Knowledge Base

How to manage a .PST file for two different computers

PSS ID Number: 829917

Article Last Modified on 7/2/2004

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Office Outlook 2003
Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 with Business Contact Manager

For a Microsoft Outlook 98 version of this article, see 179735.

For a Microsoft Outlook 2000 version of this article, see 238777.

For a Microsoft Outlook 2002 version of this article, see 291627.

SUMMARY

You cannot automatically synchronize personal folders (.pst) files between two different computers in Microsoft Office Outlook 2003. This article describes how to work around this issue to have this capability.

MORE INFORMATION

Use one of the following workarounds to synchronize a .pst file between two different computers:

Copy the .pst file.
Copy only the Calendar, the Contacts, and the Task folders.

How to Copy the .PST File

You can use a .pst file and copy it from one computer to another. Microsoft provides a free add-in that automates the backing up of a .pst file.

For additional informationabout the Microsoft Outlook 2002 Personal Folders Backup utility, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

290827 How to automatically backup your Personal folders

An issue with this method is that a .pst file can become very large, and it may be too large to copy to a disk. In this event, you can use Microsoft Windows Backup or another backup utility that can write a file across multiple disks.

How to Copy Only the Calendar, the Contacts, and the Task Folders

A large .pst file is typically the result of many e-mail messages being stored in the Inbox, the Deleted Items, and other e-mail folders. You can share your Calendar, Contacts, and Tasks folders without sharing all your e-mail folders by using the following procedures:

Create a second .pst file. To do this:
1. On the File menu, click New.
2. Click Outlook Data File.
3. Click Personal Folders file (.pst) if more than one option is listed, and then click OK.
4. Provide a descriptive file name, such as Shared.pst, in the Create or Open Outlook Data File box, and then click Open.
5. Type a display name for the .pst file, such as Shared Folders, and then click OK.
Copy your Calendar, Contact, and Task items to the new .pst file.

Note These steps must be performed on both the computers that are intended to share the .pst file information.
1. Click Calendar in the navigation pane.
2. Right-click your original Calendar folder, and then click Copy Calendar.
3. In the Copy Folder dialog box, click Shared Folders, and then click OK.
4. Repeat these steps for your Contacts and Tasks folders.
You now have Calendar, Contact, and Task folders in your new .pst file.
Remove the contents of your original Calendar, Contacts, and Tasks folders.

Important Verify that these new folders contain all the items that were in the original folders before you continue.
1. Click Calendar on the navigation pane.
2. Click your original Calendar folder.
3. On the View menu, point to Arrange by, point to Current View, and then click Active Appointments.
4. On the Edit menu, click Select All, right-click the selected items, and then click Delete.
5. Repeat these steps for your Contacts and Tasks folders.

You now have e-mail messages that are being delivered to your original .pst file set while Calendar, Contacts, and Tasks are in your new .pst file. This new shared folder set (Shared.pst) is small enough to be copied to a disk for transportation between computers.

Additional query words: OfficeKBHowTo OL2003

Keywords: kbinfo kbemail KB829917
Technology: kbOutlook2003 kbOutlook2003BCM kbOutlook2003Search kbOutlookSearch

Microsoft KB Archive/829917

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