SBS2003 Copying Contacts from GAL

[Precision]

I have approx. 15 computers on a network w/ one SBS2003 server and can copy
contacts from the GAL into each users' Outlook 2003 contacts folder except
for one user. I get an error that says "Some names could not be added to
contacts. The action could not be completed." Please help me in solving
this problem, because she needs a copy of everyone from the GAL to be in her
contacts folder for syncing purposes with a Palm device.

 

[Mark Arnold [MVP]]

I have approx. 15 computers on a network w/ one SBS2003 server and can copy
contacts from the GAL into each users' Outlook 2003 contacts folder except
for one user. I get an error that says "Some names could not be added to
contacts. The action could not be completed." Please help me in solving
this problem, because she needs a copy of everyone from the GAL to be in her
contacts folder for syncing purposes with a Palm device.

Why exactly are you wanting to do that anyway?

 

[Precision]

I want to highlight the contacts to be copied from the address book, just
like I did with some of the other computers, and tell Outlook to copy these
into the local contacts folder. then from there, when i sync the Palm
handheld, all of those contacts will be copied onto the handheld. it worked
for other users but i think there may be some kind of permission error with
this computer. i checked for viruses and spyware and they all have the same
patches and updates. any suggestoins?

 

[Mark Arnold [MVP]]

I want to highlight the contacts to be copied from the address book, just
like I did with some of the other computers, and tell Outlook to copy these
into the local contacts folder. then from there, when i sync the Palm
handheld, all of those contacts will be copied onto the handheld. it worked
for other users but i think there may be some kind of permission error with
this computer. i checked for viruses and spyware and they all have the same
patches and updates. any suggestoins?

Oh God, you mentioned the dreaded word, Palm. OK, now I see why you
actually want to do it, not just what you want to do.
It won't be the permissions of the client since it takes on the
permissions of the user.

 

[Dave Nickason [SBS MVP]]

What happes if you go to Outlook Tools/ Address Book. Select the GAL and
select the contacts to be added to Contacts (or the whole GAL). R-click the
selected items and click "add to contacts."

If that's what you're already doing, can you copy any contacts, or is it
stopping you from copying any at all?

 

[Precision]

That's exactly what I'm doing and I cannot copy at all, it just gives me that
error that i stated in the original post.

 

[Precision]

So are your suggestions, Mark? What do you think is unique about this
computer that is causing this issue?

 

[Dave Nickason [SBS MVP]]

My first thought would be a problem with the Offline Address Book in Cached
Exchnage Mode. Maybe there's some corruption in the offline address book
for that user's profile, and since Outlook runs off the offline address book
in cached mode rather than the live GAL, it won't allow copying the
corrupted entries to Contacts.

The first thing I would try is to go out of cached mode, restart Outlook,
and see if that fixes it. If so, there's your answer. Either stay in
normal mode, or figure out how to delete the offline address book so that
Outlook recreates it when you reactiviate cached mode.

If not, try having the user log into Exchange from a different computer and
see if the problem is present there. I'm not 100% on Exchange address book
permissions, but my least priviledged users can copy GAL entries to contacts
as we're talking about, so I suspect a bug rather than a configuration
issue.

Is this user's Outlook current with all patches, Office SP1, etc.?

 

[Mark Arnold [MVP]]

So are your suggestions, Mark? What do you think is unique about this
computer that is causing this issue?

Sorry, yes. A send button getting exited there.
Can you delete and recreate the MAPI profile and try again.

 

[Precision]

All of the Outlook Clients in this organization are running SP1 and are not
in Exchange Cached Mode. However, I will try the same user on another
computer and I do not know how make the GAL refresh or recreate itself in
Outlook. I'll keep you posted.

 

[Dave Nickason [SBS MVP]]

I'm not exactly sure how you delete/recreate the offline address book
either. You could research it at support.microsoft.com, which of course
would be the right way to do it. Or, you could go to C:\Documents and
Settings\<user>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook and delete
all the files ending in ".oab" to the recycle bin and see what happens. I'd
guess (and I really am guessing) that the offline address book files will be
recreated when you start Outlook. Theoretically you could always restore
the files from the recycle bin if you run into a problem.

 

[Rich Matheisen [MVP]]

I'm not exactly sure how you delete/recreate the offline address book
either.

The OAB is a set of files in a public folder. To regenerate the OAB
you use the Exchange System Manager, find the OAB you want to
recreate, right-click it, and pick "Rebuild".

You could research it at support.microsoft.com, which of course
would be the right way to do it. Or, you could go to C:\Documents and
Settings\<user>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook and delete
all the files ending in ".oab" to the recycle bin and see what happens.

Nothing bad will happen. You should, however, download the OAB. This
is especially important if Outlook 2003 is running in cachedmode.

I'd
guess (and I really am guessing) that the offline address book files will be
recreated when you start Outlook.

That's what should happen, but it's better to download the complete
OAB yourself from the "Tools | Send Receive | Address Book..." menu.
Getting the "Full details" is a good idea.