OL98: (IMO) Lightweight Directory Access Protocol Usage (180345)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Outlook 98
This article was previously published under Q180345
NOTE: These procedures only apply if you have installed Outlook with the Internet Mail Only option. To determine your installation type, click About Microsoft Outlook on the Help menu. If you have the Internet Mail Only option installed, you see "Internet Mail Only".

For information about the differences between Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Outlook Express e-mail clients, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

257824 OL2000: Differences Between Outlook and Outlook Express

SUMMARY

Microsoft Outlook includes support for the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). LDAP is a directory service implementation that allows access to user information using the X.500 directory. By implementing this protocol, searching is much faster than if using the more ponderous Directory Access Protocol (DAP).

MORE INFORMATION

Adding an LDAP Directory Service to Your Account

To add a new search directory to the list available in Find People, follow these steps:

  1. On the Tools menu, click Address Book. On the Tools menu of the Address Book dialog click Accounts.
  2. Click Add.
  3. Enter the server name of the directory service you want to configure. For example the Four11 service directory server name is ldap.four11.com.
  4. If the directory service you are adding requires a password, click "My LDAP Server requires me to log on."
  5. Click Next.
  6. If you want to have this directory service check e-mail addresses, click Yes. Otherwise click Next.

    NOTE: Using LDAP servers to check e-mail addresses will significantly degrade the speed of mail transfer.
  7. Enter a friendly name for the service you are adding.
  8. Click Next and then click Finish. The new directory service will be added.

Using LDAP to Find Someone on the Internet

LDAP searches are enabled through the Address Book in Outlook. You can search using the Contacts database in Outlook or choose from Internet directory search services. These services include Four11, Bigfoot, InfoSpace, InfoSpace Business, Switchboard and WhoWhere. Each of these services have World Wide Web sites that you can reach in the Find People dialog by clicking Web Site.

  1. On the Tools menu, click Address Book.
  2. On the File menu click Find
  3. In the Look In list, click the directory service you want to use for your search.

    NOTE: Outlook defaults the selected search form to the Contacts database from your Address Book. This form contains five fields, Name, E-mail, Address, Phone and Other. The predefined directory services forms contain only Name and E-mail fields.
  4. Click Find on the Address Book toolbar. You should see a form containing fields for entering search criteria and a list containing the predefined services.
  5. Enter the criteria for your search and click Find Now after selecting the search method or service you want to use.

LDAP Search Configuration Tips

If you are experiencing slow response from a directory server or the server does not respond, try some of the following settings to optimize the LDAP searches:

  1. On the Tools menu, click Accounts.
  2. Select a service to optimize, and click Properties.
  3. Click the Advanced tab.
  4. Move the slider to the right to increase the time the Address Book takes to search the directory service. The default setting is 1 minute.
  5. If a starting point or root is provided by the directory service provider, enter this information in the Search base field.
  6. Click "Use simple search filter." Using a simplified search query may produce better search results.
NOTE: The default port for LDAP service is set at 389. If you are using Outlook 98 in a local area network (LAN) environment, check with your network administrator to assure that proxy or firewall configurations don't interfere with this setting.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:5/25/2001
Keywords:kbhowto KB180345
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