Lost links between contacts and email in entourage 2004

[Mike Bonnice]

Over the weekend I got a new Mac having Office 2004, the old Mac used
Office X. I ported by copying my entire home directory from the old
computer to the new, plus as much of the stuff from the top level
directory as I could think of (like /Library/Preferences and so on).

Now that I'm back to using Entourage on a daily basis, I'm starting to
see the differences. Some I don't like but can live with (like the
minimum size of a window is larger that it was, so I can't have my
layout like it was). Some I might like (like projects). But here's one
that I don't like A LOT! All the links between contacts and emails are
gone.

I mean that in the Address Book, when there is a link icon next to a
contact name, I could open the link menu and get to a list of every
email that was associated with that contact. Now, those links are gone.
The emails are still there, in the Mail window in whatever subfolder I
put them in. But, the links are missing.

New links are created as new mail arrives or as I create new mail. The
lost links are those associated with everything before I switched to 2004.

When people asked me why I use Entourage rather than Apple's suite, I
would say, "because I can find all email that is associated with a
contact with a single click on the link icon". Their jaws would drop
and they say "cool". Now, that feature is dead for all my past mail.
Tell me why I shouldn't switch to Apple's suite, since I suspect it will
be more compatible with everything else I do.

What's the deal? Can I fix this?

Mike

 

[Paul Berkowitz]

Over the weekend I got a new Mac having Office 2004, the old Mac used
Office X. I ported by copying my entire home directory from the old
computer to the new, plus as much of the stuff from the top level
directory as I could think of (like /Library/Preferences and so on).

Now that I'm back to using Entourage on a daily basis, I'm starting to
see the differences. Some I don't like but can live with (like the
minimum size of a window is larger that it was, so I can't have my
layout like it was). Some I might like (like projects). But here's one
that I don't like A LOT! All the links between contacts and emails are
gone.

I mean that in the Address Book, when there is a link icon next to a
contact name, I could open the link menu and get to a list of every
email that was associated with that contact. Now, those links are gone.
The emails are still there, in the Mail window in whatever subfolder I
put them in. But, the links are missing.

That's nothing to do with 2004 vs. X. It's to do with the import from X
process - since it ha to upgrade the database it's equivalent to rebuilding
the database. Whenever you rebuild the database you lose links. I believe MS
are looking at being o preserve links but so far - no go.

New links are created as new mail arrives or as I create new mail. The
lost links are those associated with everything before I switched to 2004.

When people asked me why I use Entourage rather than Apple's suite, I
would say, "because I can find all email that is associated with a
contact with a single click on the link icon". Their jaws would drop
and they say "cool". Now, that feature is dead for all my past mail.
Tell me why I shouldn't switch to Apple's suite, since I suspect it will
be more compatible with everything else I do.

What's the deal? Can I fix this?

You can use the filter in mail folders, or the Advanced Find to search ALL
mail folders, for "From", and it will still get all the emails.

You can rebuild the links by dragging folders out to your desktop and
dragging the resulting MBOX files back in (and you'll probably want to
delete the original folders). That will remake contact links but you'll lose
all your other tags like Replied, Forwarded, Flag and even the non-default
accounts of the messages. If this really matters to you, you could preserver
everything by getting my shareware scripts "Export-Import Entourage X" at

MacScripter.net <http://macscripter.net/scriptbuilders/>

and running Messages Export from X script on each folder, deleting original,
and importing back in with Messages Import into X script. (Don't use Folders
Export and Import; use Messages Export and Import.) None of these methods
can recreate other links you had in X, but the messages-to-contacts links
will be recreated on re-entry.


--
Paul Berkowitz
MVP MacOffice
Entourage FAQ Page: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org/faq/index.html>
AppleScripts for Entourage: <http://macscripter.net/scriptbuilders/>

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PLEASE always state which version of Microsoft Office you are using -
**2004**, X or 2001. It's often impossible to answer your questions
otherwise.

 

[Mike Bonnice]

You can rebuild the links by dragging folders out to your desktop and
dragging the resulting MBOX files back in (and you'll probably want to
delete the original folders).

This was the tip that did it. Thanks!

Mike