Entourage 2004 Database File Format...Extensibility?

P

Prometheus

Why is the Entourage 2004 database format so much less flexible than the
Outlook PST file? I am disappointed that Spotlight won¹t be able to index
Entourage, even though most desktop search tools in Windows can index
Outlook. What is it about the formats that make them so different, and why
are they so different in terms of how extensible they are? I am not a
developer, but they appear similar, in that both incorporate a single
database approach.

I am genuinely curious as to why this is...if an MVP can answer this
question, I¹d appreciate it.
 
M

matt neuburg

Prometheus said:
Why is the Entourage 2004 database format so much less flexible than the
Outlook PST file? I am disappointed that Spotlight won't be able to index
Entourage, even though most desktop search tools in Windows can index
Outlook. What is it about the formats that make them so different, and why
are they so different in terms of how extensible they are? I am not a
developer, but they appear similar, in that both incorporate a single
database approach.
Click to expand...

There is nothing more or less flexible about the database format. When
files are in a proprietary format, information about what's in them must
be made available to Spotlight by the individual applications. Apple's
Mail program explicitly tells Spotlight about mail messages. Apple's
iCal explicitly tells Spotlight about calendar events. If Entourage were
to be rewritten to do so, it could tell Spotlight about what's in its
database. m.
 
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