Observing Program Email Folders

Background

For many years, all email related to a given HST observing program has been stored in that program's "history" file on SOGS. This system was established in ~1994 in order to allow any member of the planning and scheduling operations staff to have access to the email history regardless of the actual email distribution of the message. These email history files are text files.

Email content types have evolved significantly since the text-only messages of 1994 and before. Today, a text-only email message is the exception and not the rule. Nevertheless, we continued to store HST observing program emails in text files. Messages containing HTML, attachments, etc. are mostly unreadable once stored in text format.

Beginning on December 19, 2011, Exchange Public Folders will be used to store all future HST observing program related email. Existing text files will remain as they are, but all future messages will go to the Exchange Public Folders. Continue to look in the text files for messages before December 19, 2011, but look in the public folders for later messages.

Exchange Public Folders for HST Observing Programs

• One folder per HST observing program
• Each folder is named with the integer ID number of the corresponding HST observing program.
• New folders will be created by ITSD in large chunks (maybe 1000 at a time) well in advance of when they will be needed so an appropriately named folder will already be present when a new HST observing program is created.
• Each folder has its own email address of the format HST12345@stsci.edu. Messages sent to these addresses will automatically be filed in the appropriate folders. Unlike the previous system, there is no longer any dependence on subject line content. Folder-specific email addresses accept email from anywhere on the Internet (subject to Postini filtering).
• Exchange public folders are visible only to Outlook and Outlook Web Application (OWA) and not to other mail clients. While this limitation may not be ideal, it is certainly better than the text files that we have been using.
• Using Outlook or OWA, program coordinators may read, drag and drop, and delete to/from the public folders.
• Using Outlook or OWA, instrument scientists have read-only access to the public folders. Instrument scientists may add messages to the folders by using the program specific email addresses (e.g. HST12345@stsci.edu).

Accessing Exchange Public Folders via Outlook for Mac

Accessing Exchange Public Folders via Outlook Web Application

Accessing Exchange Public Folders via Outlook for Mac

Accessing Exchange Public Folders via Outlook Web Application