Understanding Sync’ing versus Importing
This may all seem very obvious to some but it is something that comes up on a regular basis for those who are new to the concepts of sync’ing and importing or are not completely clear about the “batch processing functions of ContactGenie import/export products when used in conjunction with a task scheduler.
Synchronization (sync’ing), for the purposes of this article as related to email/PIM information is the bi-directional process used to keep two data locations updated so that these are equal at a given moment in time. Specifically, this would involve email account data stored on the server along with the offline data storage maintained (if applicable) on the computer/device initiating the sync process. The focus of this article is going to be syncing as it applies when using the Outlook desktop email client. When you connect to your email account via WebMail using a browser email client, you are connecting directly to with the server – no local syncing occurs (ignoring such things as Google’s Offline Mail browser app for GMail)
Syncing is not a “real-time” activity. For example, how frequently your computer syncs with the server depends on the Send/Receive settings defined in Outlook. The interval should be sufficient to allow for the downloading of new/updated information located on the server and uploading of any new/updated data created locally. Make that interval too small and you’ll find that Outlook is in a perpetual state of “connecting”.
Syncing can essentially be categorized in one of the following three types involing two different types of data (Email and PIM <contact etc>)
Outlook Desktop/Mobile <–> Email Account on Server
There are only 3 inherently native sync processes built into Outlook (part of the original Outlook install process) that do not require anything additional to be installed
- IMAP sync (an inherent process of the Imap email protocol which only includes email items)
- Outlook ‘2013 EAS (Exchange Active Sync) – both email and PIM data
- Microsoft Exchange (an addin that is automatically installed with Outlook) – both email and PIM data
The Outlook HotMail Connector is not a native process since it is technically an Outlook addin like any other sync related addins with the only difference between it and any other 3rd party addins is that it’s an “optional” addin provided by Microsoft that needs to be installed separately like anything else.
The POP3 email protocol does not involve anything related to “syncing” since this is a uni-directional download of <Inbox> email on the server to desktop/device.
Synchronizing any other kind of data with Outlook such as Google Contacts/Calendar requires a 3rd party tool to accomplish the process which must be installed separately. There is no (and never has been) and native capability to access other external data outside of the items mentioned above in any version of the Outlook desktop client.
Synchronizing data on a mobile device with any email and/or PIM information is totally based on the capabilities of what the software that is available with (or optionally for) the device being used. There is no guarantee that whatever functionality exists on the mobile device will be identical to the 3rd party solution installed on the desktop for use with Outlook – those are two entirely different and mutually exclusive processes. The same vendor may provide a solution for use on both the desktop and mobile device but those are still two entirely products.
Outlook Desktop <–> Mobile Device
There is no built-in capability of any kind provided with Outlook to synchronize with any mobile device. Many devices come with free desktop sync software either in the box or which needs to be downloaded/installed on the desktop so that data can be transferred either uni- or bi- directionally between the device and Outlook either via a hard-wired USB, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connection. In addition there are 3rd party solutions available to provide anything from the simplest to advanced functionality which come in either free or paid flavours. One of the most comprehensive 3rd party tools available in this regard is CompanionLink for Outlook which provides an extensive functionality set well worth the time to explore for anyone who requires Outlook2Mobile communication.
Regardless of what solution is ultimately adopted for Outlook/Mobile synchronization, one area that is absolutely critical which should not be overlooked, are the actual sync settings of how the data is moved from one to another. In particular are things like identifying which is the primary and secondary device, when items get deleted on a given device etc. It’s not uncommon for people to connect a new mobile device to Outlook to find that after the sync process, there is no longer any data in Outlook and none on the mobile device.
In short, always make sure you have a current backup of your Outlook data especially before syncing with a new mobile device for the first time. Outlook plays no role in the sync process itself, that is done by the sync software being used and governed by the settings selected in the sync software.
Outlook Desktop <–> Outlook Desktop
Like Outlook2Mobile, Outlook was not designed to share a common set of data files between multiple installations of Outlook on different desktops and there is no functionality available that synchronizes data files between two or more Outlook desktop installations. PST and OST files used in a given Outlook installation are intended for local use only. While there is nothing that will prevent placing a PST file on a shared network drive, this scenario is not supported and can cause data corruption. Similarly, you cannot place a PST file on OneDrive for use by different Outlook installations even if you are the only person using the data one machine at a time.
When mutiple people need to share the same data or you want to access the same data on multiple devices, the best approach would be to utilize a local Exchange server or subscribe to a hosted Exchange service.
When an Exchange based solution (either local or hosted) is not desired or viable for whatever reason, there have been (are) various solutions that claim to synchronize mutliple PST files across a network which may or may not work and should be thoroughly tested especially when such things as custom forms/fields are involved used across different versions of Outlook with potentially different PST file formats.
One alternative to direct Outlook2Outlook synchronization is the CompanionLink DejaCloud service which performs synchronization through the use of a private cloud as opposed to going from PST/OST file to PST/OST file. The benefit of this approach is that the service includes all devices such as desktop, phones, tablets along with supporting applications such as (but not limited to) Act!, IBM Notes, Salesforce CRM, Infusionsoft etc. The CompanionLink DejaCloud service works in conjunction with their CompanionLink for Outlook product (provided as part of the DejaCloud subscription). One limitation to using the DejaCloud option for the purposes of PC to PC synchronization of Outlook data is limited support for different user-defined field types.
Difference between Syncing and Importing
Syncing, as applied in these series of articles, is making data located in two locations (i.e. server and desktop) identical. In simplistic terms, syncing between your desktop with the data on the server means that both will have identical data in both locations at a given moment in time.
Importing on the other hand is a “batch” process used to import specific data from any kind of external supported source such as text (.CSV or tab delimited files), Excel, MS Access or even from other external PST files not being used in the current Outlook profile.
Importing from any data source other than a PST file requires that you defined which fields of data within that file will be imported into Outlook or in other words, your data file may have 20 different fields of information but only three are mapped to be used for importing. Any field in the external data source can be mapped to any field in Outlook (ignoring data field type considerations) whether or not the field names in the data file are identical to those used in Outlook (i.e. you can “map” the field name called “First Name” in the data file to the Outlook field called “Job Title”).
Importing from a PST file differs from other file types in that you cannot specify which individual fields are to be imported for any given item. It’s an all or nothing process.
Also, the Outlook import process does not support “updating” of pre-existing contacts with new information nor does it support importing to any custom user-defined fields. There are several existing articles on this blog that cover the import/export process in greater detail.
Category: Outlook Sync, Understanding Outlook
