OL2002: The "Forms" Design Menu Commands Are Unavailable (284108)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Outlook 2002
This article was previously published under Q284108

SYMPTOMS

When you open a mail message and click the Tools menu to gain access to the Forms submenu, the Forms submenu may be unavailable.

CAUSE

This behavior can occur if you are using Microsoft Word as your e-mail editor.

WORKAROUND

To work around this behavior, use one of the following methods:
  • Use the main Outlook window:

    1. In the main Outlook window, click Tools, point to Forms, and then click Design a Form.
    2. Select Message as the type of form to design, and then click Open.
    This opens a form in the default mail format, but does not use Word as the editor. -or-

  • Temporarily disable Word as your e-mail editor:
    1. Temporarily disable Word as your e-mail editor, and then open a new mail message.
    2. Enter design mode, and then set Word as your e-mail editor again.

MORE INFORMATION

This behavior is an inherent limitation of using Word as your e-mail editor in Microsoft Office XP.

If you want to force the user of the form to use Word as the e-mail editor:
  1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Mail Format tab.
  2. Click to clear the Use Microsoft Word to edit e-mail messages check box.
  3. Click Rich Text as the message format, and then click OK.
  4. Open a new mail message, which is in rich text format.
  5. In the mail message, click the Tools menu, point to Forms, and then click Design This Form.
  6. On the Properties page of the form, click to select the Always use Microsoft Word as the e-mail editor check box. If you do not select Rich Text as the message format in step 3, the option to use Word as the e-mail editor is not available in form design mode.
NOTE: The way that Outlook and Word interact when you use Word as the e-mail editor has evolved since Microsoft Outlook 97 was released. Two major architectures are related to the use of Word as the e-mail editor, but be aware that enabling the option to use Word as the e-mail editor on the Properties page of the form always uses the original architecture. There are no known functionality differences, but this architecture provides a different user interface than the interface that Office XP users are familiar with:
  • Outlook 97 and Microsoft Outlook 98. The first architecture is used by Outlook 97 and Outlook 98 in all scenarios. You can identify mail messages that use Word as the e-mail editor by the Outlook icon on the Microsoft Windows taskbar.
  • Microsoft Outlook 2000. The second architecture debuted in Microsoft Office 2000 and provides the E-mail button on the standard toolbar of other Office programs. If you click the E-mail button in one of the other Office programs, including Word, this new user interface and "envelope" architecture is used and the icon on the Windows taskbar is the icon of the other Office program. If you use Outlook to open an e-mail message when you are using Word as the e-mail editor, the older architecture is still used and the icon on the Windows taskbar is an Outlook icon.
  • Outlook 2002. The later user interface and architecture is used in all scenarios, except the scenario in which you enable the option to use Word as the e-mail editor on the Properties page of a custom form.

REFERENCES

For additional information about available resources and answersto commonly asked questions about Microsoft Outlook solutions, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

287530 OL2002: Questions About Custom Forms and Outlook Solutions

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:2/27/2004
Keywords:kbprb KB284108
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