Synchronising Contacts

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naffyb - 28 Mar 2007 00:16 GMT

I'm in a small company operating 2 desktops and a laptop. I have my mobile
phone set to sync with one of the desktops and the laptop so the 3 of these
can be kept in line. However, different changes are made on all 3 computers
so the 2nd desktop is out of sync. Is there any way to sync contact
details/changes on an ongoing basis so that the contacts in all 3 computers
can be kept in line with each other?

Thanks in advance

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Brian Tillman - 28 Mar 2007 03:38 GMT

> I'm in a small company operating 2 desktops and a laptop. I have my
> mobile phone set to sync with one of the desktops and the laptop so
> the 3 of these can be kept in line. However, different changes are
> made on all 3 computers so the 2nd desktop is out of sync. Is there
> any way to sync contact details/changes on an ongoing basis so that
> the contacts in all 3 computers can be kept in line with each other?

See if something here helps:
http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/sync.htm

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Brian Tillman

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naffyb - 28 Mar 2007 12:54 GMT

Thanks for that. Something there may help. However, I was wondering on a
much simpler basis if importing the contacts file would work? - If the
changes made on the different computers related to different contacts - eg
starting with the same contacts list and then adding a new name on one
computer and adding a different couple of new names/amendments on the other,
whether simply importing the contacts.pst file and not allowing duplicates
would update one computer to match the other. The pst file could then be
imported the other way so that they were in sync.

Would this not work? If so, I'm curious as to how outlook recognises
duplicates - does it only see a duplicate where all fields match? or if it
sees the same name or company, would it then sync all fields within the
contact as appropriate with conflicts per option selected?

Thanks again in advance

> > I'm in a small company operating 2 desktops and a laptop. I have my
> > mobile phone set to sync with one of the desktops and the laptop so
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> See if something here helps:
> http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/sync.htm

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Brian Tillman - 28 Mar 2007 13:12 GMT

> Thanks for that. Something there may help. However, I was wondering
> on a much simpler basis if importing the contacts file would work? -

There is no "contacts file" in Outlook. All Outlook data (Inbox, Contacts,
Outbox, Calendar, Tasks, etc.) are stored in the same file, called the
Personal Folders file, which has an extension of ".pst". The default
location for that file on WIndows XP is %UserProfile%\Local
Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook and, I believe,
%AppData%\Local\Microsoft\Outlook on Vista. Just copy the entire PST to the
other machine.

> If the changes made on the different computers related to different
> contacts - eg starting with the same contacts list and then adding a
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> computer to match the other. The pst file could then be imported the
> other way so that they were in sync.

Importing won't guard against duplicates. Your best bet is to open the
copied PST in Outlook with File>Open>Outlook Data File, which will give you
access to all the data it contains. Then open that PST's Contacts folder
and copy the contacts you want to the default contacts folder. You can
select only thos contacts you know are not duplicates. When you're done,
close the PST again by right-clicking on its root and choosing Close.

> Would this not work? If so, I'm curious as to how outlook recognises
> duplicates - does it only see a duplicate where all fields match? or
> if it sees the same name or company, would it then sync all fields
> within the contact as appropriate with conflicts per option selected?

I think that the entire item must match exactly to be considered a
duplicate, but it may be as simple as the contents of the File As field. I
don't now. I rarely worry about duplicates because I copy in ways that
don't produce them. If I did, though, I'd get a duplicate eliminator from
http://www.slipstick.com/addins/contacts.htm#dupes . At least one (the last
one in the list) is free.

Signature

Brian Tillman

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naffyb - 28 Mar 2007 13:28 GMT

Perhaps I should have been clearer re "importing the contacts file".
Actually, what I meant was using the File, Import and Export option to export
all contacts only to a new pst file. That pst file can then be imported as
contacts to the other computer again, using File, Import and Export and with
the option to replace duplicates, allow duplicates or not to import
duplicates.

Would that not effectively sync the 2 computers?

> > Thanks for that. Something there may help. However, I was wondering
> > on a much simpler basis if importing the contacts file would work? -
[quoted text clipped - 33 lines]
> http://www.slipstick.com/addins/contacts.htm#dupes . At least one (the last
> one in the list) is free.

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Brian Tillman - 28 Mar 2007 16:37 GMT

> Perhaps I should have been clearer re "importing the contacts file".
> Actually, what I meant was using the File, Import and Export option
> to export all contacts only to a new pst file. That pst file can
> then be imported as contacts to the other computer again, using File,
> Import and Export and with the option to replace duplicates, allow
> duplicates or not to import duplicates.

Never export to or import from a PST. There is simply no need. Create a
new PSt and just copy the contacts folder to it.

I don't know how effective the duplicate handling is for the operation you
describe. As I said, I don't know how close the match must be for Outlook
to consider it a duplicate.

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Brian Tillman

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