Definitions

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Folder synchronization allows you to synchronize your Outlook Personal folders data between several computers, e.g. between your work computer and your home PC. You must log on to OutShare using the same user account on different computers, provided that 4Team Outshare is installed on each of these PCs. When your folder data is synchronized, items in this folder on every computer, where Synchronizer is installed and your OutShare login is the same, are updated according to changes made to the folder on all the other computers, so finally the folder is updated with all the latest changes made on every computer.

The synchronization process ensures that all the user’s Outlook data is up-to-date on all of the computers where 4Team OutShare is installed and the user's OutShare login is the same. During the synchronization process Synchronizer sends all changes made in your Outlook on your current computer to the server, and receives all changes made by this user in his Outlook folders on other computers as well as changes made by other users in OutShare public and shared folders.

Synchronization types:

Synchronization type defines when the synchronization process is performed on your computer:

• Immediate synchronization – all changes made by the user in his Outlook are sent to the server immediately. Synchronizer will check if any changes have been made on the server every five seconds.

Note: If you select this type of synchronization, the manual synchronization request will become unavailable.

• Periodic synchronization – all changes made in Outlook and on the server are processed regularly according to the time interval set.

• Synchronization upon user request – all changes in Outlook and on the server are processed only when the user requests it manually.

Duplicates and conflicts:

• Duplicates: A situation may occur during the first folder synchronization when identical Microsoft Outlook items are found on different PCs. Such items are called duplicates.

• Conflicts: It can also happen that the same synchronized Outlook item is modified on different PCs. In this case, a conflict between its versions is caused during synchronization process, therefore these versions are called conflicts.

Duplicates and conflicts are identified during the synchronization process, and two identical items are discovered - one of them in local database, another on the server.

Folder sharing: You can share your folders with other users, who have 4Team OutShare installed on their PCs. This means that the shared folder will be common to all the users who have been given access to it, and they will be able to perform actions on its content according to permissions granted to them by the owner of the folder. Sharing is impossible without synchronization, as only synchronized items are stored on the server and are available to other users.

Service Account is a space on the server where the personal data of each user, created within this Account, and public folders data, common to all users, is stored.

The size of the particular Service Account and number of its active users are limited by the type and number of purchased licenses. Each Service Account has a unique name.

Department: In order to create a convenient structure for the Service Account, the Service Account administrator can create Departments, which can correspond to organizational structures.

Departments, in turn, may have their own Departments. Every user from the Service Account the Department belongs to can be assigned to one or more Departments.

User group: Every user belongs to one or more user groups within his Service Account. A user group classifies users in a particular way and enables the administrator to easily manage user rights.

By default,  two user groups are always created within each Service Account and Department:

• Group Users – this group comprises all users belonging to the particular Service Account. If a user is removed from this user group, he is also removed from the Service Account.

• Group Administrators – users belonging to this group can administrate other users' details and Service Account or Department(s) they belong to. Additionally, they can administrate public folders within their Service Account according to permissions they have been given.  

There are two types of administrators within the Service Account: Service Account administrators and Department administrators. The former can manage all Service Account, while the latter can manage only the structure of the specific Department(s) within the Service Account by adding or removing users in this Department.

Two user types exist:

• OutShare user – these users can synchronize and share their Outlook data, use public folders and access their synchronized data on the Web using the OutShare Web Access Engine.

• Administrator – these OutShare users can administrate other users' details and the Service Account or structure of the Department(s) they belong to. Additionally, they can administrate public folders within their Service Account.

Types of administrators:

• Service Account administrator - these users can administrate the Service Account they belong to and users' details within this Service Account. Additionally, they can administrate public folders within their Service Account.

• Department administrator - these users can create the structure of the Department(s) they belong to by adding or removing users in this Department. Additionally, they can administrate public folders within their Service Account according to permissions they have been given.

OutShare Web Access Engine is a component of OutShare solution which allows you to view your synchronized Outlook folders, folders you share with other users and all public folders on the Web the same way you do in Outlook. In order to use the Web Access Engine, you should have a Web Access Engine license.

Web Access link is an OutShare feature which enables OutShare user to give access to his synchronized Outlook  folder/item on the Web to any person, no matter whether this person is an OutShare user or not. When you give Web Access to your Outlook folder/item, a unique Web Access link is generated for each of them. By clicking on this link, any person can be redirected to your Outlook data displayed on the OutShare Web Access Engine.

OutShare folders hierarchy:

• Public folders are folders created within the particular Service Account. They are common to all users of this Service Account and can be used by them according to granted permissions. Public folders are updated during the process of synchronization. All public folders are accessible from your Outlook Navigation Pane.

• Shared folders are Outlook personal folders for which the owner of the folders grants access to other OutShare users. These folders can be commonly used by all users who share them according to given permissions. All shared folders are accessible from your Outlook Navigation Pane.

Note: Please note that OutShare folders are stored in a separate .pst file on your PC, on which 4Team OutShare is installed. For more information about .pst files, please refer to Microsoft Outlook Help.

Connection modes and states:

Enabled/Disabled state defines whether Synchronizer is active and tracks all changes made in Outlook and to OutShare folders:

• If Synchronizer is enabled, it is active and all actions performed in your Outlook are tracked all the time. The Outlook process is always running in the background.

If Synchronizer was disabled previously and Outlook is opened, Synchronizer always becomes enabled in order to track all further changes made to your Outlook folders data.

• If Synchronizer is disabled, synchronization is stopped and all Synchronizer options become unavailable (except for Synchronizer main window, particular OutShare settings and Service Account Administration application).

Only when Synchronizer is disabled are actions performed in your Outlook no longer tracked and Outlook removed from the system processes.

Local/Server mode defines whether connection with the server can be established:

• When the user sets server mode, connection with the server becomes possible and if the user is logged in, Synchronizer connects to the server if it is available. All changes made in the user’s Outlook while working in local mode will be sent from local database to the server during the first synchronization process.

• When the user sets local mode, connection with the server can not be established. Changes made in Outlook are saved to the local database only. This mode can be useful if you want to increase your system performance over a long time period by cutting the connection with the server. When the user sets server mode again, all changes made in his Outlook while working in local mode are sent from the local database to the server during the first synchronization process.

Online/Offline state defines whether connection with the server is established.

• Online state indicates that connection with the server is established. If the user is working in online state, he can perform all those actions for which connection with the server is required (e.g. configure sharing settings, set Web Access link, perform synchronization etc.).

• Offline state indicates that a connection with the server is not established. If the user is working in offline state, he can perform only those actions for which connection with the server is not required (e.g. configure synchronization settings, configure particular OutShare settings etc.). All changes made in Outlook are saved to the local database only.