Question Marks
Saturday 16th December, 2006 16:31 Comments: 0
I mentioned in a previous entry that I'd explain why some machines add a random question mark when you send emails through Outlook Web Access (OWA).
The annoying thing is that they only appear after you send the email, so you don't know if it's going to happen until after you send it. I did some digging and some people claim it's an S/MIME problem. Assuming that KB 883543 has been applied on the server, go to Options, and look for E-mail Security. There should be a button marked Download, which lets you install the latest version of the S/MIME Control.
If that doesn't fix it, I've read that it might be issue where you have to re-register some files (usually after SP2 has been applied).
Going back to what I said in the entry, it seems there is now a KB article (911829) explaining why I had trouble composing email with Vista:
SYMPTOMS
When you access Microsoft Outlook Web Access by using Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 or a later version of Internet Explorer, you experience one of the following symptoms.
Symptom 1
On a computer that is running Microsoft Windows Vista, you cannot perform any editing tasks that you typically expect to perform. For example, you cannot perform the following tasks:
- Compose a new e-mail message
- Reply to an e-mail message
- Create a new contact, task, note, journal entry, or appointment
- Change any configuration in the Outlook Web Access options folder
...
CAUSE
Symptom 1
This behavior occurs because Windows Vista no longer includes support for the ActiveX control that is used for HTML editing in Outlook Web Access.
...
RESOLUTION
This Microsoft Exchange Server hotfix resolves the three issues that are mentioned in the "Symptoms" section. This hotfix enables a new editor for Internet Explorer. The new editor uses an Internet Explorer "iframe" instead of an ActiveX control. After you apply hotfix 911829, you are not required to first click in the compose frame in Outlook Web Access before you edit text.
Important For this resolution to work, you must apply the hotfix to both the front-end server and to the back-end server.
...
Several design changes are introduced in Windows Vista that are based on the Microsoft Secure Windows Initiative program. The version of Internet Explorer that is bundled with Windows Vista helps protect users from dangerous Web sites. Additionally, this version of Internet Explorer runs with limited user rights even if the user is logged on as a member of the local administrators group. The new editor that is introduced in this version of Internet Explorer complements this design change.
I knew I wasn't doing anything wrong. It looks like I'll have to bug work to install the hotfix on their server.
The annoying thing is that they only appear after you send the email, so you don't know if it's going to happen until after you send it. I did some digging and some people claim it's an S/MIME problem. Assuming that KB 883543 has been applied on the server, go to Options, and look for E-mail Security. There should be a button marked Download, which lets you install the latest version of the S/MIME Control.
If that doesn't fix it, I've read that it might be issue where you have to re-register some files (usually after SP2 has been applied).
Going back to what I said in the entry, it seems there is now a KB article (911829) explaining why I had trouble composing email with Vista:
SYMPTOMS
When you access Microsoft Outlook Web Access by using Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 or a later version of Internet Explorer, you experience one of the following symptoms.
Symptom 1
On a computer that is running Microsoft Windows Vista, you cannot perform any editing tasks that you typically expect to perform. For example, you cannot perform the following tasks:
- Compose a new e-mail message
- Reply to an e-mail message
- Create a new contact, task, note, journal entry, or appointment
- Change any configuration in the Outlook Web Access options folder
...
CAUSE
Symptom 1
This behavior occurs because Windows Vista no longer includes support for the ActiveX control that is used for HTML editing in Outlook Web Access.
...
RESOLUTION
This Microsoft Exchange Server hotfix resolves the three issues that are mentioned in the "Symptoms" section. This hotfix enables a new editor for Internet Explorer. The new editor uses an Internet Explorer "iframe" instead of an ActiveX control. After you apply hotfix 911829, you are not required to first click in the compose frame in Outlook Web Access before you edit text.
Important For this resolution to work, you must apply the hotfix to both the front-end server and to the back-end server.
...
Several design changes are introduced in Windows Vista that are based on the Microsoft Secure Windows Initiative program. The version of Internet Explorer that is bundled with Windows Vista helps protect users from dangerous Web sites. Additionally, this version of Internet Explorer runs with limited user rights even if the user is logged on as a member of the local administrators group. The new editor that is introduced in this version of Internet Explorer complements this design change.
I knew I wasn't doing anything wrong. It looks like I'll have to bug work to install the hotfix on their server.