Proxy: See the World from Someone Else's Mailbox
Novell Cool Solutions: Feature
By Jaelynn Williams
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Posted: 1 Jun 1999 |
We've all been there. You're working feverishly in your little four-by-four cubicle, and despite all your best efforts you glance over at the corner office. You've been vitamin D deficient ever since you started working at this company, and you can't resist the light from all those big, sunny windows. Just for a moment, your mind wanders and you can't help wonder what the boss does in there all day? besides sunbathe. Well, wonder no more! With the GroupWise Proxy and Access List features, your boss can give you rights to proxy his Mailbox, and then you'll know. You'll be able to see if his Calendar is chuck full of sunbathing and trips to the drugstore for tanning lotion, or if he's busy growing the business and making money?so he can give you a big, hefty bonus.
Proxy makes it possible for you to see the world from the boss' (or anyone else's) Mailbox. In the best of all possible worlds, you have full access to his Mailbox which means that with a click of the Proxy button (the button with the little androgynous person in the lower-left corner of your Mailbox) you can read his mail, send replies (in his name), accept appointments, and so on. If you want up-to-the minute information about what is going on in his Mailbox, you can subscribe to the alarms for his appointments and be notified when new stuff arrives. But best of all, you can do all this without ever leaving your Mailbox?much less your cubicle. Which means you'll have time for lunch.
Before you can embark into this new world of perfect knowledge, a couple of things have to happen:
First, your boss has to add you to his Access List. Basically, this means he has to give you permission to look at his Mailbox, and he also has to specify which rights you will have to which items. Don't panic! This is not as difficult as it seems. Just point out how much more productive he will be with someone, you for example, managing his Mailbox, and he'll be happy to take a minute to do it. With you taking care of all the mundane messages and adding appointments to his Calendar, he won't get bogged down in the day-to-day grind. Instead, he'll be free to focus on the really important matters. No more distractions.
Second, you need to add your boss to your Proxy List. Once he is on your Proxy List, all you need to do is click the Proxy button (the androgynous one), then click his name in the list, and you're in his Mailbox. (Feels a little like looking in someone's medicine cabinet, doesn't it?) When you're finished working in his Mailbox, click the Proxy button, then click your name in the list. Now, you're back in your Mailbox. Feels good to be home, doesn't it?
Giving
Access
to
Your
Mailbox
So
you're
the
boss,
and
you
have
this
great
sunny
corner
office
but
no
time
to
enjoy
it.
Your
employees
probably
suspect
that
you
lounge
around
all
day.
If
they
only
knew!
Every
day
you
get
tons
of
messages?some
that
only
you
can
handle
and
some
that
could
be
taken
care
of
by
someone
else.
So
you
spend
your
precious
time
replying
and
delegating
all
this
stuff
that
someone
else
should
be
handling.
Your
schedule
is
so
hectic
that
you
often
find
you've
double-booked
yourself.
Tired?
Well,
what
you
really
need
is
someone
to
manage
your
Mailbox.
In
GroupWise,
you
can
give
someone
rights
to
your
Mailbox
and
then
he
or
she
can
reply
to
all
those
mundane
messages
and
keep
your
Calendar
up-to-date
which
gives
you
time
to
focus
on
the
big
issues.
(Sounds
a
little
like
what
that
sallow
guy
across
the
hall
suggested,
doesn't
it?)
All you need to do to make this a reality is add the person to your Access List and specify which items you want the person to be able to see. If you are a little nervous about inviting someone into your Mailbox, you can start out small and give the person more rights when you get more comfortable. Remember, you have all the control. Proxies can only see what you give them rights to see. Here's how you do it:
Click Tools, click Options, then double-click Security. Okay, now click the Proxy Access tab.
You're in the Access List. (Not too bad so far, right?) Up at the top in the Name box, type the name of the person you are giving rights to, for example, Sallow Guy. Press Enter and Sallow Guy's name appears in the Access List. Make sure Sallow Guy is selected (it has the big color bar on it) then click the rights you want to give Sallow Guy. In a nutshell, Read gives him rights to look at stuff but not to change it or send it, and Write gives him rights to look, change, and send stuff. (For more information about each of these rights, be sure to read the Understanding Access List Rights section of this article.) You can give Sallow Guy different rights for each type of item: mail, tasks, appointments, and so on. When you're finished, click OK to save your changes and exit the Access List.
Once you've added Sallow Guy to your Access List, be sure to let him know so he can add you to his Proxy list. As soon as he does this, you have a proxy.
So you have a proxy, and he's doing a great job. You may decide to entrust him with more power in your Mailbox. But what if after a few days you decide you don't like him? He's not doing much managing. In fact, it's more like he's loitering in your Mailbox. This proxy feature is a good idea, but it appears that he isn't the man to do it. Don't worry. It's easier to get rid of a proxy than it is to get rid of a dog. This is all you do:
Click Tools, click Options, double-click Security, and then click Proxy Access. Click Sallow Guy's name in the Access List, then click Remove User. As easy as that, he's gone?from the Access List that is.
Adding
and
Removing
People
on
Your
Proxy
List
You've
got
your
MBA
and
you're
on
your
way
up
the
corporate
ladder.
You've
given
your
boss
the
five-minute
tour
of
Proxy,
and
he
has
seen
the
productivity
light.
In
just
moments,
he
has
added
you
to
his
Access
List.
With
rights
to
see
the
contents
of
his
Mailbox,
you're
well
on
your
way
to
managing
his
Mailbox?and
helping
him
(and
yourself)
earn
that
big,
hefty
bonus.
All
you
need
to
do
now
is
add
him
to
your
Proxy
List.
What's
a
Proxy
List?
It's
the
list
that
appears
when
you
click
on
the
Proxy
button
(the
androgynous
one)
in
the
lower-left
corner
of
your
Mailbox.
The
Proxy
List
makes
it
easy
to
switch
between
your
Mailbox
and
the
Mailboxes
you
proxy.
(Works
great
for
a
fast
switch
when
you
need
to
protect
top-secret
information
in
your
boss'
Calendar
from
the
wandering
eye
of
a
chatty
co-worker.)
Here's
all
you
need
to
do
to
add
your
boss
to
your
Proxy
List:
Click the Proxy button in the lower-left corner of your Mailbox or Calendar, then click Proxy. Type the name of your boss, we'll call him Sunny Guy, in the Name box, then click OK. Click the Proxy button again. Voila! Sunny Guy is on your Proxy List.
Okay, so what if your boss, Sunny Guy, becomes so productive because you've been taking care of his Mailbox that he takes a job with a really-big-important-company in sunny Hawaii. No problem. You can just delete Sunny Guy from your Proxy List. It's easy and takes even less time than adding him did. Just click the Proxy button, click Proxy. Click Sunny Guy in the Proxy List box, then click Remove. As easy as that, he's gone from the list. With that out of the way, you can get busy moving into that big, sunny, corner office, and you can recruit your own proxy. Isn't productivity great?
Understanding
Access
List
Rights
So
you're
ready
to
roll.
Your
boss
added
you
to
his
Access
List,
and
you've
added
him
to
your
Proxy
List.
You've
opened
his
Mailbox,
but
you
can't
see
much.
No
messages.
No
Tasks.
No
Notes.
It's
pretty
much
an
empty
box
except
for
a
few
appointments,
and
you
can't
even
add
those
to
his
Calendar.
Not
exactly
what
you
expected.
What's
wrong?
Rights.
Your
boss
didn't
give
you
rights
to
any
of
the
things
you
can't
see
or
do.
Turns
out
he's
a
pretty
savvy,
not
to
mention
bronzed,
guy.
He
read
the
online
Help,
and
knows
that
Access
Rights
go
something
like
this:
Read
This
is
a
look
but
don't
touch
kind
of
right.
You
can
view
the
contents
of
the
stuff
that
comes
into
his
Mailbox,
but
that's
it.
Your
boss
specifies
this
right
for
each
type
of
item,
so
you
may
have
Read
rights
for
appointments
but
not
for
mail
messages,
and
so
on.
Write
This
is
a
look,
touch,
just-do-whatever-to-take-care-of-it
kind
of
right.
You
can
view
the
contents
of
stuff
that
comes
into
his
Mailbox,
you
can
also
send
stuff
(in
your
boss's
name)
and
create
stuff.
Just
like
Read
rights,
your
boss
gives
you
Write
rights
for
each
type
of
item,
so
you
may
have
Write
rights
for
appointments
but
not
for
mail
messages,
and
so
on.
Subscribe
to
My
Alarms
This
right
means
you
get
to
partake
of
the
joy
every
time
an
alarm
goes
off
in
your
boss'
Mailbox.
Each
time
he
hears
an
alarm,
you'll
hear
it
too.
Like
all
good
things,
there
are
a
couple
of
prerequisites:
you
must
be
on
the
same
post
office
as
your
boss
and
you
must
have
Notify
running
on
your
machine.
Subscribe
to
My
Notifications
If
you
have
this
right,
you'll
be
up-to-date
on
what's
coming
and
going
in
your
boss'
Mailbox.
Every
time
your
boss
receives
notification
of
an
incoming
item
or
a
return
receipt
on
an
outgoing
item,
you'll
get
notified
too.
There
are
just
a
couple
of
requirements
that
must
be
met
before
you
can
receive
your
boss'
notifications:
you
must
be
on
the
same
post
office
as
your
boss
and
you
must
have
Notify
running
on
your
machine.
Modify
Options/Rules/Groups
If
you
have
this
right,
your
boss
really
trusts
you
and
wants
you
to
have
complete
access
to
his
Mailbox.
If
you
have
Modify
rights,
you
can
change
rules
and
options
in
your
boss'
Mailbox,
including
who
has
access
to
his
Mailbox.
Archive
Items
Lets
you
archive
items
in
your
boss'
Mailbox.
Be
careful.
If
you
have
this
right,
you
can
store
and
read
your
boss'
items
in
your
Archive
folder
on
your
hard
drive.
Your
boss
might
be
just
a
little
upset
if
he
can't
find
or
doesn't
have
access
to
his
archived
items
because
they
are
on
your
hard
drive.
Read
Items
Marked
Private
If
you
have
this
right,
you
are
your
boss'
right
hand.
Once
you
have
this
right
you
can
read
every
item
in
his
Mailbox,
even
items
marked
Private.
If
you
don't
have
this
right,
your
boss
can
use
Mark
Private
to
hide
stuff
he
doesn't
want
you
to
see.
<Minimum
User
Access>
This
isn't
really
a
right,
but
it's
something
you
definitely
want
to
be
in
the
know
about.
Your
boss
can
use
Minimum
User
Access
to
give
everyone
specific
rights
to
his
Mailbox.
Here's
an
example:
He's
so
excited
about
the
productivity
gains
he's
realized
from
having
you
as
a
proxy
that
he
thinks
it
would
be
great
to
let
everyone
in
the
office
proxy
his
schedule.
It's
easy.
All
he
needs
to
do
is
select
Minimum
User
Access
in
the
Access
List,
click
Read
next
to
Appointments,
then
click
OK.
Now
everyone
who
is
on
the
same
post
office
(If
he's
running
in
client/server
mode,
everyone
on
the
system.)
will
be
able
to
take
a
peek
at
his
Calendar.
Remember,
if
there
are
appointments
he
doesn't
want
everyone
to
see,
he
can
always
use
Mark
Private
to
hide
them.
Looks great, you say, but what about documents? Why aren't documents listed as an item on the Access List? To keep your documents safe and to protect the integrity of all the company's documents, you can only see documents you have rights to view, even when you're proxying the boss' Mailbox. You can see any document in the boss' Mailbox that you could see in your own Mailbox. If you can't see the document in your Mailbox, you won't be able to see it in his. (Pretty consistent don't you think?) This is the child-proof-cap on document security. If it didn't work this way, a lot of sneaky people could see sensitive documents just by proxying other people's Mailboxes. It's high-tech security, and it's a good thing.
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