OL98: (CW) Managing a PST for Two Different Computers

ID: Q179735

The information in this article applies to:
NOTE: These procedures only apply if you have installed Outlook with the Corporate Workgroup/Other option. This option allows you to use Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI) services. To determine your installation type, on the Help Menu click About Microsoft Outlook. In About Microsoft Outlook you should see "Corporate" if you have the Corporate Workgroup installation.

SUMMARY

Microsoft Outlook 98 does not provide for automatically synchronizing a Personal Folder file (PST) between two different computers. This article suggests three workarounds.


MORE INFORMATION

There are three workarounds to synchronize a Personal Folder file (PST) between two different computers.

Use an Off-line Store (OST) File

If you are running Microsoft Exchange Server as your mail service, the best way to synchronize data between two computers is to use an Off-line Store (OST) file. This will allow for automatic synchronization between the data stored on the server and each computer using the server store.

For more information on using an off-line store, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Article-ID: Q182158
Title : OL98: What Are Offline Folders and How Do You Use Them?

Copy the Personal Folder (PST) File

You can use a Personal Folder (PST) file and copy it from one computer to another. A problem with this technique is that a PST file can become very large and may be too large to copy to a disk. In this event, you can use Windows Backup or another backup utility with the ability to write a file over multiple disks.

NOTE: You can use the Briefcase utility to synchronize the two machines if the PST file is less than 1.44 MB in size.

For more information on the Briefcase utility, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
ARTICLE-ID: Q142574
TITLE : How to Install and Use Briefcase

ARTICLE-ID: Q130076
TITLE : Briefcase Cannot Contain More Than 1.44 MB

ARTICLE-ID: Q172963
TITLE : How to Share Outlook Folders Using the Briefcase

Copy Only the Calendar, Contacts and Task Folders

A large PST file is usually the result of e-mail stored in the Inbox, Deleted Items, and other mail store folders. You can share only your Calendar, Contacts, and Tasks, without sharing your mail folders by using the following procedure:

NOTE: These steps must be performed on both computers intended to share the PST information.

Define a Second PST File

  1. On the Tools menu click Services, click Add and then click Personal Folders and click OK.


  2. Type a unique name for the new PST file such as, Shared.pst, and click Open. Type a display name for the Personal Folder, such as, Shared Folders and click OK, and OK.


  3. Quit Outlook.


Copy Your Calendar, Contact, and Task Items to the New Folders

  1. Start Outlook.


  2. Right-click your old Calendar folder then click Copy "Calendar."


  3. In the Copy Folder dialog box, click your Shared Folders and click OK.


  4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 above for both your Contacts and Tasks folders.


You should now have Calendar, Contact, and Task folders in your new Shared Folders file.

IMPORTANT: Verify these new folders contain all the items in the old folders before continuing.

Remove the Contents of Your Old Calendar, Contacts, and Tasks Folders

  1. Click your old Calendar folder and in the Current View window, click Active Appointments.


  2. On the Edit menu, click Select All. Right-click the selected items and click Delete.


  3. Repeat these steps for both your Contacts and Tasks folders.


You should now have mail still being delivered to your original Personal Folder set while Calendar, Contacts, and Tasks are in your new Shared Folder set. This new Shared Folder set (Shared.pst) should be small enough to be conveniently copied to disk for transport between computers.


REFERENCES

For information on Exporting PST files, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

ARTICLE-ID: Q182062
TITLE : OL98: Working With Personal Folders

Additional query words: 


Keywords          : GnlFold 
Version           : WINDOWS:
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: August 5, 1999