Any Outlook Experts

[N_Jay]

Looking for someone with experience in setting up Outlook (2003) to easily move between a desktop and a laptop.

Any one want to give it a try?

[hop23]

What are you trying to do?

In my experience, the critical decision you have to make is where you want the authoritative copy of your data to live.

For example, I consider my laptop authoritative. I have about 5GB of email separated into 4 Personal Folders (.pst) files. I have my Inbox configured for Offline access (this is now the default with Outlook 2003's new caching mode). So my laptop always has all my email, even the stuff on the server (up to the last sync). Meanwhile, other Outlook clients (such as the desktop) can see the mail on the server as well. The downside is that the .pst files need to be manually copied to the desktop periodically so they will have a reasonably current copy of the mail archive. I used to do this quite a bit, but I have since rebuilt the desktop, and I never bothered to set it up again. In any event, if you do the copies frequently, this method can serve as a pretty good backup system for your email.

[N_Jay]

I would like to have whichever computer I am using be the main copy.

My usage mode is to use my PC with all my mail in a one pst, and all the accounts delivering the mail to one PST, and not leaving any on the server.
Then when I get ready to go away, I want to move as few files as posible (one PST) from my PC to my Laptop, and at that point I will only use the laptop for mail access, receiving all my mail and delivering it to that PST, and not leaving any on the server, untill I get home.

Then I reverse the transfer.

I should always have all my mail and contacts where I want them.

What would be better would be a syncromize program, sort of like the old briefcase thing (which I nevr used) so my PST would be synced everytime the two machines are on the network together. As long as I did not have both Outlooks open at the same time.

[hop23]

The only solution that comes to mind immediately is to place the PST file on a USB memory key, or some other storage device that you can easily move between machines. No more copying. That is, unless you have 5GB like me..

[john802]

I am using a USB 2.0 with 256 MB key for my .pst files.

-john

[N_Jay]

Originally posted by hop23
The only solution that comes to mind immediately is to place the PST file on a USB memory key, or some other storage device that you can easily move between machines. No more copying. That is, unless you have 5GB like me..

Not a bad idea, but realy don't want to buy a huge USB drive just for mail, nor do I want to lose all my mail when the drive goes belly up, nor suffer with the slow speed of flash memory.

After talking to MS (lack of) help line, I figured out how to put the PST in a directory that I could easily mirror on both machines.

From what they said (I will have to test to be sure) all my mail, contacts, and callendar are all in one PST by default.

It took a while to get through all the steps required to get Outlook 2003 to use a new place for the PST and stop using the default location (c:/doumentsandsettings/ . . . . . /Outlook/xxx.pst).

Now I have to get both PCs set up with the EXACT same account information (10 accounts), and then transfer the rules file.

You would think that about 80% of PC users would need to do this and it should be easier!

[N_Jay]

Originally posted by john802
I am using a USB 2.0 with 256 MB key for my .pst files.

-john

How well does it work?

[john802]

Originally posted by N_Jay


How well does it work?

It works like any other hard drive except it's portable.

-john

[N_Jay]

Originally posted by john802


It works like any other hard drive except it's portable.

-john

I notice a big speed difference when using mine.
I would have thought it would slow down Outlook a lot.