Easiest way to transfer Outlook mail, contact & settings

What is the easiest way to transfer outlook 2003 mail, contact and settings?

I cant seem to find an option that lets me backup all that stuff.

Cheers

 

For the mail, copy the .pst file located in your profile.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/287070

There are also instructions on how to backup the address book / contacts and settings on the link above.

 

This one is actually for my boss, she wants to be to access her email at home using Outlook

I dont think shes tech illiterate enough to follow all that.

Isnt there like a backup program like MozillaBackup but for outlook?

 

Yes there are software like that, but none that I know is free. :/

 

get your boss a laptop

seriously (well, actually, that was serious) what your saying may not make sense depending on her work vs. home setup.

We don't know where she gets her email from (exchange server? pop server?) or even if some of the settings would be relevent outside the office.

There are dozens of ways this might be done, but we don't know your office setup.

What will work in every case is something simply like gotomypc, and for $20 a month, really, that's an easy solution that even your boss can handle.

 

The settings dont matter, we use a VPN straight to our server/mail server (MailEnable PRO). I am one of the administrators.

I just need to something to copy all the settings, mail, contacts on one file so she can just import all of that at home with no hassles.

Ive advised her to use Thunderbird but she doesnt like it. Mozilla Backup is a very sweet tool.

MS Office 2003 fails once again. Word doesnt even have autosave -.-"

 

If you use a VPN, then the only thing she would need is to set up her account and settings on the PC at home, no?

You can use a script to create her account, as long as her home PC Outlook can connect to the Exchange server (which is doable over VPN).

In terms of the setting specifics, I'm pretty sure you could copy the Outlook folder from her C:\documents and settings\%username\Application Data\Microsoft and restore to the same location on her desktop using a script/batch file to copy/paste the folder from a USB key and overwrite any existing files. Sisnature folder is the same location as the Outlook folder so you could include that if needed.

 

If the settings don't matter, why do you need something to export/import the settings?

If all she wants is to "read" her email, write a little batch file to copy the pst file to a thumb drive, then have her put the thumb drive in her PC at home, and in outlook on her home computer, she chooses

FILE > DATA MAANGEMENT > ADD button, choose the appropriate version of pst file

This opens a file navigation box...she can then choose COMPUTER > Drive (the thumbdrive), and the PST file, click OK

In outlook, she will now see her work Outlook folders at the bottom of her folder list. She cannot read new email from home, but she will essentially have copied her email, contacts (maybe, depends on how she was set up) and calendar

 

This is what i meant by the settings dont matter.

-

A batch file might overwrite her current pre-existing email files at home(her ISP email i believe). She normally uses our webmail client to access her email from home.

Ive provided her the account settings and exported her emails.pst into a USB drive for now.

Thanks anyway.

I just thought there would be an easier way to migrate a whole outlook account using just 1 file like with Thunderbird/Mozilla backup.

 

the batch file simply writes the pst file to thumb drive to make it easier for her.

Using data file management function to add the work file enables her to look at her data.

I guess I still don't understand what you mean by "settings" because it is clear to me that we're not communicating on that front.

To me, settings are connections to the mail source (including server settings), user names and passwords

These could be accomplished by a simple REG file import (something like)

Code:

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\OMI Account Manager\Accounts\{account name}]
"DCEmail"=dword:00000002
"POP3 Server"="{pop server name}"
"POP3 Port"=dword:0000006e
"SMTP Server"="{smtp server name}"
"SMTP Port"=dword:0000024b
"Connection Type"=dword:00000003
"POP3 User Name"="{username}"
"SMTP Display Name"="{displayname}"
"SMTP Email Address"="{email addres}"
"SMTP Reply To Email Address"="{email addres}"
"SMTP Organization Name"=""
"Account Name"="{account name}"
"POP3 Timeout"=dword:0000003c
"SMTP Timeout"=dword:0000003c
"POP3 Secure Connection"=dword:00000000
"Leave Mail On Server"=dword:00000000
"POP3 Skip Account"=dword:00000000
"POP3 Prompt for Password"=dword:00000001
"SMTP User Name"="{user name}"
"SMTP Use Sicily"=dword:00000002
"SMTP Secure Connection"=dword:00000000
"SMTP Split Messages"=dword:00000000
"SMTP Prompt for Password"=dword:00000000

which shouldn't overwrite her settings, but would be useless from home anyway given your setup

 

p.s.--the reason it would not overwrite the settins is that each email account settings group is distinguished by the first line in the above code, which is the key name in the registry. So, unless you chose the same key name, it would get its own registry key and not overwrite.

Again, not so much for your benefit, but for someone else who stumbles this way in the future

 

There are free 2 options you can do without losing her home emails:

Option 1 - Outlook 2003 supports multiple PST files, just add the work PST to her home computer. But with this method, when she opens Outlook, she will see two Personal Folders.

Option 2 - Merge the data from the work PST to the home PST. This method requires some effort though. First you will have to add the work PST file like Option 1 above, then you open Outlook and manually drag all the emails from her work-PST-Personal-Folder to her home-PST-personal-folder.

I don't think you can do either methods with a simple batch file though.

However... there is a very simple method, but it will cost you or the company $45.

http://www.maclean.com/upstart.php