Deleting Multiple Calendars/Mailboxes in Ofc2003

[a144mb]

Hello. I have a user running Windows XP, SP3; Office 2003 on an HP. They've
had their one PC for over four years. Technicians have come and gone and have
helped the user over the years with PC issues. Problem is I'm a novice tech
in Outlook and I've inherited the patchwork of problems she's asking to
correct in her Outlook. She has about 4 - 5 Calendars and wants to sync them
into one. I'm figuring that each calender she's complaining about is
associated with the 4 - 5 extra mailboxes she has listed. Correct me if I'm
wrong, but aren't the multiple calendars associated with each mailbox? I've
already archived those extra mailboxes (PSTs), how do I delete those
mailboxes/calendars? I've tried right clicking on the mailbox folders
individually but the 'Delete' option is grayed out. How do I delete all extra
mailboxes/calendars and only have one? Thanks in advance!!

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

I've inherited the patchwork of problems she's asking to
correct in her Outlook. She has about 4 - 5 Calendars and wants to sync them
into one. I'm figuring that each calender she's complaining about is
associated with the 4 - 5 extra mailboxes she has listed. Correct me if I'm
wrong, but aren't the multiple calendars associated with each mailbox? I've
already archived those extra mailboxes (PSTs), how do I delete those
mailboxes/calendars?

There's an issue we need to address first. "Mailboxes" and "PSTs" aren't the
same thing. A mailbox is the server-side repository where mail is delivered,
like and Exchange mailbox or a POP server mailbox. With Exchange, the mailbox
contains all of the folders you see in Outlook and generally there is no PST.
With a POP account, the mailbox contains only mail and Outlook pulls that mail
from the mailbox and stores it in a local PST. That PST contains the folders
you see in Outlook.

Folder sets, whether located on an Exchange server or in a PST can contain
multiple calendar folders (or any of the other folder types). Moreover, you
can use multiple PSTs so you can have multiple calendars in multiple PSTs.
You have to understand the structure of the person's mail profile in order to
best serve that person.

I've tried right clicking on the mailbox folders
individually but the 'Delete' option is grayed out. How do I delete all
extra
mailboxes/calendars and only have one?

If the folders are the default folders that Outlook creates, they cannot be
deleted. Only folders created by the user are deletable. Normally, when
using multiple PSTs, only the delivery location PST contains a non-deletable
calendar folder. Although the other PSTs may also contain calendar folders,
you should be able to delete them.

If you have multiple calendars you wish to combine, determine which one is the
default. Then open in turn each of the other calendars, displaying each in a
table view like By Category, then press Ctrl-A to select all of the items in
that calendar. Right-click and drag the selection to the default Calendar and
choose Copy or click Edit>Copy to Folder, specifying the default Calendar as
the destination. When finished, if the source calendars are in PSTs of their
own, right-click the root of each and choose Close to remove them from
Outlook. If they are calendars within the default PST, then you should be
able to delete them by selecting them and clicking or pressing Delete or
right-clicking them and choosing Delete. They will not be named "Calendar"
because each PST can have only one folder with a specific name at a particular
level (you can have same names on folders if they're at different folder
levels, though).

I hope all this is clear, but we can clarify anything you find confusing.

 

[a144mb]

Yes, I am confused. I did a little bit of research and have seen you've
posted solutions about multiple profiles. More specifically, going to Control
Panels > Mail and editting multiple profiles. Two questions, would it be just
as easy as to delete the multiple mailboxes by simply creating a new Outlook
profile for the user? Second question, I'm willing to lose items in the
user's calendar if it calls for me to simply delete ALL extra mailboxes but
one in their Outlook. For instance, we primarily use the Navigation Pane
that's typically located to the left of the open application. There's 5
Calendars listed. I only want one to exist and eager to delete four of the
five. There's 5 Inboxes listed. They contain duplicate emails! I only want
one to exist. Quite frankly, if she loses items in the very LAST calendar
that's left, so be it. This is something that's festered for about a year
before I came onboard. By the way, they used to store their email locally
before they brought an Exchange Server only LESS THAN a year ago. So I
figure, those are the PSTs that you're describing that are causing headaches
as they overlap what's now being saved on our new mail servers. So two
things...can I either create a new Outlook profile (what's the consequence?)
or will I have to ask the Exchange Admins to delete her multiple mailboxes?
Thanks Brian!!

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

Yes, I am confused. I did a little bit of research and have seen you've
posted solutions about multiple profiles. More specifically, going to
Control
Panels > Mail and editting multiple profiles. Two questions, would it be
just
as easy as to delete the multiple mailboxes by simply creating a new Outlook
profile for the user? Second question, I'm willing to lose items in the
user's calendar if it calls for me to simply delete ALL extra mailboxes but
one in their Outlook.

Again, what are you calling a "mailbox"? PSTs are not mailboxes.

For instance, we primarily use the Navigation Pane
that's typically located to the left of the open application. There's 5
Calendars listed.

What view of the Navigation pane are you using, the Calendar view or the
Folder List view?

I only want one to exist and eager to delete four of the
five. There's 5 Inboxes listed. They contain duplicate emails! I only want
one to exist.

If all of the Inboxes you see contain exactly the same set of messages, then
it sounds like you have a corrupt mail profile referencing the same PST
multiple times and for this case, the best cure is a new mail profile.
However, if all the Inboxes contain identical informaiton and changing one
changes them all, then the same will be true for the calendars as well.
They're really all the same calendar and you're seeing different images of the
one calendar because of the profile corruption. I think your best bet is to
start with a clean profile referencing that references the appropriate
Exchange mailbox, then if you want to recover any data in PSTs, add those one
at a time to the mail profile (File>Open>Outlook Data File), move the data to
the Exchange mailbox, then close the PST to remove it from Outlook so it is
not confusing.

 

[a144mb]

We're using the 'Folder List' view in our Navigation Pane, Brian.

Now that you mention it, I'd like to move forward and create a new email
profile in her Outlook 2003.

What steps do you recommend that I 'create a new Outlook email profile'? I
see a number of different options on the Internet but what steps would you
suggest? For instance, go to Control Panels (classic view) > Select 'Mail'
applet...then what next?

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

Now that you mention it, I'd like to move forward and create a new email
profile in her Outlook 2003.

What steps do you recommend that I 'create a new Outlook email profile'? I
see a number of different options on the Internet but what steps would you
suggest? For instance, go to Control Panels (classic view) > Select 'Mail'
applet...then what next?

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/HA101923281033.aspx?pid=CH100622151033
http://www.howto-outlook.com/faq/newprofile.htm