How to sync POP3-IMAP contact/calendar data
Contact/calendar data cannot be sync’d across multiple devices without the use of 3rd party sync software such as CompanionLink
An alternative approach would be to create a free Outlook.com account (if you don’t already have one). Once created, perform the following in Outlook
- – add the Outlook.com account to the Outlook profile, this will result in a new OST data file being added to Outlook which will include contact/calendar folders
- – copy the contact/calendar data you want to share from the original contact folders to the corresponding Outlook.com folder (see instructions on best practice to follow for copying data)
- – from Outlook menu, go to File –> Account Settings –> Data Files tab –> highlight the Outlook.com ost file and set it as the default data file. The default data file in Outlook is where the default contact/calendar folders are stored
Setting a different default data file has no impact and is separate from setting a default email account. There is also no requirement to use the Outlook.com account for email, When this is completed, add the Outlook.com account to each device with which you want the data shared.
Best practice – copying contact data from one folder to another
- select the contact folder
- press CTRL+A to select all the contacts
- right-click on the selected contacts –> select <Move> –> select <Copy to folder> (recommended) instead of <Other folder>
The reason for selecting <Copy to Folder> instead of <Move Folder> is that the <Copy> method does just that. It makes a copy of the contacts whereas the <Move> process will delete the source items after copying the items to the destination folder. In the event that something goes wrong, you will always have a copy of the original items. Once you have confirmed that everything has been copied correcly, you can delete the contents from the original source folder(s)
Best practice – copying calendar data from one folder to another
This is essentially the same process as used for copying contacts with the only minor difference is the <View> setting for the calendar folder should first be set to a <List> view before tryiing to select all items in the folder
Category: Outlook - How To, Outlook Sync
