The Messaging Application Programming Interface, MAPI, is the industry standard for integrating messaging applications and services. MAPI is a built-in component of Microsoft's 32-bit Windows operating systems.

The NET-TEL MAPI Desktop Enabler delivers the full benefits of NET-TEL's messaging servers to a wide range of Windows desktop applications, including office, workflow and group scheduling applications.

• Offers seamless transition to NET-TEL's intelligent messaging services
• Works with any third party MAPI messaging application
• Underpins the NET-TEL Universal Information Client
• Meets the needs of Mobile and Network users
• Provides full set of MAPI Services
• Operates alongside other MAPI messaging services
• Transports any type of information
• Calendar and scheduling transport for Microsoft Schedule+ and Outlook
• Unlocks unique features of the NET-TEL Universal Information Server
• Preserves attachment ordering
• Broad range of communications options for mobile, remote office or corporate network
• Address book support for all types of address

Windows desktop applications are now able to send, receive and store messages using NET-TEL's powerful messaging servers.

NET-TEL's Universal Information Client utilises the MAPI Desktop Enabler in order to exploit unique features afforded by NET-TEL messaging servers.

Customers are now able to blend third-party messaging applications together with NET-TEL client and server products to create unique solutions.

Existing investment in MAPI applications can be preserved whilst transitioning to NET-TEL's intelligent messaging backbone. During transition, other messaging services can coexist alongside the NET-TEL messaging service within the MAPI framework.

The management nightmare of delivering multiple messaging services to every desktop can be avoided by using NET-TEL's backbone integration of disparate protocols.

Application developers can create bespoke applications built upon the MAPI interface.

The Messaging Application Programming Interface, MAPI, has become the industry standard for integrating messaging at the desktop. Developed by Microsoft and more than 100 independent software vendors, MAPI offers a standard that enables messaging solutions to be constructed from a wide choice of applications and services.

MAPI provides a Universal Inbox offering the desktop user a single focus for viewing, manipulating and originating all electronic correspondence, whether it be fax, e-mail, scheduling information, etc.

The MAPI architecture provides two layered interfaces. The upper interface is an API that is available to any mail-enabled application such as scheduling/calendar packages, workflow applications and e-mail clients. The lower interface (the Service Provider Interface, SPI) is used by MAPI to access distinct messaging services. Each different messaging service may offer three types of Service Provider:

• Transport Provider - supporting the transmission and reception of messages
• Store Provider - offering hierarchical storage of messages and other information
• Address Provider - offering address book facilities

These messaging services can be accessed by the mail-enabled applications without the need for these applications to be aware of which underlying services are being used.

The NET-TEL MAPI Desktop Enabler comprises a full set of Store, Address and Transport Providers. Based upon the use of standard protocols, the Desktop Enabler provides access to messaging services offered by:

• NET-TEL Universal Information Servers
• NET-TEL Route400 Message Servers
• Other X.400-compliant message servers

Installation and configuration is made simple by easy to use wizards and dialogues. For ease of management, the full set of Providers may be configured as a single "Message Service".

In order to reflect different modes of working, the Message Service may be configured in either Mobile Mode or Network Mode. Mobile Mode reflects a user who wishes to keep all messages locally on their desktop, whereas Network Mode reflects a user who will use a remote message store to hold some or all of their messages.

A Network Mode user is able to "roam" between desktop systems and still have full access to the messaging service. Roaming is supported by holding centrally the "profile" that defines a user's access to the messaging service, which is retrieved as part of the user's logon process.

A user is able to configure the details of their communications and remote mailbox settings using simple dialogues.

The MAPI Desktop Enabler works with any third party applications that are message-enabled, message-aware or message-based applications.

Office, workflow, group scheduling and other applications (e.g. Word, Outlook, cc:Mail v7) are able to send and receive messages via the NET-TEL message server or other X.400 Message Store.

The transportation of calendar and scheduling information (as used by Microsoft Schedule+ and Outlook) is supported between workgroup members.

Windows developers are now able to build applications to exploit NET-TEL backbone services by utilising the full range of Microsoft's development facilities for MAPI. Other applications developed to the CMC (Common Messaging Calls) may also operate with MAPI.

When used together with a NET-TEL backbone service, messages can be sent to and received from:

• X.400 users
• Internet mail users, with full SMTP/MIME support
• Fax users, with the benefits of least/lower cost in- and out- bound fax routing and conversion of attached documents to a readable (faxable) form
• cc:Mail, MS-Mail, Notes and GroupWise users

Using a NET-TEL Universal Information Server, additional benefits accrue, these include:

• auto-actions on behalf of the user
• general filtering
• message filtering based on the message type information (held in the TNEF - Microsoft's Transport Neutral Encapsulation Format)

The Transport Provider offers an X.400 Transport Service to MAPI compliant applications allowing them to exploit the full facilities of the X.400 standard as well as the additional benefits afforded by the NET-TEL Universal Information Server (or Route400 Message Server).

The Transport Provider takes a MAPI message from the compliant application and converts it to X.400. The message is then passed to the message server using the X.400 P7 protocol. Messages destined for a MAPI compliant application, are converted from the X.400 format into a MAPI message and then passed to MAPI to be placed in one of the MAPI message store folders where the application will access it.

The Transport Provider may act as a transport for any type of information, including Rich Text as well as calendar and scheduling data used by applications such as Microsoft Schedule+ and Outlook.

Other types of information (containing unrecognised attributes) will be converted into the Transport Neutral Encapsulation Format, TNEF, for tunnelling through X.400.

The ordering of message attachments is preserved in order to ensure that information is received in the form that the sender intended.

The Transport Provider may handle the following types of recipient (where Fax and SMTP services are made accessible via the backbone message service):

• X.400
• FAX
• MS FAX
• SMTP

Interaction with the message service may either be by automatic scheduled poll or by manual poll controlled by the client application.

A wide range of communications support is offered to suit all forms of mobile, remote office and corporate network requirement:

• TCP/IP (RFC 1006)
• Lightweight TCP/IP (for use with NET-TEL message servers)
• APS (Dial-up)
• X.25
• CLNS

The Store Provider exposes a user's server-based message store as a series of folders that may be arranged into a flexible hierarchy. Interaction with the message store takes place using the X.400 P7 protocol.

In order to support the total message storage requirements of a user, the Store Provider can be configured as the MAPI Default Store and hence may contain the special folders:

• Inbox - where new messages from all services are placed
• Outbox - where outgoing messages are placed for dispatch by MAPI to appropriate services
• Sent Items - where a journal of sent messages is kept

The Store Provider matches in message storage terms the capabilities of the Transport Provider. For example, the Store Provider allows for the storage of any MAPI information (i.e. Message Type) including Internet messages, Calendaring messages, etc.

For optimal performance, retrieval of messages via the Store Provider may be performed concurrently with message submission via the Transport Provider.

The Address Provider supports both read and update access to standard NET-TEL address books.

There is no need to maintain separate address books for different messaging services. The address of any type of message service (e.g. X400, SMTP, FAX, etc.) may be held within a single address book.

For server-based address book management, client-server access to remote address books is available (via X.400 P7 extensions).

The MAPI Desktop Enabler is available as 32-bit DLLs for use with Microsoft Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0.

Messaging services are best provided by either:

• Route400 Message Server 3.5.0 (or later)
  or
• NET-TEL Universal Information Server 5.0.0 (or later)

Note that in order to extract the full benefit from the Store Provider the message store is best provided by the NET-TEL Universal Information Server.