Outlook 2003 Will I be able to share my contact list finally?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Peter Harrington
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Peter Harrington

Hi:

Anyone know if the newest version of Office (2003) will have the bug fixed
that prevented users from transferring their calendars and contact lists
between different machines. I do not wish to run XP Server to transfer
data, among my laptop, office, and home computers.

I know this was a problem in all previous versions of Office including
Office XP which had advertised enhanced connectivity.

TIA,

Pete
 
What "bug" are you referring to??

--
Jocelyn Fiorello
MVP - Outlook

*** Replies sent to my e-mail address will probably not be answered --
please reply only to the newsgroup to preserve the message thread. ***


In
 
The bug that makes it impossible for me to copy my latest list of contacts
or calendar onto my laptop computer before I leave town. Outlook 2000 had
this capability, but my understanding is that it resulted in lost and
corrupted calandars and contact lists more frequently then updated ones.
Outlook XP removed this feature as an upgrade instead of fixing this bug.

Now, I know there is a way to do it by spending many $$$ at Slipstick and
buying server software and hardware, but some of us are not ambitious or
desirous to administer a server. I think in the spirit of connectivity MS,
should provide an easy method for its users to move contacts, mail, and
calendar among several machines. For example, I would even settle for being
able to e-mail my entire contact list to myself or a weeks worth of calandar
appointments.

At the moment, there is no convenient way to do this other than moving the
entire pst file. This disconnectivity has me discouraged with any new MS
Office upgrades, especially because it takes a year of updates before the
software becomes stable.

Pete
 
So you're talking about Net Folders, then? That really isn't the only way
you can easily share your contacts between your two machines. You mentioned
Slipstick, but have you been to http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/sync.htm?
There are several methods listed there for synchronizing, and at least one
of them is free. You could also simply export your contacts folder to a
..PST file and copy that to your laptop...and if exporting doesn't produce
the desired results, you can create a new .PST on your desktop machine, drag
and drop the Contacts folder into it (use the right mouse button to do a
copy), and that should produce a perfect replica for your laptop.

If you've already tried these methods and they haven't worked for you, let
me know...but if you haven't tried them yet, they should be easy enough to
do, even on a frequent basis.

--
Jocelyn Fiorello
MVP - Outlook

*** Replies sent to my e-mail address will probably not be answered --
please reply only to the newsgroup to preserve the message thread. ***


In
 
Thanks for the help.

My real interest is whether Outlook 2003 will give me an easy way to
synchronize the contacts and calendar without running or using a server.
The fact that the slipstick site, indicates a release of a 2003 Exchange
Server probably answers my previous question.

When I investigated working around this problem at the slipstick site, it
seemed that I needed to be running and purchasing windows exchange server.

I wish to remain an average business user and not a server administrator.

Pete
 
I understand your concerns, and a lot of others are in the same boat. I do
believe, however, that for your particular issue, at least the one you have
mentioned in this thread (copying data from desktop to laptop before
traveling), you should not in any way require the use of a server, as you
can simply copy the data from one place to the other as needed.

Unfortunately, Outlook 2003 did not bring back the Net Folders feature, nor
any similar features to make it easier for non-Exchange users to share
information, so the answer to your question is no. Please do send your
thoughts on this issue to (e-mail address removed), and put Outlook in the
subject line. Microsoft does read all suggestions sent there, and the more
voices raised in protest, the more likely a change will be made for the next
Outlook version.

--
Jocelyn Fiorello
MVP - Outlook

*** Replies sent to my e-mail address will probably not be answered --
please reply only to the newsgroup to preserve the message thread. ***


In
 
Take a look at Kubi client - it may do what you are looking for a
means to share contacts, calendars, tasks, discussions and documents
from within Outlook, all without adding a server

Rob Ingram
http://www.kubisoftware.com
 
Another option is to use a hosted service. We switched a number of our
customers to Solve360 from www.norada.com and never looked back. No
hardware no software... very cool.

Cheers.
 
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