OL98: Restoring an Outlook Form from a Cached Copy (180571)

MORE INFORMATION

Method 1

1. Locate and copy the "*.###" file (where ### represents a number) from another computer to yours, placing the copy in the correct location. The default directory is

   c:\Windows\Forms\

2. Change the file extension to .OFT.
3. Double-click the file.

For example, copy Testform.000 to your computer and rename it Testform.oft. Double-click the OFT file.

Method 2

Using this method, recovery of a "lost" Outlook form has four steps.

• Copy a cached TMP file from another user's computer.
• Create and publish a temporary form of the same type to your computer.
• Rename the copied form to the same name as the new temporary form and replace the temporary form with the copied one.
• Open the form and publish it to the correct location.

Outlook gives users an option to make a composed message an Outlook form. Outlook forms are often published to a Forms Registry or a Public folder, to allow access to the form by other users. In rare cases, if the form is lost and there is no backup of the form, the only course of action is to recreate the form manually and re-publish it.

If the Outlook form was accessed by users, there is a chance that a cached copy of the form is still on a user's computer. With a cached copy of the form, you can retrieve the form and re-publish it to the Forms Registry or the Public Folder.

Copy a Cached TMP File

In this example the form to be recovered will be a message form titled "Test Form"

1. On another user's computer, open the folder

   <WinDir>\Forms\Testform.000
   
   where <WinDir> represents the folder where Windows was installed

   and copy the file to your desktop. There should only be one form in the folder.

Create a Temporary Form of the Same Type

1. Start Outlook.
2. Compose a new item of the same type the missing one. For our example we will use a Mail Message.
3. On the Tools menu, point to Forms and click Design This Form.
4. On the form Tools menu, Point to Forms, and click Publish Form As.
5. In the Display Name, type the name of the form to be recovered. In our example you would type, Test Form.
6. In Look In click to selelct the folder where the form is to be published, the Inbox for example.
7. Click Publish to publish the form to the selected folder. Close the form you just created. When prompted to save the form, click No.
8. On the View menu, click Folder List.
9. In the Folder list, click to select the folder you published the form to.
10. On the Actions menu, click New Test Form. Close the form and then on the File menu, click "Exit and Log Off."

Rename the Copied Form to the Same Name as the New Form

1. Click Start, point to Programs and click Windows Explorer.
2. Double-click your Windows folder to open it. If you installed Windows to another folder, open that folder.
3. Double-click the Forms folder and then the Testform.000 folder. Note the name of the file in this folder and then delete the file.
   
   NOTE: The folder may have a name of TestForm.001.
4. Right-click the file that you copied to your desktop and click Rename on the shortcut menu. Type the name you noted in step 3 and press ENTER.
5. Drag the newly renamed file into the Testform.000 folder.
6. Close all open windows.

Open the Form and Publish to the Correct Location

1. Start Outlook.
2. On the View menu, click Folder List.
3. Click to select the folder that you published the form to.
4. On the Actions menu, click New Test Form. The form will open and will be cached on your computer. You should now see the "lost" Outlook form.
5. On the Tools menu, point to Forms, and click Publish Form As.
6. In the Look In box, click to select the folder where you will publish the form. Click OK.
7. Type the display name and click Publish to publish the form to the selected folder. Close the untitled form we just created. When prompted to save the form click No.

NOTE: These steps only work with forms created in Outlook. These steps will not work with forms created with Microsoft Exchange E-Form Developer, or other E-form development methods.

Outlook forms are cached as TMP files found in the \Windows\Forms folder. The form is located in a subfolder with a name similar to the forms name. Typically the folder is the form name abbreviated to 8 characters and normally ending in .000.

Steps to Reproduce Problem

1. Start Outlook and compose a new message.
2. On the Tools menu, point to forms and click Design This Form.
3. Click the P.2 tab and add controls from the control toolbox to give your message an e-form look.
4. On the Tools menu, point to forms and click Publish Form As. In the Look In box click to select the folder to publish. Type a Display name, and then click Publish.
5. Close the message without saving it.
6. In the folder list click to select the folder that you published the form to.
7. On the Actions menu, click to select <name of your form>.
8. Close the form after it opened without saving it.
9. Delete the folder the form was published to.

RESULT: The only copy of the form is the one cached to your hard drive.