Problems with outlook sync

[Nannevan_der_W1]

Hi all,

We are running into 2 problems concerning the use of outlook in our processes:
1. Outlook does not sycn in time and e-mails are not picked up. It seems that outlook does not refresh on a regular basis on the VM causing e-mails not to be picked up in time. On the VM I changed the settings in outlook to refresh every minute. Yet without result. E.g. a robot runs at 10.30 in the morning, e-mails that were sent the previous day were recognized and picked up, but e-mails that were sent in the morning were not picked up whilst they were sent long before 10.30. There are no problems with sending emails earlier that morning before the 10.30 process.

2. Outlook randomly prompts for a password which obviously interferes with our processes. This does not happen with every process. I am wondering if it could be caused by having the robot mailbox  accessible from our local machines. Maybe this interferes with the connection with the accoutn on the VM? But this is a wild guess, and we are having some issues with deleting the mailbox again.

We have been experiencing these problems for quite a while now and it does something with the credebility of the processes towards the busines... hope someone can help!

We are using the standard MS Outlook Email VBO - Get email and Send email action.

Best,
Nanne

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Nanne van der Wal
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[expertcr · Accepted solution]

Thank you for your message.
Regarding the sync issue, please try disabling the Cache mode in your Outlook Profile.

About the password, not sure why that happens, but is not something we control using the MS Outlook VBO, I recommend you contact your Exchange administrator to resolve this issue.

About your MS Outlook VBO, what is your version of your Blue Prism?

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Luis Lopez
Customer Support Engineer English and Spanish
Blue Prism Ltd
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[Nannevan_der_W1]

Thanks for the quick reply Luis, I have disabled the cache mode in outlook. I will monitor if this did the trick.

It sounds logical that the password prompt is not something affected by BluePrism. Will pick this up further with the exchange administrator. 

We are using version 6.5. Does this affect the sync problem?

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Nanne van der Wal
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[expertcr]

No, the version doesn't affect the sync. It is just as a regular rule we like to know your version.
The Blue Prism 6.8 introduces a new MS Outlook VBO that works in the older version of Blue Prism, so it is good to be clear what versions you are using.

Thanks and have a good day.

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Luis Lopez
Customer Support Engineer English and Spanish
Blue Prism Ltd
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[Nannevan_der_W1]

Would you suggest to import that new VBO and start using that one? Does it have improved functionanlity or new functionality?

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Nanne van der Wal
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[expertcr]

Include new support to share folders and other minor changes.
If your current process is working fine and you don't need access to Share Folder and an additional email account, you are good with your current version.

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Luis Lopez
Customer Support Engineer English and Spanish
Blue Prism Ltd
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[presales-support]

1. At client we also have problems with the .ost file (local outlook profile file)

                - In case the robot handles a huge amount of emails (shared mailboxes) the .ost grows in size rapidly, causing crashes on the VMs, therefor of the bots.

                - the .ost file sometimes becomes corrupted and cannot be opened, only recreation of the .ost file helps.

                - the .ost file gives an error, when opening Outlook. Clicking on OK and reopening Outlook again usually helps.

                - when .ost file has to be recreated it may take up to hour(s).

Any suggestion on how to adress this issue 

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Presales Support
Presales Support
Blue Prism
Europe/London
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[expertcr]

OST or PST has size limitations, so if they are too big, well performance and errors will happen.

---------------------------------------FROM MICROSOFT---------------------------------------
The OST file format has a maximum file size that depends on the version of Outlook you’re running:

• Outlook 2010 and later support an OST file size of up to fifty gigabytes (50GB)
• Outlook 2007 and 2003 and earlier support an OST file size of up to twenty gigabytes (20GB)

---------------------------------------FROM MICROSOFT---------------------------------------

I always advise, delete the profile user from Mail in the Control Panel, and create a new profile; this is better than using the Microsoft tool to repair OST PST files, which takes forever.

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Luis Lopez
Customer Support Engineer English and Spanish
Blue Prism Ltd
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[abhilashdogra]

Thank you, Luis, for sharing these details and the recommendation. That’s a very helpful reminder about the OST/PST size limits and best practices for resolving performance issues.

Best regards,
Abhilash Dogra
Software Developer 
Aryson Technologies Pvt. Ltd.