Want to Sync OL03 w/OST with 2nd OL03 w/PST? PLEASE!

[Richard M]

My main Outlook 03 sync through Outlook Connector to my Hotmail Acct. I
would very much like to sync my desktop Outlook OST(and my hotmail) with
another Desktop Outlook PST? Since it is all the same information I cannot
imagine how this could be difficult....Please enlighten....or sugget some
work arounds. I know that I can export the ost info and open a new pst
with the same information, but that info goes stale everytime I use Hotmail.
The issue goes to my iPhone - it only syncs with a pst file. Thanks

 

[Roady [MVP]]

Since you are using the Outlook Connector, syncing with a second PC is as
easy as installing the Outlook Connector on that second PC as well. It will
collect its own copy directly from the server. Since the Outlook Connector
is a 2-way sync process, all changes on the first comp will automatically
get synced to the server and thus also to the second computer.

As for your iPhone issue, see if setting your Hotmail account as the default
account and the default delivery location will allow you to sync with
Outlook. If not, this could be a limitation of your iPhone. Live Hotmail is
adding POP3 support to free Hotmail accounts at the the time of writing
this. If your account has it already enabled, then you can configure your
iPhone to directly collect the email itself. If not, you can always visit
mobile.live.com on your iPhone to access your mail.

 

[Richard M]

Thank you. I have read many of your posts and they were all well written, to
the point and helpful. I am fortunate to get your reply.

Regarding using OL to sync the two computers, will that meant that both
computers will then have all their data in offline OST files? To me that is
the big challenge to get one of the desktops to have a realtime syncing pst
file - that way I can have not just email, which I can get since I just paid
for Hotmail Plus (guess by your comment I can stop paying for that since they
will now or soon offer free pop hotmail), but I also need the pst to sync my
contacts and calendar.

Thank you again.

 

[Roady [MVP]]

I have read many of your posts and they were all well written, to

the point and helpful. I am fortunate to get your reply.

Thanks for the compliment

Yes, if you install the Outlook Connector on both computers, they will both
have their own ost-file which will be an off-line cache of your on-line
Hotmail mailbox which basically holds the master copy. Did I already mention
they sync both ways? ;-)

I believe the iPhone only syncs with the default message store (either
ost-based or pst-based). That's why it is important to have the Hotmail set
as the default because then you can also sync your Hotmail Contacts and
Calendar to your iPhone.

 

[Richard M]

I am not making my situation clear - let me try again.

The iphone can get pop Hotmail - but only the email. To get calendar and
contacts, I have to use either their MobileMe software or iTunes to sync.
But those two options apparently only see PST files. I cannot find a way to
get them to look at OST.

So my idea was to create a 2nd Ouloook in another user on my same desktop
and to use this outlook to somehow sync with my primary desktop outlook, the
one with the ost, but hopefully this second account would have all the
contacts, calendar and email after syncing, stored in a PST file. Then I
could tell the iTunes to sync with the 2nd Outlook because it would have
everything my primary outlook has, but now it would be in PST.

So the big isssue is whether the sync between Outlook 1 (ost) and Outlook 2
would leave Outlook 2 as a PST?

 

[Grampa]

Richard, this is exactly my situation, except that I have a Windows Mobile
smartphone rather than an iPhone. There seem to be many products that will
synchronize the Pocket Outlook calendar on my phone with the main .pst
calendar in Outlook, but not with the .ost calendar in Outlook or with the
calendar in my Hotmail or Windows Live account. In my case, I do have the
..ost account set as the default for email, but it doesn't help. The .pst
calendar is still considered the default calendar, and it's the only one
these sync products will recognize.

If you find a solution, I'd like to hear it. Meanwhile, what I do is to use
POP3 to download email from Hotmail to my phone, but then synchronize my
phone's calendar with the main .pst calendar in Outlook using Verizon's
Wirelesssync. I then sync that calendar with the Google calendar to get an
online version. It's kind of funny that I have Microsoft PIM products for my
phone, my desktop, and online, but I can't get them to talk to each other.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

Richard, this is exactly my situation, except that I have a Windows Mobile
smartphone rather than an iPhone. There seem to be many products that will
synchronize the Pocket Outlook calendar on my phone with the main .pst
calendar in Outlook, but not with the .ost calendar in Outlook or with the
calendar in my Hotmail or Windows Live account. In my case, I do have the
.ost account set as the default for email, but it doesn't help. The .pst
calendar is still considered the default calendar, and it's the only one
these sync products will recognize.

You don't sync "with a pst" or "with an ost" when using a Windows Mobile
device. You sync with whatever data store the mail profile is using for its
delivery location. If the delivery location is an Exchange mailbox, you
sync with that. If the delivery location is a PST, you sync with that, but
what you're really syching with is the mail profile. I sync my WIndows
Mobile device at work and at home. I use Outlook 2003 with an Exchange
account at work and Outlook 2007 with a POP account at home.

If you're using a Hotmail account with the Outlook Connector and the Hotmail
data store is the delivery location in the mail profile, then the sync
software should work with that as well. I personally haven't tried it, but
the program interfaces the sync software uses don't really care what the
profile has defined as the delivery location. It should use whatever's
defined.

 

[Grampa]

You don't sync "with a pst" or "with an ost" when using a Windows Mobile
device. You sync with whatever data store the mail profile is using for its
delivery location. If the delivery location is an Exchange mailbox, you
sync with that. If the delivery location is a PST, you sync with that, but
what you're really syching with is the mail profile. I sync my WIndows
Mobile device at work and at home. I use Outlook 2003 with an Exchange
account at work and Outlook 2007 with a POP account at home.

If you're using a Hotmail account with the Outlook Connector and the Hotmail
data store is the delivery location in the mail profile, then the sync
software should work with that as well. I personally haven't tried it, but
the program interfaces the sync software uses don't really care what the
profile has defined as the delivery location. It should use whatever's
defined.

I may not have the terminology right, but I am not aware of any software
that will synchronize my Windows Live calendar with the Pocket Outlook
calendar on my Windows Mobile phone. There are several programs that will
synchronize the desktop Outlook calendar with the Pocket Outlook calendar,
but they work only with the main calendar folder in desktop Outlook, not with
the calendar folder created when I set up my Windows Live account in Outlook
using the Outlook Connector. Like Exchange, Outlook Connector uses an OST
file for offline storage. Unlike Exchange, however, Windows Live does not
support synchronization with third party products. The same, I think, is true
of the contacts folder. That's why I'm looking for a workaround that might
synchronize the folders within the Outlook interface.

 

[Richard M]

Grampa,

I dont know about Windows Mobile, it seems to me that what Brian says makes
sense. I thought that was the whole beauty behind Windows Mobile - that you
could sync everything whether with outlook or hotmail. That said, since I am
trying to make my iPhone work because I think that the iPhone platform, while
in an infant stage, is the way of the future - I have found a work around for
the calendar that works great. Useing Outlook Connector to get all your info
on your PC in Outlook, then set up a Gmail account - use Gmail's sync product
to sync its calendar with Outlook Calendar, then use a product at
nuevasync.com to sync gmail calendar to your phone. It goes both ways and
everything I do on my phone syncs to gmail and then to Outlook and then to
Hotmail. Kinda silly that such huge companies, with zillions of dedicated
customers, force us to go through such hoops.

 

[Grampa]

Richard,

I read about Nuavasync, but it wasn't clear to me that this program would
sync with the folder managed by Outlook Connector. I assume from your comment
that it does? Funny you should raise this work around. Just this morning I
started evaluating another program called gSyncit, which appears to do the
same thing. So far it's working.

I agree that it shouldn't be so complicated. Microsoft PIM products
(Outlook, Pocket Outlook, Windows Live) should synchronize seamlessly across
desktop, mobile phone, and online platforms. Oh well.

 

[Richard M]

I'll have to give gsyncit a try. Nueva, though, does not work w/ outlook
connector, rather my crazy path is hotmail>outlook
connector>outlook>gmail>nuevasync>iphone.

It is nuts how much time this has all taken to figure out. Not a good way
to treat customers.....

Richard,

I read about Nuavasync, but it wasn't clear to me that this program would
sync with the folder managed by Outlook Connector. I assume from your comment
that it does? Funny you should raise this work around. Just this morning I
started evaluating another program called gSyncit, which appears to do the
same thing. So far it's working.

I agree that it shouldn't be so complicated. Microsoft PIM products
(Outlook, Pocket Outlook, Windows Live) should synchronize seamlessly across
desktop, mobile phone, and online platforms. Oh well.

Grampa,

I dont know about Windows Mobile, it seems to me that what Brian says makes
sense. I thought that was the whole beauty behind Windows Mobile - that you
could sync everything whether with outlook or hotmail. That said, since I am
trying to make my iPhone work because I think that the iPhone platform, while
in an infant stage, is the way of the future - I have found a work around for
the calendar that works great. Useing Outlook Connector to get all your info
on your PC in Outlook, then set up a Gmail account - use Gmail's sync product
to sync its calendar with Outlook Calendar, then use a product at
nuevasync.com to sync gmail calendar to your phone. It goes both ways and
everything I do on my phone syncs to gmail and then to Outlook and then to
Hotmail. Kinda silly that such huge companies, with zillions of dedicated
customers, force us to go through such hoops.

:


Richard, this is exactly my situation, except that I have a Windows Mobile
smartphone rather than an iPhone. There seem to be many products that will
synchronize the Pocket Outlook calendar on my phone with the main .pst
calendar in Outlook, but not with the .ost calendar in Outlook or with the
calendar in my Hotmail or Windows Live account. In my case, I do have the
.ost account set as the default for email, but it doesn't help. The .pst
calendar is still considered the default calendar, and it's the only one
these sync products will recognize.

You don't sync "with a pst" or "with an ost" when using a Windows Mobile
device. You sync with whatever data store the mail profile is using for its
delivery location. If the delivery location is an Exchange mailbox, you
sync with that. If the delivery location is a PST, you sync with that, but
what you're really syching with is the mail profile. I sync my WIndows
Mobile device at work and at home. I use Outlook 2003 with an Exchange
account at work and Outlook 2007 with a POP account at home.

If you're using a Hotmail account with the Outlook Connector and the Hotmail
data store is the delivery location in the mail profile, then the sync
software should work with that as well. I personally haven't tried it, but
the program interfaces the sync software uses don't really care what the
profile has defined as the delivery location. It should use whatever's
defined.
--
Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]



I may not have the terminology right, but I am not aware of any software
that will synchronize my Windows Live calendar with the Pocket Outlook
calendar on my Windows Mobile phone. There are several programs that will
synchronize the desktop Outlook calendar with the Pocket Outlook calendar,
but they work only with the main calendar folder in desktop Outlook, not with
the calendar folder created when I set up my Windows Live account in Outlook
using the Outlook Connector. Like Exchange, Outlook Connector uses an OST
file for offline storage. Unlike Exchange, however, Windows Live does not
support synchronization with third party products. The same, I think, is true
of the contacts folder. That's why I'm looking for a workaround that might
synchronize the folders within the Outlook interface.

 

[Grampa]

My path is just about as circuitous. A calendar event entered on my phone
looks like this: phone -> Outlook pst calendar folder (using Verizon
Wirelesssync) -> Google calendar (using Google Calendar Sync) -> Outlook ost
calendar folder (using gSyncit) -> Windows Live Calendar (using Outlook
Connector). In other words, it takes four separate sync programs to get the
event from the phone to Windows Live. I might be able to get gSyncit to
replace Google Calendar Sync, but that's still three programs.

What I want is fairly straightforward. I use three Microsoft programs on
three platforms to manage three types of information: Outlook, Pocket
Outlook, and Windows Live on, respectively, my desktop, my phone, and the
internet, to manage my mail, my calendar, and my contacts. I like and use all
three of these programs; each has its particular role in organizing my life.
I would like to be able to access and change the information in any of these
programs, and have it show up consistently in all of them. I've been waiting
for years for Microsoft or some third party to figure out how to do this.
Whoever gets it right deserves a prize.

I'll have to give gsyncit a try. Nueva, though, does not work w/ outlook
connector, rather my crazy path is hotmail>outlook
connector>outlook>gmail>nuevasync>iphone.

It is nuts how much time this has all taken to figure out. Not a good way
to treat customers.....

Richard,

I read about Nuavasync, but it wasn't clear to me that this program would
sync with the folder managed by Outlook Connector. I assume from your comment
that it does? Funny you should raise this work around. Just this morning I
started evaluating another program called gSyncit, which appears to do the
same thing. So far it's working.

I agree that it shouldn't be so complicated. Microsoft PIM products
(Outlook, Pocket Outlook, Windows Live) should synchronize seamlessly across
desktop, mobile phone, and online platforms. Oh well.

Grampa,

I dont know about Windows Mobile, it seems to me that what Brian says makes
sense. I thought that was the whole beauty behind Windows Mobile - that you
could sync everything whether with outlook or hotmail. That said, since I am
trying to make my iPhone work because I think that the iPhone platform, while
in an infant stage, is the way of the future - I have found a work around for
the calendar that works great. Useing Outlook Connector to get all your info
on your PC in Outlook, then set up a Gmail account - use Gmail's sync product
to sync its calendar with Outlook Calendar, then use a product at
nuevasync.com to sync gmail calendar to your phone. It goes both ways and
everything I do on my phone syncs to gmail and then to Outlook and then to
Hotmail. Kinda silly that such huge companies, with zillions of dedicated
customers, force us to go through such hoops.

:



:


Richard, this is exactly my situation, except that I have a Windows Mobile
smartphone rather than an iPhone. There seem to be many products that will
synchronize the Pocket Outlook calendar on my phone with the main .pst
calendar in Outlook, but not with the .ost calendar in Outlook or with the
calendar in my Hotmail or Windows Live account. In my case, I do have the
.ost account set as the default for email, but it doesn't help. The .pst
calendar is still considered the default calendar, and it's the only one
these sync products will recognize.

You don't sync "with a pst" or "with an ost" when using a Windows Mobile
device. You sync with whatever data store the mail profile is using for its
delivery location. If the delivery location is an Exchange mailbox, you
sync with that. If the delivery location is a PST, you sync with that, but
what you're really syching with is the mail profile. I sync my WIndows
Mobile device at work and at home. I use Outlook 2003 with an Exchange
account at work and Outlook 2007 with a POP account at home.

If you're using a Hotmail account with the Outlook Connector and the Hotmail
data store is the delivery location in the mail profile, then the sync
software should work with that as well. I personally haven't tried it, but
the program interfaces the sync software uses don't really care what the
profile has defined as the delivery location. It should use whatever's
defined.
--
Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]



I may not have the terminology right, but I am not aware of any software
that will synchronize my Windows Live calendar with the Pocket Outlook
calendar on my Windows Mobile phone. There are several programs that will
synchronize the desktop Outlook calendar with the Pocket Outlook calendar,
but they work only with the main calendar folder in desktop Outlook, not with
the calendar folder created when I set up my Windows Live account in Outlook
using the Outlook Connector. Like Exchange, Outlook Connector uses an OST
file for offline storage. Unlike Exchange, however, Windows Live does not
support synchronization with third party products. The same, I think, is true
of the contacts folder. That's why I'm looking for a workaround that might
synchronize the folders within the Outlook interface.