Synchronizing Outlook over a home network

[DukeN]

Hey Guys

I need your help bigtime over this one. I have a home network setup, set to share files, a printer and of course my cable connection.

What I really need to be able to do is synchronize my MS Outlook XP on both my desktop and my laptop on this network (both have the same version of Outlook - XP, lappy's running XP home and desktop's got XP pro). So basically all I need to be able to do is have the same outlook list of things - tasks, contacts and calendar on both PCs.

Does anyone have any suggestions or know of any software that will let me do this (that is'nt too expensive)? Or maybe Windows has something built in that I don't know about?

Thanks a lot.

Cheers
PB

 

[amnesiac]

I suppose MAYBE you could have the outlook .PST file on a shared network drive but I'm almost positive Outlook will freak the hell out if you do that.
As far as mail goes, your best bet is to use IMAP to synchronize between computers.

 

[Bglad]

Can't be done and has been discussed a ton here. Run a search. That is what Exchange Server is for.

 

[Confused]

I'm accessing my outlook.pst file across the network on my desktop and laptop. Outlook hasn't freaked out, and it's been running like this for quite a while

Of course to get it on the laptop, you'll need a network connection, be it wired, or wireless, but i don't know of a way to get the data, and keep it sync'd, if there is no network connection, it will just moan that the PST file can't be found.

Alternatively, if you know you're only going to be downloading emails etc to say laptop during day, then use the desktop at night, you could try to make a batch file which will copy the pst file one way or the other, overwriting if needed, depending on which was the last one to be changed. So, say you have the same copy of the pst file on desktop and laptop, then you work on the laptop, get a couple of emails and contacts, then you click the script, it will check the modified date of the copies on desktop and laptop, and will copy whichever is newest over the older one. the same script could also be run on the laptop if you have been working on the destop and modify it. Of course you'll have to make sure to only use one or the other, before copying/overwriting, otherwise you'll lose some stuff if you're not careful.


Confused

 

[gentobu]

Im not sure about syncing the contacts, calenders, etc, but with the email I just set my laptop email client to not delete messages from the server. That way I can get messages with my laptop when I'm out on the road and they will remain on the server untill I download them with my desktop.

 

[DukeN]

Ack..seems like I'll have to take a second mortgage to get exchange server, unless I can find a cheap used or NFR or student version somewhere.

Thanks for your help guys.

Cheers
PB

 

[bsobel]

Can't be done

Sure it can, it's all just ones and zero's

See here, specifically OSA Sync Pro and Outlook Plus (it's $10 per Outlook machine)

Bill

 

[DukeN]

Thanks bsobel and everyone else!