Microsoft KB Archive/912264

Knowledge Base

You cannot open a Windows SharePoint Services list or a Windows SharePoint Services document library from a sharing invitation that you receive from another Outlook user

Article ID: 912264

Article Last Modified on 4/25/2007

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APPLIES TO

• Microsoft Office Outlook 2007
• Microsoft Office Outlook 2003
• Microsoft Outlook 2002 Standard Edition
• Microsoft Outlook 2000 Standard Edition, when used with:
  • Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
  • Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services

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SYMPTOMS

Consider the following scenario. You use Microsoft Outlook with a Microsoft Exchange Server account. A user who also uses Outlook with an Exchange Server account shares a Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services list or a Windows SharePoint Services document library to you. The user sends you a sharing invitation that contains a message that resembles the following:

UserName (UserName@DomainName.com) has invited you to connect the UserName - ListNameOrDocumentLibraryName to Outlook.

This SharePoint List is supported on any computer with a compatible program, such as Microsoft Office Outlook 2007. To connect to this SharePoint List, copy and paste the following Web address into your Web browser:

WebAddressOfSharePointList

Alternatively, you can view this content on the Web at:

URLOfSharePointList

For instructions on how to connect SharePoint Lists to Outlook, copy and paste the following Web address into your Web browser:

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=57560

When you view the sharing invitation, you cannot use the links in the sharing invitation to open the SharePoint list or document library that the user shared to you.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs if the following conditions are true:

• The sender of the sharing invitation is running Microsoft Office Outlook 2007.
• The recipient of the sharing invitation is running a version of Outlook that is earlier than Outlook 2007.

WORKAROUND

Important This workaround applies only to Microsoft Office Outlook 2003. You cannot add SharePoint lists to a profile in versions of Outlook that are earlier than Outlook 2003.

To work around this behavior, add the SharePoint list to your profile in Outlook 2003. Whether you can add a SharePoint list to your profile depends on the type of SharePoint list. Outlook 2003 supports the following SharePoint lists:

• The Calendar list in Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
• The Events list in Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 2.0
• The Contacts list in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and in Windows SharePoint Services 2.0

To add a SharePoint list to your profile in Outlook 2003, follow these steps:

1. Copy the URL of the SharePoint list in the sharing invitation. The URL of the SharePoint list appears in the following section of the sharing invitation:

   Alternatively, you can view this content on the Web at:

   URLOfSharePointList

2. Paste the URL to a Web browser.
3. Perform one of the following actions, depending on the version of Windows SharePoint Services that the server is running:
   • If the server is running Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, click Actions, and then click Connect to Outlook.
   • If the server is running Windows SharePoint Services 2.0, click Link to Outlook.
4. When you are prompted to add the SharePoint list to Outlook, click Yes.
   
   The SharePoint list appears in the navigation pane in Outlook 2003.

MORE INFORMATION

Sharing messages include sharing invitations and sharing requests. They are a new feature in Outlook 2007 that makes it easy to share Outlook folders to other Exchange Server users.

The process is seamless when both the owner of the shared folder and the recipient of the sharing message use Outlook 2007. Outlook 2007 includes a unique user interface that can display sharing messages. Earlier versions of Outlook do not have this capability. Therefore, sharing messages appear as typical e-mail messages in earlier versions of Outlook.

The following steps show you how to share a Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Calendar list to another Outlook 2007 user and how to add the Calendar list to an Outlook profile.

1. As the owner of the shared list, share the Calendar list in Outlook 2007. To do this, follow these steps.
   1. In the navigation pane, click Folder List.
   2. Under SharePoint Lists, right-click the Calendar list that you want to share, and then click Share ListName.
   3. Type the name of the recipient. The recipient is the user to whom you want to share the Calendar list.
   4. Click Send.
2. As the recipient of the sharing invitation, open the shared Calendar list. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. Open the sharing invitation.
   2. On the Share tab, click Connect to this Calendar.
      
      The Calendar list opens. In the navigation pane, the Calendar list is under Other Calendars.

Keywords: kbcontacts kbemail kbcalendar kbexpertisebeginner kbprod2web kbtshoot kbprb KB912264

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