keep phone numbers with '+' in outlook 2003 ??

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Jan Wagner - 13 Jul 2005 14:54 GMT

Hi,

is there any way to keep the '+' sign for the phone numbers in Outlook
2003 contacts?

Right now if I enter e.g. +358 123 123 in any of the phone number boxes,
Outlook removes the + prefix. The same happens if I upload the contacts
from PDA (all with correct '+' prefixes) to Outlook, where Outlook then
decides to delete the '+' so that a further sync with a Mobile phone
will end up with incorrect phone numbers.

I checked the Outlook settings and google groups, but couldn't find how
to tell Outlook NOT to delete the '+' from phone numbers!!? Any ideas?

(running Outlook 2003 german, and XP Pro german - if this has anything
to do with it)

thanks,
- Jan

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Jonas Kupinas - 13 Jul 2005 16:37 GMT

I have quite the same but different problem. Outlook lets me entering +, and
I synchronize it with my Nokia, so all the contact phones are with +. But
the windows phone dialer does not understand +, so I each time must delete
it in order to get phone dialer to dial at all. Is there any solution?
Please help,

thanks
genys

> Hi,
>
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
> thanks,
> - Jan

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Jan Wagner - 13 Jul 2005 20:59 GMT

> I have quite the same but different problem. Outlook lets me entering +, and
> I synchronize it with my Nokia, so all the contact phones are with +. But
> the windows phone dialer does not understand +, so I each time must delete
> it in order to get phone dialer to dial at all. Is there any solution?

I still don't know any acceptable solution yet to either of the two
problems, but started to consider that a short-term workaround /could/
be that one could replace the '+' prefix with the International
Telecommunication Union recommended international prefix '00'.

Quote from ITU: "ITU-T recommends that the Administrations of countries
which have not yet introduced automatic international operation or are,
for various reasons, revising their numbering plans, should adopt an
international prefix (a code for access to the international automatic
network) composed of the two digits “00”." Then my PDA, Nokia and PC
probably could each dial out without problems.

The 00 works as a fall-back in most (all?) countries. I'm not sure but
the USA might use a different numbering plan, so this might not work if
you travel there... Still, my problem of '+' being automatically deleted
im Outlook contacts, or your prob with the dialer not understanding '+',
makes Microsoft look really dumb - like they once again botched
something up... (at least if there's no easy solution?)

Anyway - any suggestions how to solve either problem are still very welcome!

- Jan

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Jonas Kupinas - 14 Jul 2005 05:43 GMT

I don't want to change all my contacts from + to 00 as I synchronize all my
contacts with my Nokia phone, and at least Lithuanian operators require +
before contry code in order to send SMS.

Microsoft is just MICROsoft, still not Macrosoft.

>> I have quite the same but different problem. Outlook lets me entering +,
>> and I synchronize it with my Nokia, so all the contact phones are with +.
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
>
> - Jan

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Jan Wagner - 25 Jul 2005 09:48 GMT

> is there any way to keep the '+' sign for the phone numbers in Outlook
> 2003 contacts?
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> decides to delete the '+' so that a further sync with a Mobile phone
> will end up with incorrect phone numbers.

Anyone?

+358 9 123123
correct notation but Outlook doesn't accept it

(09) 123123
is accepted and nationally correct notation, but no country prefix... :|

+358 (09) 123123
is accepted and logically correct notation but it doesn't dial right

+358 (9) 123123
is accepted and works (though not on the mobile phone which doesn't
'get' the ()'s ) and notation is just brain dead wrong e.g. area code is
09 not 9

Is there ANY way to make the internationally standardized and correct
notation of +358 9 123123 (instead of the wrong +358 (9) 123123) work in
Outlook 2003 ??!

- Jan

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