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How to Use a PRF file to Setup an Arrowmail Outlook Account

There's nothing wrong with setting up an Outlook profile manually, as detailed elsewhere on this website - here.
But, with a dozen or so boxes to fill in, it's all too easy to make a hard-to-spot typo which is likely to prevent the profile working.

Microsoft has provided an easier way to do this in the form of an Outlook Profile File, or PRF.
Double-click on a PRF file and an Outlook profile is made.

We provide a personalised PRF file for every user with an Arrowmail Exchange mailbox.
We use the following naming convention for these files: Arrowmail-<username>.prf
for example: Arrowmail-john.smith.prf.

Make sure Outlook isn't running, then double-click on the PRF file and a new Outlook profile, called Arrowmail, will be created on your computer.

When you start Outlook you need to logon by adding the arrowmail\ prefix to your username, as shown below:-

$Append the prefix arrowmail\ to your username when logging on to Outlook$

If you don't want to see this logon window again, tick "Remember my password"

For some strange reason, the first time you logon to an Outlook profile created from a PRF file, it seems to take 3 attempts of entering your password in the above logon window before it works .

Quick Facts about PRF files:-

	Pre-existing Outlook Profiles aren't deleted when you use a PRF file to create a new profile. However, if a profile called Arrowmail already exists it will be over-written.
	The new Arrowmail profile is set as the default profile to use when Outlook starts. This can easily be changed in Start - Control Panel - Mail - Show Profiles…
	Any pre-existing PST or OST files, related to other profiles, are not deleted. Neither are any address books, rules or signatures.
	PRF files are text files that can be viewed and edited in a text editor program such as Notepad.
	If you need to know more details of how PRF files work, Microsoft have some articles about them on their website here and here.
	The PRF files we provide work for both Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2007.
	PRF files do not contain any password information. You will still have enter your password for, at least, the first time when you start Outlook with the new profile. A PRF file contains a user's real name and email address so, while we treat it as confidential, we'll send yours to you as an email attachment, if required.
	We actually provide customers with 2 x PRF files:- A standard one called, for example, Arowmail-john.smith.prf and another called Arrowmail-john.smith-home.prf for people using XP Home and Vista Home editions that can't use NTLM authentication and so must enter their passwords every time Outlook starts.

Problem: PRF Files are not registered for use with Outlook on your PC

Automatic configuration systems are fine when they work, but we've found that it's not uncommon for computers not to understand what PRF files are.
A PRF file, on your Desktop, should display with the icon shown below:-

This is the icon that should be used to display a PRF file

When you double-click on a PRF file, the following message should be displayed:-

Remember to close Outlook before double-clicking on the PRF file.

The message you should receive when double-clicking on a PRF file

If you get the above message when you double-click on the PRF file, click Yes, and the job's done.
If you get any other message, even if there's an option to click Yes, click No instead to cancel.
You can still use the PRF file by doing either one of the following:-

1 -	Run the Import Command Manually Close Outlook, if it's open, and click Start - Run and type:- outlook /importprf "c:\Documents and settings\john.smith\Desktop\Arrowmail-john.smith.prf" The final part of the above run statement is the full path to the PRF file. In the above example it's on the Desktop of the user john.smith. If your PRF file is on your Desktop then you will need to substitute your Windows logon name for john.smith. Inverted commas are required to enclose paths that contain spaces. If your PRF file is in the top-level folder of a USB Flash drive that appears in My Computer as the F: drive then the correct path to use would be:- f:\johnsmith.prf
2 -	Modify the Registry so that Windows knows what to do with PRF Files We have a REG file that you can download to do this. The file for Outlook 2003 is here. The file for Outlook 2007 is here. If you are blocked from downloading REG files, they are both inside a ZIP file here. REG files are text files that you can examine, if you wish, prior to importing, by using a text editor program such as Notepad. Double-click on the appropriate REG file and you'll get the following warning:-

	Click Yes and you'll get the following confirmation:-

	Click OK The PRF file probably won't display the correct icon until the next time you logon but, if you now close Outlook if it's open, and double-click on the PRF file, you should get the Outlook import confirmation message shown at the start of this section. Click Yes and your Outlook profile will be automatically created.

Download a Sample PRF File

You can download the Arrowmail PRF file for John Smith here,
and the XP/Vista Home Edition version of this profile here.

The John Smith account is an active account on our Exchange server, used for testing, and, if you're lucky, you'll find the password for it here.

Use a text editor program, such as Notepad, for viewing or editing these profiles as something like Microsoft Word will add extra formatting characters to the file which will mess things up.

If you examine the contents of the PRF file, you'll see there are only 3 references to
John Smith which are in Section 4.
If you change these 3 lines to your Arrowmail account details then you've made a PRF file for your account.

Why are there 2 different versions of each PRF file?

If Outlook uses the NTLM system to authenticate to the Exchange server there is the minor advantage that Outlook can remember your password and not ask you for it each time you start Outlook.
Microsoft have chosen to make the Home editions of Windows unable to use NTLM authentication and so Basic authentication must be used instead, which cannot remember your password and so you must enter it each time Outlook starts.

If you use the Arrowmail-john.smith.prf file to make an Outlook profile in Windows XP Home, you won't be able to logon to Exchange.
You can use either PRF file to make an Outlook profile in Windows XP Professional but if you use the Arrowmail-john.smith-home.prf file there won't be the option to remember your password.

Are you bored yet?

The only difference between the Arrowmail-john.smith.prf file and the
Arrowmail-john.smith-home.prf file is in
Section 4, Sub-section [ServiceEGS] in the line that reads:-

RPCProxyAuthScheme=0x0002 in the johnsmith.prf, and

RPCProxyAuthScheme=0x0001 in the johnsmithhome.prf

0x0001 means "use Basic authentication" and 0x0002 means "use NTLM authentication".

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