Understanding Outlook Contact Message Classes & Custom Forms
Every Outlook item is created with a <form> which translates to the message class name that is assigned to it. To state this another way, <out of the box>, a default form is used when a contact is created. In the case of contacts, this form is assigned the message class of <IPM.Contact>. It is the design of the form in use that dictates how information will be entered for a contact.
If you want to alter the “look and feel” of contact information is entered, you will need to create a <custom form>. The process starts with opening the standard form in design mode and publishing it with a new name (which in effect becomes its message class, i.e. <IPM.Contact.NewFormName>). You never actually change the <IPM.Contact> form directly. You can also modify any other custom form you have already created and publish it with a new name.
A good practice to follow when naming a new custom form is to avoid using spaces or any special characters (i.e. avoid a message class name like <IPM.Contact.My manager’s info>, a name like <IPM.Contact.ManagerInfo> is equally as informative). There is no requirement to follow this but it does make it much cleaner and less prone to errors when dealing with any kind of 3rd party program.
A custom form cannot be used until it is published to one of three different places:
- A specific folder
- Personal Forms Library
- Organizational Forms Libary (MS Exchange)
Determining which one of the three locations a custom form should be published is outside the scope of this article but a good starting point on the subject can be found here: https://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=290802
The form (standard or custom) used to create a contact is determined by the message class assigned as the default for the folder in which the contact will be created. There is no universal setting that will enable a custom form to be used across multiple contact folders, the default must be set for each contact folder individually.
Changing the custom form to be used is done very easily by
- Right clicking on the selected folder
- Click on <Properties>
- Changing the default message class for the folder
Some things to remember:
1) Changing the default message class for a folder does not change the message class originally assigned to any pre-existing contact in that folder. There is nothing in Outlook that enables changing the message class assigned to any pre-existing contacts. You will have to either write your own code to do this or use one of many free 3rd party utilities to perform that task, two of which are:
2) A custom form should never be published to multiple libraries using the same name
3) Nothing in Outlook prevents publishing two completely different forms using the same name
4) A contact folder can have contacts created by any number of different message classes
5) Information regarding forms published to the Personal Forms Library are maintain as hidden items within your INBOX. If you change default PST files, you will need to re-publish those forms.
Category: Understanding Outlook
