GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 415059
Unable to setup new Exchange mail account - no "server" input field
Last modified: 2008-03-12 16:47:33 UTC
Please describe the problem: While trying to setup an Exchange mail account, one can enter only one parameter for this account - "username". But the "forward" button is disabled until the non visible "server" field is filled. Steps to reproduce: 1. Edit->Preferences->Mail accounts->Add 2. Setup full name and Email address 3. Choose "Microsoft Exchange" for "Server Type" 4. Fill the only input field - "username" Actual results: The "forward" button is disabled. The workaround for this is to change server type for a while into something different than "Microsoft Exchange", type proper parameter in "server" input field, then change server type back to "Microsoft Exchange". The "server" input will disappear, but previously entered value will be taken, and the "forward" button is now enabled. Expected results: There should be the "server" input field when the server type is set to "Microsoft Exchange" Does this happen every time? yes Other information: I tested this on the latest trunk versions of evolution-exchange, evolution-data-server and evolution.
Same problem here, using exchange 2.8.3 & evolution-exchange 2.8.3
forgot to mention this problem exists sice 2.8.1 (didn't try it earlier), but i got another evolution-client up, that doesn't show this problem.
I am experiencing this issue running Ubuntu Feisty 7.04, with the following twist: A user with a clean setup (i.e. not imported gnome-conf from edgy and older ) works correctly, while my normal setup shows this error.
This seems to be present on all 2.10.x as well (Mandriva 2007.1 in my case, including the evolution-exchange-2.10.2-1mdv2007.1 proposed update). I used the workaround described in the original posting, but I wonder if the following non-functioning features are victims of this bug that the workaround doesn't help with: -calendar and tasks not working -"Global Address List" not working
*** Bug 421767 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Does it work better using /usr/bin/exchange-connector-setup* ?
Yes, exchange-connector-setup-2.10 is *much* better. Loading the inbox on start seems quicker now, retrieving a large mail also seems much quicker. Calendar and tasks work now, but I didn't get a "Global Address List" for this account. I noticed that the Exchange settings tab was missing, I had to enable the "Exchange Operations" plugin, and after I did that, the OWA URL field was available in the Receiving Options tab. So, maybe it was just the plugin that had been disabled. After a bit more playing (deleting some old resources that had been left behind from the previous non-working setup) got the address book working. I guess a lot of this could just have been a bad upgrade to 2.10.x ...
Indeed the OWA field only appears in the prefs (and in the account creation wizard) when the "Exchange Operations" plugin is enabled, and it is not by default...
*** Bug 504563 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Closing as per Comment #8. Server field appears when "Exchange Operations" plugin is enabled.
You mean this is normal to have a dialog where the user don't know what to do, and not even give him a clue that he should enable this plugin ?
Without being very familiar with all the history of evolution, I would say that this (if it is not a bug), is undesirable. For a better user experience, I would not even display exchange as an option unless the user has enabled "exchange operations", or even better display it as an option but warn the user on that screen if they haven't enabled "exchange-operations". What is the sense in displaying an option to the user that cannot be used with no mention of why? Think of this from the perspective of a new user who has just installed evolution. Someone might say that the user should read the documentation, but I say the interface should be more intuitive. If you can select an option without getting some kind of warning, you would normally expect the option to work. Don't you agree?