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How to test Office 365 SMTP server using PowerShell

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Office 365 supports SMTP relay for authenticated accounts using TLS encryption.

Testing SMTP access is traditionally done using Telnet, but that’s not always an option when using Office 365 due to the authentication requirement.

Fortunately it’s easy to use PowerShell to accomplish the same thing.


How to test SMTP server using PowerShell:

Capture and store the Office 365 credentials for the account you intend to use for SMTP auth:

$msolcred = get-credential | save the credential of from address

Use the stored credentials to send a test message from [email protected] to [email protected], over port 587 (Encrypted w/ SSL):

Send-MailMessage –From [email protected] –To [email protected] –Subject “Test Email” –Body “Test SMTP Relay Service” -SmtpServer smtp.office365.com -Credential $msolcred -UseSsl -Port 587

Preload Office 2013 on new computers for distribution to end users

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This is a technique you can use to preload the Office 2013 installation media on a system, bypassing the need to download the installation files during activation.

You will require a qualified Microsoft Partner account in order to download the media from the following link:

http://www.microsoft.com/OEM/en/installation/downloads/Pages/office-single-image-v15-opk.aspx

  • Download the disk image appropriate for your language.
  • Extract the disk image using a utility like 7zip to a folder.
  • Copy the Office 2013 Single image source folder to local PC. (Folder contains installation data and batch files for prep)
  • Uninstall the already installed Office 2013 installer  from Programs and Features (if it already exists).
  • Run as administrator the script oemsetup.en-us inside the single image source folder, this preps the system to use the local source for Office 2013 instead of downloading.
  • Open the Microsoft Office app following script completion, and select Buy online.
  • Purchase the office software using a Microsoft account affiliated with the client or user.
  • Go through the purchase process until you have confirmed, and are presented with a product key. Make sure to document what key will be assigned to each user  if preparing multiple systems.
  • Copy the Product Key to your clipboard and go back to the Office installer and now select Activate.
  • Enter the Product Key you copied.
  • Select the Redeem Online button.
  • Sign in with the same Microsoft Account used to purchase the software.
  • Select the region and language.
  • Once the key has been associated with your account you will be taken to a web page that displays all keys tied to the account.
  • Minimize the browser window and go back to the Office installer.
  • Select Activate, on the enter product key screen select the option to “sign in with an active account instead”.
  • Sign in with the Microsoft account.
  • Once signed in, you should be presented with the ‘Choose your product window’.
  • The most recent purchase is a the bottom of this list,  select it and Continue.
  • Office Click-to-run will now complete the install using the local installation source instead of downloading the software. 

This is especially helpful when dealing with multiple systems at a site with poor download speed.

Connect Windows Explorer to an Office 365 Sharepoint Library

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This post will outline the authentication process and configuration necessary to access an Office 365 SharePoint Library via a mapped drive in Windows Explorer.

This information was originally posted on Spiceworks.com at http://community.spiceworks.com/how_to/show/4133-office-365-sharepoint-map-network-drive

1.

Login to the Portal http://portal.microsoftonline.com

Sign in to the SharePoint Online site by using your Office 365 credentials. Make sure that you click to select the Keep me signed in check box. This is important because you need to be (and stay) authenticated via the web portal to access the SharePoint document library via a mapped drive.

  
2.

Click Start, Right-click Computer, and then click Map Network Drive

 

  
3.

Click the “Connect to a Web site that you can store your documents and pictures” link, and then click Next two times.

 

  
4.

Type the site URL, click Next, and then follow the instructions in the wizard.

Depending on your permissions level you may need to map to a document library level

  
5.

Remove the tick from “automatically detect settings” in your proxy settings page (found in the connections tab in Internet options).

This Really makes a big difference to folder traversal in explorer.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues with the mapped drive disconnecting follow these steps

Make sure that you are authenticated to Office 365. To do this, follow these steps: 
1. Sign in to the SharePoint Online site by using your Office 365 credentials, and make sure that you click to select the Keep me signed in check box. 
2. Open a document library in Explorer View. 
3. Try to access the mapped network drive.

If you are authenticated to Office 365 and the issue persists, make sure that the entries for SharePoint are added to the Trusted sites zone in Windows Internet Explorer. To do this, follow these steps: 
1. On the Tools menu In Internet Explorer, click Internet options. 
2. Click the Security tab, click the Trusted sites zone, and then click Sites. 
3. Verify that the following entries are listed in the Websites list:

https://*.outlook.com  
https://*.sharepoint.com
https://*.microsoftonline.com
https://*.lync.com   

 If these entries are not present, add them to the Trusted sites list of websites. 

Make sure that the entries for SharePoint are added to the Local Intranet Zone in Windows Internet Explorer. To do this, follow these steps: 
1. On the Tools menu In Internet Explorer, click Internet options. 
2. Click the Security tab.
3. Click the Local intranet zone, click Sites, and then click Advanced. 
4. Verify that the following entries are listed in the Websites list:

*.microsoftonline.com
*.sharepoint.com
*.outlook.com
*.lync.com

If the above entries are not present, add them to the Local intranet zone list of websites.

You should now be able to map a drive to a SharePoint Library

You may also use the Open with Explorer feature in SharePoint while you have a Library open by clicking the Library tab and selecting the Open with Explorer button located in the Connect and Export section:

Open with Explorer
Open with Explorer