OWA 2003: Frequently Asked Questions
1) Can I use Outlook Web Access (OWA) to access my mailbox from anywhere in the world?
2) Which Internet browser should I use to access the new OWA?
4) I manage a second departmental mailbox (resource mailbox). Can I access it using OWA?
6) Have they added a spell checker to OWA 2003?
7) Is there a spam or junk mail option in OWA 2003?
8) How can I add a signature to my e-mails in OWA?
9) Can I reset my password in OWA?
10) Can I recover items I deleted from my Deleted Items folder?
11) Can I change the appearance of my OWA screen?
1) Can I use Outlook Web Access (OWA) to access my mailbox from anywhere in the world?
Yes, your Exchange mailbox (username@fairfield.edu) can be accessed from anywhere over the internet. You can use the following web addresses: www.fairfield.edu/mail or https://owa.fairfield.edu/exchange.
2) Which Internet browser should I use to access the new OWA?
In order to get all the features of the new OWA, use Internet Explorer version 5.1 or higher. You can use other Internet browsers such as Netscape, Firefox, Safari, but you will not see all the available features that you can with Internet Explorer.
3) Can I do anything in the new OWA that I can do using Outlook or Entourage from my computer in my office on campus?
OWA has many of the same features as Outlook/Entourage, but not all. Some of the things you cannot do are:
- Change the permissions properties on your folders. For example, if you decide that you want to start sharing your Calendar or Contacts with a colleague, you will need to do that in the full version of Outlook or Entourage.
- In OWA, the Journal and Notes folders are read-only. This means that you can see Journal and Note entries that were made in Outlook and Entourage, but you cannot edit them or create new Journal and Note entries in OWA.
For more specifics on which features are in each program, click on the following link to the document entitled Feature comparison between Outlook 2003 and OWA 2003 Premium and Basic.
4) I manage a second departmental mailbox (resource mailbox). Can I access it using OWA?
Yes, you can. To access a resource account using OWA, you would just add the account name to the end of the web address you enter in your browser. For example, if you manage a mailbox called helpdesk@fairfield.edu, you would access it in OWA by entering the following in your browser address box: www.fairfield.edu/mail/helpdesk. You would then enter your own username and password to access the resource mailbox.
5) My manager has shared her calendar with me so that I can see her schedule. Can I access her calendar using OWA?
Yes, you open a shared folder using OWA by adding the person's username and the folder name to the web address in your browser.
Example 1: You would open Jane Smith's calendar in OWA by entering the following in your browser's address box: www.fairfield.edu/mail/jsmith/calendar.
Example 2: You would open John Doe's Contacts folder in OWA by entering the following in your browser's address box: www.fairfield.edu/mail/jdoe/contacts.
Important Note on Sharing In OWA: Access to shared folders using OWA is read-only. Even if you have been given permission to make changes to shared folders, you will not be able to do so using OWA.
If someone has shared a mailbox folder (Calendar, Contacts, Inbox, Journal, Notes or Tasks) with you and you need to make changes to the contents of that folder, you will need to use the full version of Outlook or Entourage.
6) Have they added a spell checker to OWA 2003?
Yes, there is now a spell check option in OWA.* You can turn the option on by going to the Options folder in OWA.
* This feature is in OWA Premium only, which is available only if you use Internet Explorer 5.1 or higher running under Windows.
7) Is there a spam or junk mail option in OWA 2003?
Yes, there is now a junk mail (spam) filter option in OWA. Even though all mail is now automatically scanned for spam on the server, spam occasionally gets through. When you are using OWA, this spam will be put into the Junk E-mail folder. See the Options folder in OWA for more information.
8) How can I add a signature to my e-mails in OWA?
You can enter your desired signature to outgoing messages in OWA by clicking on Options, and then go to the Messaging Options area and click on the Edit Signature button.
9) Can I reset my password in OWA?
Yes, you can. In the Options Folder, you can click on the Change Password button which will bring you to the online password reset program in which you should be enrolled.
10) Can I recover items I deleted from my Deleted Items folder?
Yes, you can recover items that you have deleted in the past seven days. In the Options Folder, click on the View Items button to bring up the Recover Deleted Items window.
11) Can I change the appearance of my OWA screen?
Yes, you can, but only in Internet Explorer. You can show or hide the reading pane while in the Inbox. You can also go to the Options Folder and choose the Appearance drop down box to select another color for your OWA pages.
12) Can I create rules in OWA?
Yes, you can, but only in Internet Explorer. Also, some rules created in Outlook or Entourage cannot be edited in OWA or will not work in OWA as they do in Outlook or Entourage. For example, if you have a rule in Outlook that automatically moves a message to a Personal Folder on your computer in your office, that rule will not work while you are in OWA, since that Personal Folder is not available to you over the internet.
If you would like additional information on using rules in OWA, click on the Rules Folder and then click on the Help icon in OWA.