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MS Office Forum / Outlook / General MS Outlook Questions / September 2007Office Complaint
I have complained recently about Outlook's tendency to corrupt its own navigation pane, usually resulting in the loss of the many folder shortcuts I've arranged for my convenience and productivity. I think I know what part of the problem is and I wonder what and when Microsoft will do something about it. When I shut down Outlook 2007 from either the file/exit menu or by clicking the red "X" in Vista, the program appears to shut down. But it usually remains active indefinitely as indicated by iits failure to disappear from the Windows Task Manager. What this suggests is that when Windows is shut down it forces an abnormal closure of the program as Windows closes. And we all know that abnormal shutdowns tend to go against the grain of the normal operation of many programs. So my question is this: HOW is it possible that a company with the brains and power of Microsoft can continue to market a program over a large number of years (I had the same problem with Outlook 2003) without even being able to design into the program an ability to shut down correctly? As you can see this really gets my goat. I use Outlook because it's there and I dont' like to change platforms after years of keeping my data stored in one program. But I find this kind of pre-school programming incompetency to be both laughable and extroardinarily annoying? Can anyone from Microsoft respond to this matter? Elliot Berlin This is a public forum where Microsoft employees rarely tread. In any event, have you ruled out the possibility that you have a 3rd party program installed that is interfering with Outlook's ability to close properly? These programs can range anywhere from FAX/PDA/Instant Messaging, Acrobat, Security software (antivirus/antispam), all the way to something that offers RSS/Newsgroups support in Outlook. >I have complained recently about Outlook's tendency to corrupt its own > navigation pane, usually resulting in the loss of the many folder [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] > > Elliot Berlin Thanks for your input. Do you mean that something like Palm Hotsync would interfere with the ability to shut the program down? An AntiVirus program might do this, which is something we're all told we should NEVER turn off? OTOH, if there are that many programs that can interfere with something as simple (it seems to me) as the ability of a major program to shut down (a program designed by the creators of the *OS* for heaven's sake) then it appears all is lost. How can I possibly hope to keep all the programs harmonized when I'm not a programmer and just want the program to work well? The programs you say would interfere are mostly background programs that don't even have a convenient way to shut them down? How could I ever learn/remember the ideal order in which to laboriously shut down all these programs? Or, why can't Microsoft craft a simple Shortcuts backup utility so if they get lost then can be quickly restored? Can't they program into Outlook the ability to break the links to other programs during shutdown? And so on and so forth. What you've written gives me a shred of insight into the cause of the problem, but it gives me no additional hope that the situation will be resolved in a way that is in any way controllable or convenient. Elliot Berlin > This is a public forum where Microsoft employees rarely tread. In any > event, have you ruled out the possibility that you have a 3rd party program [quoted text clipped - 40 lines] > > > > Elliot Berlin > Thanks for your input. Do you mean that something like Palm Hotsync > would interfere with the ability to shut the program down? Beyond a doubt, if you have a PDA cradled and synching with Outlook, that that sync program will keep Outlook open. > An AntiVirus program might do this, which is something we're all told we > should NEVER turn off? I consider it rare that an AV program would do this. WIndows Desktop Search, however (since you mention Vista), is also a likely culprit. > OTOH, if there are that many programs that can > interfere with something as simple (it seems to me) as the ability of > a major program to shut down (a program designed by the creators of > the *OS* for heaven's sake) then it appears all is lost. It's difficult to imagine how Microsoft can control the programming abilities of all the non-Microsoft programmers who write applications for Windows.  SignatureBrian Tillman [MVP-Outlook] This message doesn't seem to have taken the first time. If it's a duplicate I'm sorry. 1.) I have never, so far as I know, tried to shut down my computer when it's attached to my PDA and a sync program. 2.) I'm glad to hear that an AV program would probably not interfere. 3.) I rarely use Windows Desktop Search, preferring Google Desktop. How in "heck" does a search program that appears to go off immediately after delivering a result interfere with the internal workings of Outlook, so that it might corrupt customization files? If it does that it should never have been implemented in the first place. 4.) If Microsoft lacks the brains or resolve to set guidelines so that third party programs don't interfere with its signature programs then they need to go back to the drawing board and think about the users not just the programs. With $14billion in annual profits I think Microsoft could find a way to fund the R&D to develop a program that shuts down without corrupting its own files. Can you tell me you don't agree with that? > > Thanks for your input. Do you mean that something like Palm Hotsync > > would interfere with the ability to shut the program down? [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > abilities of all the non-Microsoft programmers who write applications for > Windows. > 3.) I rarely use Windows Desktop Search, preferring Google Desktop. Google Desktop seach is one of the major causes of what you see, I believe. > How in "heck" does a search program that appears to go off > immediately after delivering a result interfere with the internal > workings of Outlook, so that it might corrupt customization files? > If it does that it should never have been implemented in the first > place. You'll have to ask Google that. > 4.) If Microsoft lacks the brains or resolve to set guidelines so > that third party programs don't interfere with its signature programs > then they need to go back to the drawing board and think about the > users not just the programs. They can set all the guidelines they wish, but they are still "guidelines" and certainly not enforceable. > With $14billion in annual profits I > think Microsoft could find a way to fund the R&D to develop a program > that shuts down without corrupting its own files. Can you tell me > you don't agree with that? Windows search doesn't interfere with Outlook, in my experience. It has never done so for me. SignatureBrian Tillman [MVP-Outlook] |
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