One of the thing that has always bugged me about the SharePoint 2007 Outlook Web Access (OWA) web parts ever since I saw them was that that some of the web parts lack basic functionality and thus are inconsistent in their functionality. The purpose of this post is to shed some light on what these web parts do or cannot do and give users an understanding of how to get around the lack of functionality. Before I continue, I should remind readers that these OWA web parts are intended to be used in a My Site and that users of these web parts must have access to Outlook Web Access and know the OWA URL and account format to configure the web parts on their own.
My Inbox Web Part
It is great that a My Inbox web part can let me Reply to or Forward an email but what about creating a new email? There isn’t a UI element for that in the web part. Of course, if you know your secret keyboard keystrokes and you have the web part in focus you can create a new email with by using CTRL + N. Most people don’t know this but note that if you don’t have the web part in focus you’ll likely end up with nothing or a new browser window.
My Contacts Web Part
The My Contacts web part lets a user edit a contact and even use the web part to send an email or meeting request to an existing contact but what about creating a new contact? There isn’t a UI element for that in the web part and I’m not aware of any secret key strokes.
My Tasks Web Part
The My Tasks web part unlike the My Inbox and My Contacts web part does have a mechanism for creating new tasks. Type the task description in the box and hit the Enter key to submit it.
The web part also allows the user also open, forward, mark complete or delete any task.
My Calendar Web Part
The My Calendar web part seems to be the mother of all MOSS 2007 OWA web parts. This web part has a mechanism for creating new appointments and meeting requests and also creating a new email, contact or task. It is where users will most easily find the “new” functionality missing in the other web parts.
Conclusion
The key to remember when using the MOSS 2007 OWA web parts is that the My Calendar web part is pivotal. It needs to be used in combination with the My Inbox and My Contacts web parts in order to give users an easy (yet awkward) way to create emails and contacts with a simple mouse click.