Email Services/Zimbra User Documentation/FAQ/Outlook Web Client vs. Zimbra Web Client

Zimbra Web Client Notes

INBOX

1. does not appear to be an auto archive or auto clean feature as in outlook
2. had some trouble with mass sorting of mail. Cannot create a rule and apply to existing messages already in inbox as in outlook.
3. can create folder rules and filters. They seem to be more flexible in some regards because you don’t have to base them on an existing AD contacts in order for them to be stored on the server. You can type in custom addresses and such. This is a positive.
4. cannot sort on anything but date from main column headings. You can however use the search function if you know what you are looking for
5. Default search is on entire mailbox, including all folders. Outlook defaults to the active folder. This could be confusing for outlook users who are searching for messages in one folder trying to move them to another. In fact it was for me. Eventually I figured out what was going on, and used the “search builder” feature to resolve, but for a few minutes a thought the move wasn’t working. In fact I was just moving the same files into the same directory over and over again.
6. Does not appear that users can give inbox rights to other users. We have many people who will need this

CALENDARING

1. I see sharing available for calendars. It does appear that any shared calendars will appear in the users calendar list
2. appointments sent from zimbra calendar are recognized properly by exchange and vice versa. Attendees are shown properly, although free/busy times across platforms is not supported. This was expected

OUTLOOK MAILBOX IMPORT

1. Seemed to go pretty well. I didn’t notice any lost mail data. except it seemed to put all my messages in my inbox, not in the folders they were in previously. It did create the folders. This could be a problem for IMAP clients. Also, my rules did not come across, but that was not expected.
2. Calendar import worked fine
3. All my contacts moved over as well.

OTHER FEATURES OF NOTE

1. Change password feature in the options may need some looking at. We wouldn’t want them changing it and creating confusion between zimbra account and ANL account
2. I see no public folders
3. Not sure if users can open and actively manage distribution list membership as they can from Outlook.
4. There is a documents feature, appears somewhat similar to notes but more enhanced. You can share documents or document folders. Docs appear to be available in rich text or html format only.
5. I see no tasks lists, though it is rumored to be in the next release
6. we would need to find a way to import such AD objects as division distribution lists and some custom contacts
7. I do not see a “send on behalf of” option
8. I like how the options are all available on one page. Much easier to find than with outlook, the feature set overall may be smaller, but it appears all the important stuff is available and easy to get to. Here’s a list
   1. Out of office reply
   2. Ability to change reply address
   3. Ability to add a signature
   4. Ability to send new mail notification to another address
   5. Auto forward with “keep a copy” option
   6. Ability to change calendar view between day, week, month, etc.

CONCLUSION

Overall I’d say this is an adequate mail client. Very similar to Outlook Web Access. Performance is a bit slower than OWA, but not much, and the feature set isn’t quite as robust, but I’d say you can do 90% of the critical day to day functions that you can do with Outlook. I don’t think it would impede my ability to send and receive mail, and I think most of out tech support team would feel the same. As Outlook users go, though, we have pretty basic needs. We don’t do much sharing of data and “sending email on behalf of”, and things like that. I would say it would fall a bit short for some of our power users who manage multiple mailboxes and calendars thoughout the day. I think it would satisfy the needs of the average user just fine, especially if they just need a simple account and calendar to attach their TREO or Blackberry or Whatever mobile device to. In these particular cases, I think Zimbra is a better solution than Exchange, as it provides more flexibility, since it is not directly connected to AD. This will allow us to much more simply provide the user with mobile mail and calendaring while still allowing the user to keep their divisional email addresses. With Exchange and Blackberry, these cases possible, but a bit cumbersome.