Matthias Bauernberger Software

Microsoft Outlook Add-In for Alfresco

Quickstart Guide

Author Matthias Bauernberger MSc.

Date 2017-05-07
Version 1.4

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 Table of Contents
Quickstart Guide...................................................................................................................................... 3
Installation requirements .................................................................................................................... 3
Installation ........................................................................................................................................... 3
Licensing .............................................................................................................................................. 4
Multi-lingual software ......................................................................................................................... 4
Initial start ........................................................................................................................................... 4
After initial configuration: working with Alfrodin ............................................................................... 5
Alfrodin functional areas at a glance............................................................................................... 5
Alfrodin functional areas ................................................................................................................. 5
Alfresco Sites ............................................................................................................................... 5
Folder context menu within tree structure ............................................................................. 6
Context menu of document list view ...................................................................................... 7
Drag and Drop ......................................................................................................................... 9
Document Favorites .................................................................................................................. 10
Folder Favorites ......................................................................................................................... 12
Alfrodin Search .......................................................................................................................... 13
Search examples .................................................................................................................... 14
Trashcan .................................................................................................................................... 19
Support and updates ............................................................................................................................. 20
List of tables .......................................................................................................................................... 21
List of figures ......................................................................................................................................... 21

Imprint: Matthias Bauernberger Software, Georg-Erber-Strae 10, A-4060 Leonding.

To simplify readability, the female form has been largely omitted in this document. It should also be
noted in this context that this document is addressed to both female and male users. It is furthermore
noted that while this document has been prepared with the utmost diligence, no responsibility is
accepted for any information provided herein and the author shall not assume liability for the contents.
Any names, trade names, product designations etc. used in this document may be brands even if not
explicitly designated as such and may therefore be subject to legal requirements.

Copyright 2017, Matthias Bauernberger Software

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Quickstart Guide
This Quickstart Guide provides you with a shortcut to the installation, configuration and use of
Alfrodin, a Microsoft Outlook Add-In for the Enterprise Content Management System (ECM)
Alfresco.

Installation requirements
The installation requirements indicated in the table below are essential for using Alfrodin.

Microsoft Outlook
Tested Alfresco version
Supported Alfresco versions
Tested operating systems
Supported operating systems
Runtime environment 1
Table 1 System requirements for using Alfrodin
All versions starting from Microsoft Office 2010 (at the
time of publication of this document these are Microsoft
Office 2010, 2013 and 2016)
Alfresco Community Edition v5.0.b
Alfresco Community v5.2.b-EA
Alfresco Community Edition v5.2.d
Alfresco Community Edition v5.2.e
Alfrodin should be compatible with all Alfresco versions
starting from version 5.0.b (Community and Enterprise)
and higher.
Microsoft Windows 7 (32-bit/64-bit)
Microsoft Windows 10 (32-bit/64-bit)
This area provides a list of all Windows operating systems on
which the runtime environment required for executing Alfrodin
(Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5.2) may be installed. It is noted,
however, that these operating systems have not been explicitly
tested.
Microsoft Windows 8.x (32-bit/64-bit)
Microsoft Windows Vista (SP2 and higher; 32-bit/64-bit)
Microsoft .NET 4.5.2 (32-bit/64-bit) or higher.
Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Tools for Office Runtime (32-bit/64-
bit)

Installation
Alfrodin will be installed via a standardized Windows Installer package which contains the following
files:

Mbasoft.Alfrodin.OutlookAddInSetup.msi Standardized Windows Installer, which is

automatically executed by setup.exe upon verification
of the aforementioned requirements and installs
Alfrodin on the target system.
setup.exe You have to double-click on this file to initiate the
Alfrodin installation process. Before the
aforementioned
Mbasoft.Alfrodin.OutlookAddInSetup.msi file is
automatically executed, the system requirements for
running Alfrodin are tested. Any lacking features are

1
Prior to installation, the Alfrodin installation programme (setup.exe) will check whether any of the required
runtime components are available on your system. Should this not be the case, these components will be
downloaded from the manufacturer's internet website (Microsoft) and installed prior to installing Alfrodin.
During the installation of runtime components, you may need to restart your system.

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 downloaded from the Microsoft website and one or
several crucial runtime components are installed (see
above).
Table 2 Files of the Alfrodin installation package

Please note: All data of the Alfrodin installation package are digitally signed by a certificate assigned
to Matthias Bauernberger Software. These files are therefore rated as trustworthy by the Windows
operating system.

Since the dialog boxes of the installation process are self-explanatory, they shall not be described in
detail herein. Please ensure that Microsoft Outlook remains closed during Alfrodin installation.

Licensing
Alfrodin may be activated for permanent use via license keys provided by the manufacturer. As a
rule, you will receive the license key required for activation directly when purchasing Alfrodin from
your distribution partner. In exceptional cases, you may also receive license keys directly from the
manufacturer.

You may use Alfrodin without a license key for a trial period of 30 days. Once this period expires, you
are no longer able to use Alfrodin. The system may be activated under "Settings" by using a license
key (see below).

Multi-lingual software
At the time of writing this document, Alfrodin is available in two languages (German and English)
which are automatically assigned depending on the language setting of the Windows operating
system, or assigned by the user via the settings area (see Figure 2).

Initial start
After completing the installation process, Microsoft Outlook may be restarted. During startup, the
Alfrodin Add-In opens automatically. Since the use of this Add-In requires advance configuration
settings (in combination with Alfresco etc.), a configuration diaog box will be activated during initial
startup where the relevant settings may be entered. Since individual fields are self-explanatory, they
shall not be described in detail herein.

Figure 1 Alfresco Server Figure 2 Settings Figure 3 Information and licensing

The Alfrodin configuration dialog box depicted above may be activated at any time under "Settings".
The dialog box can be accessed via the "Alfrodin" tab, which is added by the Add-In during program
startup. The following figure gives you an overview.

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Figure 4 The Microsoft Outlook Ribbon menu extended by Alfrodin

In case the Add-In has been closed, it may be displayed again by clicking on the "Show" button.

After initial configuration: working with Alfrodin

After completing the initial configuration, the Add-In may be used in the context of the sites which
the user is authorized to access under Alfresco. The relevant functions for using the Add-In are
described below.

Alfrodin functional areas at a glance

The following figure shows the array of individual Alfrodin functions as they are displayed to the user
after initial configuration or initial startup.

Figure 5 The Alfrodin Add-In at a glance

The Alfrodin Add-In is activated within Microsoft Outlook via a task pane. Such panes may be
undocked from their current position by a click on the titlebar while keeping the left mouse button
pressed, and may be redocked to any of the four sides of the screen within Microsoft Outlook. The
Add-In may also be completely undocked from Microsoft Outlook and displayed as a separate
window, e.g. for using it on another monitor. By double-clicking on the titlebar, the Add-In is
automatically redocked to its last position within Microsoft Outlook. The default position may be
configured under "Settings" (see above).

Alfrodin functional areas

In addition to the initially displayed "Alfresco Sites" tab, there is also a "Document Favorites" tab, a
"Folder Favorites" tab, an "Alfrodin Search" tab as well as a "Trashcan" tab.

Alfresco Sites
All Alfresco sites to which the respective user has authorized access will be opened in this field. You
may navigate to the respective contents via a tree structure. Contents are always activated by the
server "on demand". The tree structure and the related list view each have a separate context menu
in which different functions are provided.

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Folder context menu within tree structure

Figure 6 Alfrodin folder context menu

New folder: This function allows you to create new folders.

Delete the folder: This function allows you to delete the selected folder (including any
documents and subfolders). Folders can only be deleted if the user is authorized to delete
folders in Alfresco.
Properties: This function allows you to view details about the relevant folder via a separate
dialog box.
Open the folder automatically: If this function is used for a folder, the folder will be
automatically selected and its contents will be loaded during the start-up of the Alfrodin
software.
Add the folder to favorites: This function creates an entry into favorites for the selected
folder; the folder can be directly selected via this entry (also refer to following section).
Copy the URL to the clipboard: This function adds the Alfresco-URL of the selected folder to
the clipboard.
Search: This function allows you to open the Alfrodin search in the context of the selected
folder.
Refresh: This function allows you to refresh the content of the selected folder.

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Context menu of document list view

Figure 7 Alfrodin documents context menu

Download: This function allows you to download all selected documents from the server to
your local PC.
Attach to new email: This function allows you to attach all selected documents to a new
email, which is directly opened in Microsoft Outlook.

Figure 8 Download document and add to new email

Download and compress: This function allows you to access all selected documents via a ZIP
archive.
Compress and attach to new email: This function allows you to access all selected documents
via a ZIP archive, which is attached to an email opened directly in Microsoft Outlook.

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Figure 9 Download, compress and add documents to new email

Copy the URL to the clipboard: This function adds the Alfresco-URL of the selected document
to the clipboard.
Get the URL from the clipboard: This function gets the Alfresco-URL (folder as well as
documents) from the clipboard.
Clear clipboard: This function clears the clipboard.
Add document(s) to favorites: This function adds the selected documents in addition to the
documents favorites area.
Tags: Use this function to open Tag Management in the context of the relevant document.
You may also choose the multiple selection mode, allowing for a mass assignment of tags.

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Figure 10 Alfrodin tag assignment

Tag Management allows you to assign or delete existing tags. Furthermore, this feature also
allows you to create new tags in the context of the selected document, which subsequently
may also be assigned to other documents.
Edit: All Microsoft Office documents (Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Microsoft
PowerPoint) may be edited directly on the basis of the Microsoft SharePoint Protocol
implemented by Alfresco.
Display: The selected documents are directly opened in the programs which are linked to the
relevant document type on the client PC.
Delete: The selected documents are deleted after confirming a security alert. Again,
documents can only be deleted if the user is authorized to use the "delete" function via the
Alfresco authorization system.
Rename: This function allows you to rename documents in analogy to the respective function
of Microsoft Windows Explorer.
Refresh: This function reloads the content of the selected folder from the Alfresco server.

Drag and Drop

The Drag and Drop function known from Windows and Windows programs may be used to shift or
copy and paste data within Alfrodin from the list view to the relevant folder of the tree structure. The
Drag and Drop function may also be used for copying emails from Microsoft Outlook or data from
Windows Explorer (files, folders) as well as moving folders within the folder tree. The following figure
gives you an overview.

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Figure 11 Alfrodin drag & drop function

Please note: Microsoft Outlook emails may be converted from *.msg format to email standard
format (rfc822, *.eml) as required. The relevant settings may be entered under "Settings" (see
above).

Document Favorites
This area is used to display the documents configured as favorites by using the corresponding
function within the context menu of the document list, which makes these documents quickly and
conveniently accessible. Any number of documents can be configured as favorites. The multiple
selection of documents is also supported with this function. The following figures show this
functionality at a glance.

Figure 12 Add the selected document to the Document Favorites area

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Figure 13 Document favorites are provided within the Document Favorites area

For all documents provided within the Document Favorites area, the same functions are available by
the context menu, as is the case with the list views of the "Alfresco Sites" and "Alfrodin Search"
areas. However, the Delete function does not delete the document in Alfresco, but removes the
selected document(s) from the Document Favorites area only.

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Folder Favorites
Folders which have been configured as favorites are maintained in this section, allowing for quick
navigation to the linked folder as required. You may create as many folder shortcuts as you want.
The function is executed via a menu entry in the context menu.

Figure 14 Alfrodin - Add folder to favorites

Figure 15 Alfrodin folder favorites

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Alfrodin Search
The main functions of the implemented search are outlined below.

Figure 16 Alfrodin Search

Please note: The maximum number of hits may be configured under "Settings". The default value
limits the search result to a maximum number of 100 hits.

Figure 17 Alfrodin settings Limit maximum number of hits

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The search function has been designed to generally searching by using wildcard characters. This
means that the user does not have to enter any of the known wildcard characters (* or %) and even a
subset of the search term will lead to positive search results. In addition to the search term, the user
may also configure the search area (all sites, within a specific site, within a selected folder) and the
search type (search by file name, full text search, search by file plus full text search and search by
tag).

Search examples
Search settings:

Search term: all documents with the character string "T-Mobile" in the file name;
Search area: site ("mbasoft")
Search type: search by file name

Search result:

Figure 18 Alfrodin search by file name

This search result demonstrates the aforementioned wildcard search: documents with file names
starting with "T-Mobile" as well documents with names containing this character string will be found.

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Search settings:

Search term: The character string "Firma" is to be found in the documents.

Search area: All sites
Search type: Full text search

Search result:

Figure 19 Result of the full text search

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Search settings:

Search term: The character string "Rechnung" is to be found in the file name and in
the documents.
Search area: All Sites
Search type: Search by file name and full text search

Search result:

Figure 20 Alfrodin search by file name and full text search

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Search settings:

Search term: "projekte2017"

Search area: site ("mbasoft")
Search type: Search by tag

Search result:

Figure 21 Alfrodin search by tag

In the Tag Manager, which may be opened via the context menu of the search result list, you can see
that the tag you have searched for has been assigned to the found document.

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Figure 22 Alfrodin tag search result

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Trashcan
This area is used to provide the Alfresco Trashcan, which contains all documents and folders that
have been deleted by the user using the Delete function. The following figure provides an overview
of this area.

Figure 23 Trashcan

The list view of this area provides a special context menu, which contains as set of different
functionalities which are outlined below.

Delete: This function actually deletes the selected list items (multiple selection is supported)
in Alfresco.
Restore: This function restores the selected list items (multiple selection is supported) in the
original folder structure.
Refresh: This function reloads the contents of this area from the Alfresco server.

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Support and updates
A separate support subscription is available for Alfrodin, which provides support for using the
Alfrodin application and assists in troubleshooting. Subscribers are also authorized to download
Alfrodin product updates.

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List of tables
Table 1 System requirements for using Alfrodin..................................................................................... 3
Table 2 Files of the Alfrodin installation package ................................................................................... 4

List of figures
Figure 1 Alfresco Server........................................................................................................................... 4
Figure 2 Settings ...................................................................................................................................... 4
Figure 3 Information and licensing .......................................................................................................... 4
Figure 4 The Microsoft Outlook Ribbon menu extended by Alfrodin ..................................................... 5
Figure 5 The Alfrodin Add-In at a glance ................................................................................................. 5
Figure 6 Alfrodin folder context menu .................................................................................................... 6
Figure 7 Alfrodin documents context menu ........................................................................................... 7
Figure 8 Download document and add to new email ............................................................................. 7
Figure 9 Download, compress and add documents to new email .......................................................... 8
Figure 10 Alfrodin tag assignment .......................................................................................................... 9
Figure 11 Alfrodin drag & drop function ............................................................................................... 10
Figure 12 Add the selected document to the Document Favorites area .............................................. 10
Figure 13 Document favorites are provided within the Document Favorites area .............................. 11
Figure 14 Alfrodin - Add folder to favorites .......................................................................................... 12
Figure 15 Alfrodin folder favorites ........................................................................................................ 12
Figure 16 Alfrodin Search ...................................................................................................................... 13
Figure 17 Alfrodin settings Limit maximum number of hits ............................................................... 13
Figure 18 Alfrodin search by file name.................................................................................................. 14
Figure 19 Result of the full text search ................................................................................................. 15
Figure 20 Alfrodin search by file name and full text search .................................................................. 16
Figure 21 Alfrodin search by tag............................................................................................................ 17
Figure 22 Alfrodin tag search result ...................................................................................................... 18
Figure 23 Trashcan ................................................................................................................................ 19

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