handles left. So Photoshop crashes. Did you understand what I just said?

• Anonymous
  March 15, 2007
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  March 16, 2007
  I know there are tools out there, like Drip, to test/track down memory leaks in IE (I think Seive is another), but are there any that track the creation/release of handles? It would be interesting to see how/when IE7 is creating the handles, and if they are being released properly. I'm sure if such a tool exist(s/ed) we could use it to find the problems, and then we could report it to Microsofts Bug tracking system for Internet Explorer. Ok, maybe not submit to the bug tracker, because one doesn't exist! But the people that actually use, and develop on IE, could figure out where the issues are.  If Microsoft wants to fix them, great, but if not, we at least have an idea of what not to do. (e.g. (ficticious example) if opening a window, then making Javascript calls back and forth between the windows starts to churn out handles, then we can use HTTPRequests or XMLHTTPRequests to communicate instead) Side note: Is this issue with handles, the reason why things all go to !@#$! if you have 55 tabs open? (All my programs start behaving real weird with this many tabs open)

• Anonymous
  March 16, 2007
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  March 18, 2007
  @Fduch -- It is up to each application to handle resource depletion (be it out-of-memory conditions, Windows API calls returning error codes, etc) gracefully.  If Photoshop crashes because it doesn't check an error value, that's it's own fault.  It should do something like what Word does, and that is periodically save to a backup file such that if the app needs to shut down for some reason, your work can be reloaded the next time and not lost. IE7 may be responsible for the resource depletion, but it isn't responsible for how other apps react to it. BTW, I assume that you have reproduced these problems with IE running with add-ons disabled?

• Anonymous
  March 20, 2007
  I have exchange server 2003 with SP1. And Update for Exchange 2003 (KB 911829) does not work on SP1. Do you have patch for SP1?

• Anonymous
  March 20, 2007
  @PatriotB >It should do something like what Word does, and that is periodically save to a backup file such that if the app needs to shut down for some reason, your work can be reloaded the next time and not lost. If only IE7 team heard you (and me). IE7 is the only tabbed browser with no recovery. >BTW, I assume that you have reproduced these problems with IE running with add-ons disabled? Yes >IE7 may be responsible for the resource depletion, but it isn't responsible for how other apps react to it. Yes. IE7 just eats all resources and other apps crash themselves. But IE7 is the only program that was doing so I have ever seen.