Unified Messaging Service
Change in Unified Messaging Service (UMS) for Older Entourage Clients
Starting Thursday night, October 15, Entourage clients older than Entourage 2008 v12.1.5 will be
denied access to the UMS server. This is being done in an attempt to stop the corruption of the
UMS Calendar database that leads to duplicate meetings, meetings that cannot be canceled, meetings
that cannot be updated, etc.
Because it is access to the server– not access to the client – that is being denied, we cannot post
a "denial of access" notice to users when they sign on with the older Entourage clients. If access
has been denied, you will notice that outgoing email remains in the local Outbox and no new email
or calendar invitations arrive in the Inbox.
Users who cannot access UMS with older versions of Entourage can access their UMS account with Webmail,
a Blackberry or an iPhone. Users of subscribed systems (LMC or OAO-tagged) can download the current
version of Office 2008 from the JPL IT Software Catalog;
subscribed users can also order a home-use copy of Office 2008 from the Microsoft
Enterprise Software Catalog.
Once this denial has been implemented and duplicate meetings caused by older versions of Entourage
are no longer being created, we will need to begin the process of cleaning up the corruption that
already exists – especially in recurring meetings. To do this, please follow the instructions below
after October 15:
How to Cancel and Recreate Corrupted Recurring or Non-recurring Meetings
- Process for Cancelling and/or Recreating Meetings from either Entourage or Outlook
If a recurring or non-recurring meeting has been corrupted, please follow these steps to cancel, and/or recreate the meeting, but
do so after October 15:
- Right click on Meeting (Ctrl+Click, Mac); choose Reply to All
- Send email to all meeting participants letting them know the meeting will be canceled and recreated.
They may have to manually remove the meeting(s) from their calendars. Also, let them know the new
meeting subject, which we suggest should be the old subject plus the current date
- Re-propose the meeting(s) with the new subject (needed to differentiate from the original meeting)
- Cancel the meeting(s)
- Manually remove any of the old meetings that remain
How to Archive Calendar Items for Future Reference
- Instructions for Entourage 2008 and Outlook 2007
Because of the way recurring meetings are created and maintained in UMS, if changes are made to one or more
of the meetings - a different day, a different time, additional invitees, an attached agenda, even a new end
date for the recurring meeting(s) - the past history is often overwritten and, therefore, lost. UMS,
unlike Meeting Maker, does not support the concept of a saved meeting history.
Therefore, if a recurring meeting has to be cancelled and/or recreated for any reason and it is important
to save that recurring history, the series can be exported into an Excel file (Outlook) or copied
to another calendar folder (Entourage) as follows.
Calendar archive process for Entourage 2008:
- Use the Local Calendar Folder under "On My Computer" or create a new Calendar Folder:
- Click on the JPL Mail folder to be sure it is at the top level of the folder hierarchy
- Click on File >> New Folder
- For type of folder, choose Calendar
- Give the folder an appropriate name such as "Calendar History"
- Click on the meeting you wish to copy/save, hold down the Option key, and drag the meeting to the new folder
- When asked if you wish to Copy this Series or Copy this One, choose the option you prefer
Calendar archive process for Outlook 2007:
- Export the series into an Excel file:
- Access your calendar in Outlook. Click on File >> Import and Export...
- Choose Export to a File and click Next
- Choose the file type Microsoft Excel 97-2003 and click Next
- Be sure that Calendar is highlighted in the hierarchy when you "Select folder to export from" and then click Next
- Click Finish
- Set the date range for items to be exported
- Click OK
Common Items
- UMS Overview (PDF) – For the New UMS User
- Download Office 2007/2008 – Essential for best UMS performance
- How to Configure Your UMS Client – Outlook or Entourage
- Manage UMS Storage – Basic guidelines and system-imposed limitations
Users should limit the number of messages in the primary email folders (Inbox, Deleted Items, Sent, Draft, Junk) to 3,500 or fewer.
In order to enable email storage best practices, we will begin a process of purging all email messages and
attachments in the Deleted Items Folders older than 30 days. This will begin the evening of May 20, 2009.
If you rely on email remaining in that folder “just in case," you may want to move some messages to an
alternative personal folder. Instructions for creating new folders and for creating Rules that may be used
to automatically move messages to those folders will be posted on this page in the near future. Note:
Calendar items are purged from the Deleted Items folder after 90 days.
- Entourage Unsupported Features – A list of features not supported in Entourage
- Create a Rule to Move Meeting-related Messages to Another Folder
– A popular "How-to"
