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Microsoft Outlook Data Export Add-In

Martin — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:39:34 +0000

Microsoft Outlook is a desktop email client that is part of the Microsoft Office software suite. The email client does not come with a lot of options to export data like emails, notes, appointments or contacts into other formats or applications. That’s where the Microsoft Outlook Data Export Add-In comes into play. The free add-in provides the means to export data from Outlook into various other formats so that they can be imported into other applications or processed directly.

The add-in is compatible with Microsoft Outlook 2007 and will install a new toolbar into the application after installation. It will also install various runtimes that are needed to run the Outlook add-in.

The options to export the data from Microsoft Outlook is then available from the new toolbar. It is here possible to export Outlook emails, notes, appointments, contacts or tasks into the following formats: MSG, unicode MSG, RTF, TXT, CSV, ICS, vCard, HTML, XML

The user can either select an Outlook folder or single items for the export of the data. Outlook Data Export can be downloaded from the program’s page over at the Codeplex website. It is only compatible with Microsoft Office 2007.

Tags: Email, microsoft outlook, outlook, outlook 2007, outlook add-in, outlook export

Microsoft Research ESL Assistant

Martin — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 16:48:53 +0000

People who learned English as their second language usually make different mistakes than English natives. This can be attributed to a number of factors with the differences between their native language and English being a major one. Computer programs that correct spelling errors are nowadays provided for most operating systems. They usually use a dictionary and compare the words written by a user against the words in the dictionary. Only a few programs can check for grammatical errors and those that do are usually not sophisticated enough to be of great help.

Microsoft Research has created an online tool called the ESL Assistant which aims to correct errors that are typical for ESL (English as a Second Language) users. The tool is provided as a web form and as a plugin for Microsoft Outlook.

Microsoft Research ESL Assistant has been developed in Silverlight which needs to be installed to access the website. The website itself uses a basic layout. The top form is used to copy English text into it. The online tool will then check the text for errors and display these with suggestions on how to fix them in the lower form. Errors are underlined in the first form and it is possible to use the controls to go forward or backward. It is also possible to click on an underlined word or phrase to go directly to its suggestions.

Not every suggestion offered by ESL Assistant is correct. A check on Microsoft’s Bing search engine displays a percentage ratio for all suggested terms which could be an indicator aiding in picking the right phrase. The final decision has to be made by the user.

The Microsoft Outlook add-in is compatible with Microsoft Outlook 2007. It will place a new button in the Outlook taskbar which will open the ESL Assistant website when it is clicked. The email message is automatically analyzed and corrections are displayed.

The ESL Assistant website contains the web form and the Microsoft Outlook add-in download.

Tags: esl, esl assistant, microsoft outlook, microsoft research, outlook add-in

Microsoft Outlook SMS Add-in

Martin — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 15:16:45 +0000

The Microsoft Outlook SMS Add-in adds SMS sending functionality to Microsoft Outlook 2003 and Microsoft Outlook 2007. Before you begin to rejoice thinking of all the money that you can save you should notice that the add-in only works with a cell phone connected to the computer system. That is a bit of a turn off for many users but it might still appeal to some who prefer to use a real keyboard when writing SMS.

The process of sending SMS in Microsoft Outlook has been designed to resemble that of sending emails in the email client. This means that SMS can be saved as drafts and printed as well as send out to the recipient. The sent items are extended by a SMS subfolder that contains all the SMS messages that have been sent out from Microsoft Outlook.

The major advantage of the Microsoft Outlook SMS Add-in is the use of a computer keyboard to type the message. Other factors include the ability to copy and paste text, the use of proof reading tools in Outlook and to lookup and resolve phone numbers to existing Microsoft Outlook contacts.

The Microsoft Outlook SMS Add-in will be automatically available in its own toolbar after installation. It does have a few restrictions though, the most notable are that it can only send out normal SMS message, and that it cannot receive messages.

Tags: email client, microsoft office outlook, microsoft outlook, outlook add-in, outlook cell phone, outlook sms, sms, sms add-in

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