Need more help copying outlook contacts

  • Thread starter Thread starter gnGracie
  • Start date Start date
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gnGracie

Brian, you have been so helpful and I thought I had this down pat
yesterday, but I seem to be missing some step when I'm trying to do it
today. I'm following your instructions (see below)

Create a new PST with File>New>Outlook Data File. Browse to the
folder where you'ld like it to be (or accept the default), give it a
file name (or accept the default - but I'd change it. It will have a
file extension of ".pst"), and click OK. Give it a display name (or
accept the default of "Personal Folders" - but I'd change it), anc
click Finish. The new PST will be added to your Folder List. Right-
click your Contacts folder and drag it to the new PST. Release the
mouse button and choose Copy. When the copy completes, right-click
the root of the PST (it will be named whatever you chose for "display
name" above) and choose Close. Close Outlook.

The "Display Name" shows up in my folder list; the new pst file shows
up wherever I choose, i.e. desktop, in my "Outlook" folder, etc., but
does NOT show up in my folder list, so I can't even copy my contacts
there from Outlook. What step am I missing here? Thanks much.

Brandy

P.S. You still da man! :-)
 
I don't quite understand what you say you can see...

Can you see your new Personal Folder.pst in the Folder List view of Outlook?
If not, when can you see it? What version of Outlook do you have?

What happened when you tried to copy the contacts into it?



Judy Gleeson
MVP Outlook
Outlook trainer and author of Productiv_IT with Outlook
www.acorntraining.com.au
Canberra, Australia

Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we
can find information on it.
Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784), quoted in Boswell's Life of Johnson
 
Hi Judy. I have Outlook 2002 (10.2627.2625).

I do see the new Personal Folder (not sure if it's a pst) in the
Folder List view of Outlook. What doesn't show up there is the new
pst file created when I create a new pst with File>New>Outlook Data
File. That file only shows up wherever I directed it (i.e. my
desktop).

So, if I drag (via right clicking and dragging) my original contacts
file, I'm now confused about where I copy it - do I copy to my newly
created "Personal Folder" and if so, what do I do with the pst file I
created via New>Outlook Data File? I thought both the newly created
pst file as well as the new "Personal Folder" will show up in my
folder list view and that I copy my contacts to my new pst file.

When I check File>Data File Management, my pst file does show up
there, but not my new "Personal Folder."

I'm sure this is much simpler than I'm making it, but I'm totally
stumped here. Thanks so much for your help. :-)

Brandy
 
gnGracie said:
So, if I drag (via right clicking and dragging) my original contacts
file, I'm now confused about where I copy it - do I copy to my newly
created "Personal Folder" and if so, what do I do with the pst file I
created via New>Outlook Data File? I thought both the newly created
pst file as well as the new "Personal Folder" will show up in my
folder list view and that I copy my contacts to my new pst file.
Click to expand...

The newly created PST *is* the new Personal Folders set. Right-click and
drag your main Contacts folder to this new Personal Folder, dropping on the
root (i.e., "Personal Folders"). Choose Copy and you'll have two Contacts:
your original, untouched one, and the copy in the new PST (Personal
Folders). You'll have two sets of folders: your original "Personal Folders"
or, perhaps it will be named "Outlook Today", thaty contains all of your
original folders (Inbox, Outbox, Contacts, etc.), and the new "Personal
Folders" you just created, which will contain only a "Deleted Items" folder
until you copy your Contacts folder to it. The name "Personal Folders" will
be whatever you entered in the "Name" field on the "Create Personal Folders"
dialogue that you got after your browsed to the Windows folder, created the
file, and click OK. I called it a "display name" because that's the name
that Outlook displays in the Folder List. That's why I recommended you
change it, because "Personal Folders" is the default name and if you have
more than one PST being displayed as "Personal Folders", it can get quite
confusing.
When I check File>Data File Management, my pst file does show up
there, but not my new "Personal Folder."
Click to expand...

Then you missed something. File>New>Outlook Data File *will * make it show
up in File>Data File Management.
 
"The newly created PST *is* the new Personal Folders set. Right-click
and drag your main Contacts folder to this new Personal Folder,
dropping on the root (i.e., "Personal Folders"). Choose Copy and
you'll have two Contacts: your original, untouched one, and the copy
in the new PST (Personal Folders)."

So far so good.

"You'll have two sets of folders: your original "Personal Folders" or,
perhaps it will be named "Outlook Today", thaty contains all of your
original folders (Inbox, Outbox, Contacts, etc.), and the new
"Personal Folders" you just created, which will contain only a
"Deleted Items" folder until you copy your Contacts folder to it. The
name "Personal Folders" will
be whatever you entered in the "Name" field on the "Create Personal
Folders" dialogue that you got after your browsed to the Windows
folder, created the file, and click OK."

Still so far so good. Now here's where I'm confused. When I first do
File>New>Outlook Data File, I created a file name (Brandy Contacts),
then in "Create Microsoft Personal Folders" box I create a folder name
(default is Personal Folders, but I changed it to Brandy). So when I
view the files in Outlook>Contacts I see the new "Brandy" folder I
created - this is where I copied my contacts. When I do File>Data
File Management, the "Brandy Contacts" file shows up. When I open my
Microsoft>Outlook file (which is where my contacts are stored, and
also where I sent "Brandy Contacts", Brandy Contacts shows up. This
file does not contain my contacts (my contacts file is a little over 2
MB, the new Brandy Contacts file is only a few KB).

This is where my confusion really sets in. Which of these files am I
copying to share (Brandy Contacts or Brandy)? If I'm supposed to copy
"Brandy", where is it stored? I don't see it with my outlook contacts
("C:\Documents and Settings\Brandy ****\Local Settings\Application Data
\Microsoft\Outlook").

Thanks again for your help. :-)
 
gnGracie said:
Still so far so good. Now here's where I'm confused. When I first do
File>New>Outlook Data File, I created a file name (Brandy Contacts),
Click to expand...

This should have placed a file named "Brandy's Contacts.pst" in whatever
folder you browsed to, or in C:\Documents and Settings\yourname\Local
Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook, if you didn't browse anywhere.
Of course, this PST will not be limited to containing contacts. It can
contain any type of Outlook folder.
then in "Create Microsoft Personal Folders" box I create a folder name
(default is Personal Folders, but I changed it to Brandy).
Click to expand...

No, that doesn't create a folder. That gives the PST you are creating a
display name of "Brandy". This name will appear in the Folder List as a
second set of folders, with "Brandy" as its root, just like you have a set
of folders named "Outlook Today" or "Personal Folders", It should appear in
the Folder List below the "Outlook Today" (i.e., your current default
folders) and it should have plus sign to it left which, when you click it,
will Expand the "Brandy" folders and show you exactly one folder underneath
called "Deleted Items".
So when I
view the files in Outlook>Contacts I see the new "Brandy" folder I
created - this is where I copied my contacts.
Click to expand...

And after doing so, (i.e., copying the folder named "Contacts" to the Folder
List name "Brandy"), the Name "Brandy" should now expland to show you two
colders: "Contacts" (which you just copied) and "Deleted Items (which was
already there - every PST contains its own "Deleted Items" folder).
When I do File>Data
File Management, the "Brandy Contacts" file shows up.
Click to expand...

The File>Data File Management dilogue shouws you the WIndows file system
name you have the file on your hard drive, just as you described you named
it.
When I open my
Microsoft>Outlook file (which is where my contacts are stored, and
also where I sent "Brandy Contacts", Brandy Contacts shows up. This
file does not contain my contacts (my contacts file is a little over 2
MB, the new Brandy Contacts file is only a few KB).
Click to expand...

I don't know what you mean by "when I open my Microsoft>Outlook file". Whan
file are you referring to here and how did you open it?
This is where my confusion really sets in. Which of these files am I
copying to share (Brandy Contacts or Brandy)? If I'm supposed to copy
"Brandy", where is it stored? I don't see it with my outlook contacts
("C:\Documents and Settings\Brandy ****\Local Settings\Application
Data \Microsoft\Outlook").
Click to expand...

"Brandy's Contacts" and "Brandy" ARE THE SAME FILE. "Brandy's Contacts.pst"
is how Windows knows your file. When Outlook opens, it displays "Brandy"
for that file because that's what you said to used at the display name.
It's a property INSIDE the "Brandy's Contacts.pst" file that Outlook uses to
show the file in Outlook's Navigation Pane display.

If you right-clicked your Contacts folder and dragged it to "Brandy" in the
Navigation Pane of Outlook, then chose Copy, you will now have two copies of
your Contacts folder - the original one in the file which Outlook displays
as "Outlook Today" (or "Personal Folders") and whose Windows file name is
either "Outlook.pst" or "Personal Folders.pst", and one in the file Outlook
displays as "Brandy", but whose Windows file name is "Brandy's
Contacts.pst".

Does this make anything clearer?
 
Does this make anything clearer?

Yes, indeed it does. Thanks so much Brian and Judy. I guess it was
all the different names throwing me off. I managed to share my
contacts with my partner and was able to share hers with myself. Now
that I've actually done it, it's not confusing at all, but I just have
a very difficult time learning things without seeing them done.

Thank you so much for all of your patience and help, they're GREATLY
appreciated! :-)

Brandy
 
You can come to a course in Canberra anytime - then you'll see it all being
done and have a chance to practice with me there to guide you ;)



Judy Gleeson
MVP Outlook
Outlook trainer and author of Productiv_IT with Outlook
www.acorntraining.com.au
Canberra, Australia

Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we
can find information on it.
Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784), quoted in Boswell's Life of Johnson
 
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