Accessing .pst file across network

[Lobster]

In our house we have a small network of PCs, in which there's one 'main'
computer which runs Outlook 2003 and other apps: we have all our family
and business contacts and a number of email accounts all on the same
setup which works really well. The drawback is if somebody wants to
access Outlook while somebody else is using the main computer; currently
they can't do so on one of the other PCs - I prefer it this way because
it means we only have one place to look for a contact or email, rather
than several, and there's only one pst file to back up. But it's not ideal.

Now, ideally we should have an exchange-type setup as I do at work,
whereby anyone can log in to their Outlook account from any PC. However
that sounds awful complicated for home use and I'm not sure how feasible
it is?

What I was wondering, though, was whether it was feasible to have a
second copy of Outlook running on a second machine, that was set up only
to access the .pst file of out 'main' machine. I know that would mean
only one user could access Outlook at once, but nevertheless would it be
viable? Is it 'risky' to the integrity of the .pst file (~500Mb) to use
it over the network like this? Or is there anything else I'm missing?

If so, could I run Outlook 2000 on the second machine (ie, sharing a pst
file with Outlook 2003)?

Any advice appreciated.
David

 

[Jake]

Microsoft has it so that only 1 user at a time can access a PST file. They
also recommend it be on the PC local to the user (hard disk). But in your
situation, it might not matter going across the network. But if anyone ever
has a problem accessing the PST that way, just end and restart Outlook.

 

[DL]

And if as a result the pst is corrupted, what then?

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

What I was wondering, though, was whether it was feasible to have a second
copy of Outlook running on a second machine, that was set up only to
access the .pst file of out 'main' machine. I know that would mean only
one user could access Outlook at once, but nevertheless would it be
viable? Is it 'risky' to the integrity of the .pst file (~500Mb) to use
it over the network like this? Or is there anything else I'm missing?

It is viable and as long as your home network is fairly reliable and you
make frequent backups of the PST, you should be OK. Put the PST in a
network share on the main PC and open it on the other PCs. If you make it
the default delivery location on those PCs, you'll all have the same folders
as your default folders. Keep in mind, though, that if you all configure
your accounts to leave messages on the server and all download messages from
the same server mailbox, you'll get multiple copies of each message.

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

viable? Is it 'risky' to the integrity of the .pst file (~500Mb) to use

it over the network like this? Or is there anything else I'm missing?

It is extremely risky and if you choose to do this you should make frequent
backups. Network problems while the pst is open can result in a corrupt pst.

If so, could I run Outlook 2000 on the second machine (ie, sharing a pst
file with Outlook 2003)?

I would not recommend it - for starters, you'd need to use the old pst
format to use it with Outlook 2000. Outlook 2003 adds some properties that
aren't used by outlook 2000. Better is to use an imap acct instead of pop3
(or web access) for mail. For calendar and contacts you could either use a
3rd party app for sharing or email calendar and contacts to yourself (works
great if the changes are infrequent).

look for tools and methods here:
http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/sync.asp
http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/share.asp

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]



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mailto:[email protected]

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mailto:[email protected]

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newsreader to msnews.microsoft.com.

 

[Lobster]

It is extremely risky and if you choose to do this you should make
frequent backups. Network problems while the pst is open can result in a
corrupt pst.


I would not recommend it - for starters, you'd need to use the old pst
format to use it with Outlook 2000. Outlook 2003 adds some properties
that aren't used by outlook 2000. Better is to use an imap acct instead
of pop3 (or web access) for mail. For calendar and contacts you could
either use a 3rd party app for sharing or email calendar and contacts to
yourself (works great if the changes are infrequent).

Thanks for that Diane - you've convinced me!

We've been using Yahoo Calendar in favour of Outlook for years - lets me
and SWMBO access the family diary at work or at home in real time:
wonderful.

I know my ISP does do IMAP, but to be honest I've never quite got my
head round why I should change from POP3 - can you explain in simple
terms how it would benefit my situation? (Not really keen on webmail as
our main email accounts for various reasons).

Thanks
David

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

The yahoo calendar works well for family use, as does gmail's and
hotmail/live calendar.

IMAP is a server based store, not all that unlike Exchange except that it
doesn't do calendar and contacts. (HTTP protocol and Outlook connector are
also server-based stores). Copies of the messages are downloaded and status
(read, forwarded etc) is synced back to the server. It's really the best
solution for accessing the mailbox from multiple computers. The mail is left
on the server and many providers have web access to it as well, so you can
check it from any computer. Outlook is not the best IMAP client in the
world though - Outlook Express is better.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]



Outlook Tips by email:
mailto:[email protected]

EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
mailto:[email protected]

You can access this newsgroup by visiting
http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx or point your
newsreader to msnews.microsoft.com.

 

[Lobster]

IMAP is a server based store, not all that unlike Exchange except that
it doesn't do calendar and contacts. (HTTP protocol and Outlook
connector are also server-based stores). Copies of the messages are
downloaded and status (read, forwarded etc) is synced back to the
server. It's really the best solution for accessing the mailbox from
multiple computers. The mail is left on the server and many providers
have web access to it as well, so you can check it from any computer.
Outlook is not the best IMAP client in the world though - Outlook
Express is better.

Ah OK... sounds good, but given that my ISP allows me a paltry 30Mb
mailbox that effectively rules out that option I think.

I believe Googlemail does IMAP, with its almost unlimited mailboxes?
but unfortunately I've already ruled it out previously for routine use
because of the way it insists on putting the irritating and confusing
"davidxxxxxxx@googlemail On Behalf Of davidlobsterpot601@hotmail" on all
my outgoing email...

Thanks
David

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

I believe Googlemail does IMAP, with its almost unlimited mailboxes? but
unfortunately I've already ruled it out previously for routine use because
of the way it insists on putting the irritating and confusing
"davidxxxxxxx@googlemail On Behalf Of davidlobsterpot601@hotmail" on all
my outgoing email...

Are you using the From field to change the sending address? That's not the
correct approach.

 

[Leonard Agoado]

What I was wondering, though, was whether it was feasible to
have a second copy of Outlook running on a second machine, that
was set up only to access the .pst file of out 'main' machine.
I know that would mean only one user could access Outlook at
once, but nevertheless would it be viable? Is it 'risky' to
the integrity of the .pst file (~500Mb) to use it over the
network like this? Or is there anything else I'm missing?

David,

Pst files across a network is unsupported and not
recommended.

Personal folder files are unsupported over a LAN or over a WAN
link
<http://support.microsoft.com/kb/297019>

Network Stored PST files ... don't do it!
<http://blogs.technet.com/askperf/archive/2007/01/21/network-stored-pst-files-don-t-do-it.aspx>

PST on a Network Folder - Not!
http://msmvps.com/blogs/kwsupport/archive/2008/01/23/pst-on-a-network-folder-not.aspx


Regards,

Leonard Agoado
(e-mail address removed)

 

[Lobster]

Are you using the From field to change the sending address? That's not
the correct approach.

I've just tested it out again - this time using IMAP for the first time
- I simply configured a new Outlook 2003 account exactly as per the
instructions provided by google here:
<http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=77661>
It works absolutely fine, but when I open the test message which I sent
has the following in the 'From' field:

David Lobster [[email protected] on behalf of David Lobster
(David's gmail IMAP account) [[email protected]]

(where "Lobster" substitutes for my real surname, and 'mydomain' for my
real email address)

Last time I looked into this issue I found a lot of people were
complaining in forums etc that there was no way around it (I think it's
a 'feature' of Outlook?!) - I'd love to know if it's actually possible,
as it's certainly not acceptable to me as it is!

David

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

I've just tested it out again - this time using IMAP for the first time -
I simply configured a new Outlook 2003 account exactly as per the
instructions provided by google here:
<http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=77661>
It works absolutely fine, but when I open the test message which I sent
has the following in the 'From' field:

David Lobster [[email protected] on behalf of David Lobster (David's
gmail IMAP account) [[email protected]]

(where "Lobster" substitutes for my real surname, and 'mydomain' for my
real email address)

So, you're trying to send a message that appears to come from
(e-mail address removed) but you're using the Google mail server to do it,
correct? Can you be explicit in describing your account configuration,
particularly the dialogue where you specify the sending address?

 

[Lobster]

I've just tested it out again - this time using IMAP for the first
time - I simply configured a new Outlook 2003 account exactly as per
the instructions provided by google here:
<http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=77661>
It works absolutely fine, but when I open the test message which I
sent has the following in the 'From' field:

David Lobster [[email protected] on behalf of David Lobster
(David's gmail IMAP account) [[email protected]]

(where "Lobster" substitutes for my real surname, and 'mydomain' for
my real email address)

So, you're trying to send a message that appears to come from
(e-mail address removed) but you're using the Google mail server to do
it, correct?

Yep.

Can you be explicit in describing your account

configuration, particularly the dialogue where you specify the sending
address?

Here's a screendump of the dialogue box:
http://img25.imageshack.us/my.php?image=outlooknr4.jpg
There's nowhere to manually set the "From" field.

From what I've found out though, this "on behalf of" thing is an issue
with gmail which a lot of people have a problem with - it seems they do
it to authenticate sent email to avoid it being identified as spam:

Google acknowledge the issue here (see 'Note' about halfway down this page):
http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=22370 - apparently
though it's only later versions of Outlook which display the "on behalf
of" thing.

Here's a thread with hundreds of people whining about it!:
<http://groups.google.com/group/Gmai...read/thread/b27f0e9baa0c0ffc/44481400a1959a39>

Maybe the answer is to use Gmail/IMAP for incoming email and my ISP for
outgoing - however that doesn't address my original problem as I
wouldn't have all my sent email in one place - it would be scattered
across .pst files on several PCs. (Unless there was a way for Outlook
to automatically bcc all my outgoing email to a particular online
mailbox - which as far as I know, there isn't?

David

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

Here's a screendump of the dialogue box:
http://img25.imageshack.us/my.php?image=outlooknr4.jpg
There's nowhere to manually set the "From" field.

The company for which I work blocks imageshack. I can't see it. Can you
post it on xsolive.com?
The sender address is the address you specify in "E-mail Address".

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

Google acknowledge the issue here (see 'Note' about halfway down this

page):
http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=22370 - apparently
though it's only later versions of Outlook which display the "on behalf
of" thing.

All versions should display on behalf of. If gmail is adding the gmail
address as the sender field, you can't do much about it - it is from one
address on behalf of the other.

If you just need messages stored in the gmail from, you can use the isp smtp
and save to the gmail from field, no need to BCC messages to the gmail
address.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]



Outlook Tips by email:
mailto:[email protected]

EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
mailto:[email protected]

You can access this newsgroup by visiting
http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx or point your
newsreader to msnews.microsoft.com.

I've just tested it out again - this time using IMAP for the first
time - I simply configured a new Outlook 2003 account exactly as per the
instructions provided by google here:
<http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=77661>
It works absolutely fine, but when I open the test message which I sent
has the following in the 'From' field:

David Lobster [[email protected] on behalf of David Lobster
(David's gmail IMAP account) [[email protected]]

(where "Lobster" substitutes for my real surname, and 'mydomain' for my
real email address)

So, you're trying to send a message that appears to come from
(e-mail address removed) but you're using the Google mail server to do
it, correct?

Yep.

Can you be explicit in describing your account

configuration, particularly the dialogue where you specify the sending
address?

Here's a screendump of the dialogue box:
http://img25.imageshack.us/my.php?image=outlooknr4.jpg
There's nowhere to manually set the "From" field.

From what I've found out though, this "on behalf of" thing is an issue
with gmail which a lot of people have a problem with - it seems they do it
to authenticate sent email to avoid it being identified as spam:

Google acknowledge the issue here (see 'Note' about halfway down this
page):
http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=22370 - apparently
though it's only later versions of Outlook which display the "on behalf
of" thing.

Here's a thread with hundreds of people whining about it!:
<http://groups.google.com/group/Gmai...read/thread/b27f0e9baa0c0ffc/44481400a1959a39>

Maybe the answer is to use Gmail/IMAP for incoming email and my ISP for
outgoing - however that doesn't address my original problem as I wouldn't
have all my sent email in one place - it would be scattered across .pst
files on several PCs. (Unless there was a way for Outlook to
automatically bcc all my outgoing email to a particular online mailbox -
which as far as I know, there isn't?

David

 

[Lobster]

The company for which I work blocks imageshack. I can't see it. Can
you post it on xsolive.com?
The sender address is the address you specify in "E-mail Address".

OK, try www.xsolive.com\Outlook Screen shots\lobster's outlook.jpg, but
yes, that's what I did with my sender address.

David

 

[Lobster]

All versions should display on behalf of. If gmail is adding the gmail
address as the sender field, you can't do much about it - it is from one
address on behalf of the other.

If you just need messages stored in the gmail from, you can use the isp
smtp and save to the gmail from field, no need to BCC messages to the
gmail address.

Sorry Diane, could you run that past me again a bit slower!?

Yes, if I has a method of automatically (and therefore 100% reliably)
bCC'ing all me emails to, say, a particular gmail account, I think that
would open up a method of storing all my sent mail somewhere online,
which would solve my main issue. But not sure what you mean above?

Thanks
David

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

OK, try www.xsolive.com\Outlook Screen shots\lobster's outlook.jpg, but
yes, that's what I did with my sender address.

I'll look at what happens for me. It may take a few days, though.

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

Google is always going to use the on behalf of because it adds the gmail
acct as the sender. So you'll need to configure outlook to send mail using
your ISP SMTP server - you'll put the smtp server in the acct setup, in
place of the outgoing gmail server name. Be sure to properly configure
outgoing server authentication - its under More Settings.

Are you using Outlook 2003 or 2007 ? If 2007, you can set a sent folder in
the More Settings dialog. If 2003, you need to use Rules to move sent items.



--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]



Outlook Tips by email:
mailto:[email protected]

EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
mailto:[email protected]

You can access this newsgroup by visiting
http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx or point your
newsreader to msnews.microsoft.com.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

I've just tested it out again - this time using IMAP for the first time - I
simply configured a new Outlook 2003 account exactly as per the instructions
provided by google here:
<http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=77661>
It works absolutely fine, but when I open the test message which I sent has
the following in the 'From' field:

David Lobster [[email protected] on behalf of David Lobster (David's
gmail IMAP account) [[email protected]]

(where "Lobster" substitutes for my real surname, and 'mydomain' for my real
email address)

After a bit of testing, I found out that no matter what I put in the "E-mail
Address" field for a Google Mail IMAP account, the message aleays appears to
come from my Google Mail address. No "on behalf of" or anything; gmail simply
ignores the field.