Forcing free/busy update programmatically...

[Guest]

Does anyone know if there's a way to programmatically update the the
free/busy information from the Outlook client?

You can set the publishing intervalls in the client from 1 minute and up,
but I want to update the information when the appointment is added to users
calendar to avoid unnecessary network traffic...

 

[Ken Slovak]

AddressEntry.UpdateFreeBusy is a hidden method you can call to do that.

 

[Guest]

Splendid, I'll try that. BTW where do you learn about these hidden methods
and properties, and more importantly why are they hidden. Are they unstable
or something?

 

[Ken Slovak]

Some are hidden because they are trying to discourage their use, like the
MAPIFolder.WebViewAllowNavigation. Others I have no idea why they're hidden.
I just use them

To see all the hidden methods and properties open the Object Browser
(easiest way is to open the Outlook VBA project) and right-click in the area
where the properties, methods and events are shown and then select Show
Hidden Members in the context menu. Lot's of interesting things there
although some aren't really very usable in VB/VBA type coding (like the
MAPIOBJECT properties).

 

[Guest]

Amazing, I,ve never even considered using that command it even though I've
probably seen it in an object browser 1000's of times...

I guess the only way of knowing what these things do is to try them out or
google them to see if someone has any experience using them. You won't find
them in MSDN, will you?

 

[Ken Slovak]

Hidden commands won't be documented in MSDN. However, what's hidden in one
version of Outlook might not be hidden in others. For example I mentioned
WebViewAllowNavigation. That's not hidden in Outlook 2002 or 2000.
RemoveStore is hidden in Outlook 2000 and not in Outlook 2003.