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Any connectors for Exchange/MAPI for TB?
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Andrew DeFaria
Oct 4, 2007, 10:06:49 PM10/4/07
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I hate Outlook and I love TB and have been using it for a long time.
I'm a contractor so often I need to interface with Exchange at work.
Now normally the Exchange admins also run IMAP services and TB and I
are happy. But at my current client they are gonna shutdown the IMAP
services under the guise that they are a security risk or some such. I
really, really don't want to be forced to use Outlook.
Then it occurred to me: Why can't Thunderbird talk to an Exchange server using MAPI directly? I mean just to pick up the mail would be enough for me but I would think that if TB could be talk about MAPI for message retrieval, it could also participate in the other things that Exchange offers to Outlook and those corporate clients - contacts and calendaring. Now I know I can (and have!) configured LDAP directory to talk to the "corporate addressbook" and I am even hosting my own WebDAV. But is seems to me if TB could talk to Exchange via MAPI, perhaps through some add on, then TB can be as enabled as Outlook - plugged in as it were. In my travels I often hear of people who might be interested in trying TB but figure that it can't talk to the corporate Exchange servers so they give up.
Is there any connectors for TB to talk to Exchange/MAPI?
Then it occurred to me: Why can't Thunderbird talk to an Exchange server using MAPI directly? I mean just to pick up the mail would be enough for me but I would think that if TB could be talk about MAPI for message retrieval, it could also participate in the other things that Exchange offers to Outlook and those corporate clients - contacts and calendaring. Now I know I can (and have!) configured LDAP directory to talk to the "corporate addressbook" and I am even hosting my own WebDAV. But is seems to me if TB could talk to Exchange via MAPI, perhaps through some add on, then TB can be as enabled as Outlook - plugged in as it were. In my travels I often hear of people who might be interested in trying TB but figure that it can't talk to the corporate Exchange servers so they give up.
Is there any connectors for TB to talk to Exchange/MAPI?
Andrew DeFaria
Oct 7, 2007, 10:39:53 PM10/7/07
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Nir
Oct 8, 2007, 8:23:30 AM10/8/07
to
Andrew DeFaria wrote:
> I hate Outlook and I love TB and have been using it for a long time.
> I'm a contractor so often I need to interface with Exchange at work.
> Now normally the Exchange admins also run IMAP services and TB and I
> are happy. But at my current client they are gonna shutdown the IMAP
> services under the guise that they are a security risk or some such.
> I really, really don't want to be forced to use Outlook.
>
> Then it occurred to me: Why can't Thunderbird talk to an Exchange
> server using MAPI directly? I mean just to pick up the mail would be
> enough for me but I would think that if TB could be talk about MAPI
> for message retrieval, it could also participate in the other things
> that Exchange offers to Outlook and those corporate clients -
> contacts and calendaring. Now I know I can (and have!) configured
> LDAP directory to talk to the "corporate addressbook" and I am even
> hosting my own WebDAV. But is seems to me if TB could talk to
> Exchange via MAPI, perhaps through some add on,
> I hate Outlook and I love TB and have been using it for a long time.
> I'm a contractor so often I need to interface with Exchange at work.
> Now normally the Exchange admins also run IMAP services and TB and I
> are happy. But at my current client they are gonna shutdown the IMAP
> services under the guise that they are a security risk or some such.
> I really, really don't want to be forced to use Outlook.
>
> Then it occurred to me: Why can't Thunderbird talk to an Exchange
> server using MAPI directly? I mean just to pick up the mail would be
> enough for me but I would think that if TB could be talk about MAPI
> for message retrieval, it could also participate in the other things
> that Exchange offers to Outlook and those corporate clients -
> contacts and calendaring. Now I know I can (and have!) configured
> LDAP directory to talk to the "corporate addressbook" and I am even
> hosting my own WebDAV. But is seems to me if TB could talk to
> Exchange via MAPI, perhaps through some add on,
You may get some information here "http://kb.mozillazine.org/Owa".
Although I haven't tried but last one, 'POP2OWA', looks good to me .
Andrew DeFaria
Oct 8, 2007, 11:28:45 AM10/8/07
to
Thanks but I'm really not looking for just pop access. Pop only gives
me access to my Inbox. But I have many folders on the server. How then
would I access them? However I guess at least Inbox access would be
better than nothing.
What I don't understand is why doesn't TB provide a direct access connection to undoubtedly the most popular and used protocol - MAPI?!? The Lightening team is struggling to provide Outlook like calendaring and parsing emails attempting to recognize invitations to meetings. The addressbook sucks as far as for storage format and integration with corporate addressbooks and the like. Sure you can get an LDAP directory to work if you bug the company enough and manage to get to an LDAP person who is knowledgeable enough and kind enough to give you the LDAP keys. But often the response is "Just use Outlook like everybody else!".
I view this topic as pretty important. I mean why can't TB fit in as seamlessly as possible in the "normal" corporate environment? Why not have a MAPI connector built into TB by default? Why not have API to contact and calendaring data that is already provided at the corporate level? Why shouldn't TB be coded such that it's an easy drop in replacement for Outlook?
My only guesses are that making such a connector is a) hard, b) has some sort of proprietary or licensing restrictions or c) just considered the wrong way to proceed and so the coders will not implement it out of spite. And I hope it's not the latter reason.
I thought that bringing up this topic might engender discussion about these issues but I guess not.
What I don't understand is why doesn't TB provide a direct access connection to undoubtedly the most popular and used protocol - MAPI?!? The Lightening team is struggling to provide Outlook like calendaring and parsing emails attempting to recognize invitations to meetings. The addressbook sucks as far as for storage format and integration with corporate addressbooks and the like. Sure you can get an LDAP directory to work if you bug the company enough and manage to get to an LDAP person who is knowledgeable enough and kind enough to give you the LDAP keys. But often the response is "Just use Outlook like everybody else!".
I view this topic as pretty important. I mean why can't TB fit in as seamlessly as possible in the "normal" corporate environment? Why not have a MAPI connector built into TB by default? Why not have API to contact and calendaring data that is already provided at the corporate level? Why shouldn't TB be coded such that it's an easy drop in replacement for Outlook?
My only guesses are that making such a connector is a) hard, b) has some sort of proprietary or licensing restrictions or c) just considered the wrong way to proceed and so the coders will not implement it out of spite. And I hope it's not the latter reason.
I thought that bringing up this topic might engender discussion about these issues but I guess not.
Jay Garcia
Oct 8, 2007, 11:37:43 AM10/8/07
to
On 08.10.2007 10:28, Andrew DeFaria wrote:
--- Original Message ---
> What I don't understand is why doesn't TB provide a direct access
> connection to undoubtedly the most popular and used protocol - MAPI?!?
It does, but SimpleMAPI only just by making TB the default mail app.
ExtendedMAPI, no.
For more: http://kb.mozillazine.org/MAPI_Support
--
Jay Garcia - Staff Member
Netscape Communications Division of AOL
UFAQ - http://www.UFAQ.org
Andrew DeFaria
Oct 8, 2007, 11:52:52 AM10/8/07
to
Jay Garcia wrote:
On 08.10.2007 10:28, Andrew DeFaria wrote:
What I don't understand is why doesn't TB provide a direct access connection to undoubtedly the most popular and used protocol - MAPI?!?It does, but SimpleMAPI only just by making TB the default mail app. ExtendedMAPI, no.
For more: http://kb.mozillazine.org/MAPI_Support
Actually I was just at that page. AFAICT this will not work at all.
"SimpleMAPI" is simply a way to send email using an Exchange
server. From the page you quoted:
Now, as I said, if you would have bothered to read Jay, was that IMAP (and POP) was being turned off in the Exchange server. As such how can I use TB to read email? The answer is I can't. Pointing out that TB has decided to ignore 1/2 of the email equation (and 100% of the other groupware functionality) does nobody any good. The question still remains as to why TB drops the ball WRT providing full MAPI support opting instead to provide send only support and why they don't provide full MAPI support the other functionality. IOW exactly the points I brought up!
Now the page also mentions: "Thunderbird doesn't support that since it can't make native Exchange calls" but fails to indicate why it can't make native Exchange calls? Makes no sense. It's just an API. Outlook makes native Exchange calls? So is it that it's too hard or is it that it can't without incurring licensing restrictions?
SimpleMAPI is a subset thats used by applications to call the default email client to send a message...Additionally "ExtendedMAPI" allows one to read email from an Exchange server among other things. Again from the page:
ExtendedMAPI uses MAPI as a actual messaging engine... Thunderbird don't support Extended MAPI, which is why you can only use them with a Microsoft Exchange Server if the admin also installs POP/IMAP/SMTP mail servers on that server.Not said, but implied, is that you cannot use them with an Exchange Server to read email unless they admin installs POP/IMAP/SMTP.
Now, as I said, if you would have bothered to read Jay, was that IMAP (and POP) was being turned off in the Exchange server. As such how can I use TB to read email? The answer is I can't. Pointing out that TB has decided to ignore 1/2 of the email equation (and 100% of the other groupware functionality) does nobody any good. The question still remains as to why TB drops the ball WRT providing full MAPI support opting instead to provide send only support and why they don't provide full MAPI support the other functionality. IOW exactly the points I brought up!
Now the page also mentions: "Thunderbird doesn't support that since it can't make native Exchange calls" but fails to indicate why it can't make native Exchange calls? Makes no sense. It's just an API. Outlook makes native Exchange calls? So is it that it's too hard or is it that it can't without incurring licensing restrictions?
Jay Garcia
Oct 8, 2007, 12:23:06 PM10/8/07
to
On 08.10.2007 10:52, Andrew DeFaria wrote:
--- Original Message ---
> Now, as I said, if you would have bothered to read Jay, was that IMAP
I did 'bother' to read and I also bothered to send you the link for your
own reading and assessment. Thought I was being helpful, guess not. No
need to reply, thank you.
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