Entourage iCal Syncing

[stephenonline]

Wondering if someone out there can help me with this...

I cannot get Entourage to sync with iCal. I have "Synchronize events
and tasks..." selected under Sync Services in Entourage but the
Entourage calendar does not appear in iCal at all. I've tried the
following...

-First turned off Entourage syncing
-Completely reset the sync history in iSync
-Completely reset iCal by deleting all its preferences and settings
-Turned Sync Services back on in Entourage and had Entourage replace
the data on sync services.

Still no Entourage calendar appears in iCal. I'm using 10.4.10 and
11.3.7 of Entourage. Any help?

Thanks!

 

[William Smith]

Wondering if someone out there can help me with this...

I cannot get Entourage to sync with iCal. I have "Synchronize events
and tasks..." selected under Sync Services in Entourage but the
Entourage calendar does not appear in iCal at all. I've tried the
following...

-First turned off Entourage syncing
-Completely reset the sync history in iSync
-Completely reset iCal by deleting all its preferences and settings
-Turned Sync Services back on in Entourage and had Entourage replace
the data on sync services.

This one's a doozie! You're doing just about everything right.

Have you checked Apple menu --> System Preferences... --> .Mac and made
sure that Calendars are enabled for syncing? Although this is listed
under .Mac it's needed for syncing between Entourage and iCal.

--

bill

William M. Smith, Microsoft Interop MVP - Mac/Windows
Entourage Help Page <http://entourage.mvps.org/>
Entourage Help Blog <http://blog.entourage.mvps.org/>

 

[macbookpro from ohio]

I am having this same problem -- Ical is not the problem -- Basically isync
and entourage are not talking to each other. I found a program called
Syncrospector that was buried in Apples StickiesExample.dmg. It shows what
programs are registered in isync. entourage never talks to isync to register
as far as I can tell.

Anyone have any suggestions on re-installing- or wiping out prefs on isync?

I have 10.4.11 macosx, isync gen 158 ver 2.4, and entourage 11.3.6. I have
a desktop mac that this same setup works on nicely with no problems. I got
this new macbook pro and wanted to carry my Syncing ability with me -- what a
pain this has been so far.

 

[glasgowd]

I was able to sync Entourage -&gt; iCal -&gt; Missing Sync for a day or so, but suddenly Entourage is making no changes to iCal any more. I've deleted all calendars in iCal, unchecked and re-checked the Sync buttons in Entourage Sync prefs, and used as much harsh language as I'm comfortable using. Nothing is working.

Can someone--anyone--help?

 

[Debbie S]

This has been an ongoing, exasperating problem for a long, long time. I went through some unbelievable gymnastics - switching identities, restarting the computer multiple times, etc. with Office:mac 2004. I was hoping that whatever kinks there were would not happen with the new office:mac 2008

Just got off a call with tech support. They insist that the problem is with Apple Sync Services. I can only check preferences in Entourage (what to sync), but the syncing is initiated and completed by the apple software. Microsoft cannot offer any help with this.

 

[glasgowd]

Oy. I finally found a work-around that works for me, at least, with moderate repeatability. What I've found is that running Missing Sync corrupts the Entourage iSync database, so the sync only works once.

Therefore, every time I sync, I need to do this:

1. Go to Home &gt; Library &gt; Application Support and trash the ENTIRE iCal folder.

2. Open Entourage Prefs &gt; Sync Services. Uncheck "Synchronize events and tasks..." and click OK.

3. Re-open Entourage Prefs &gt; Sync Services and RE-check "Synchronize events and tasks...." Click OK and choose the third option, that deletes the iSync data and replaces it with Entourage's data.

4. Wait a few minutes for iSync to work its (tediously slow) magic.

5. Open iCal and be sure the Entourage calendar has appeared. (It really does take several minutes, at least for me.)

6. Sync up with Missing Sync.

Many thanks to Apple iTools tech support for talking me through several troubleshooting ideas until we found one that works--even though it's not their software that's the problem. (HINT, HINT....)

Sure miss the good ol' days of a single Entourage conduit that worked with a single button-press....

 

[matthewjacob]

I am having the same problem, but could still not get it resolved like glasgowd. Tryed all of that, and still nothing, any other tips, or things to try?

 

[Corentin Cras-Méneur]

I am having the same problem, but could still not get it resolved like
glasgowd. Tryed all of that, and still nothing, any other tips, or
things to try?

SyncServices are obviously not going well. At this point, there is no
reliable trick,

Corentin

 

[glasgowd]

BTW--

The "solution" I shared above doesn't always work. Sometimes (fairly often, in fact) I'll get a message that Microsoft Sync Services has quit unexpectedly, after which point iCal goes dead.

According to Mark/Space support, when that happens I need to re-establish the link between iCal and its data, thusly:

1. In iCal, choose File &gt; Backup database, then revert to the same database by choosing File &gt; Revert to database backup.

2. in iSync, open Preferences and click "Reset Sync History." (This may take a while, but it's done when the button de-grays and is selectable again.)

3. Restart the Mac.

Add these three steps to the 6--er, 7 (how'd I miss that?)--from above, and you get a process that usually works, except when it doesn't.

See? Progress!

 

[Guest]

Well I have to say, the reality does not live up to the hype. I'm having the same problem. And I won't even go into the problems I'm having with my 2004 Powerpoint files. Too much to give up, and not enough in return.

Anyone want to buy a Home and Student edition of Office: Mac 2008?

 

[Corentin Cras-Méneur]

According to Mark/Space support, when that happens I need to
re-establish the link between iCal and its data, thusly:

Yep, this trick (as well as the trick where you disable the Birthday
iCal calendar) do help for people who do not see their data in iCal, but
it does nothing for duplications.

The root cause of the contacts duplications is not known at this point,
but it is NASTY when it hits you,

Corentin

 

[Kerry]

Oy. I finally found a work-around that works for me, at least, with moderate repeatability. What I've found is that running Missing Sync corrupts the Entourage iSync database, so the sync only works once.
Therefore, every time I sync, I need to do this:
1. Go to Home > Library > Application Support and trash the ENTIRE iCal folder.
2. Open Entourage Prefs > Sync Services. Uncheck "Synchronize events and tasks..." and click OK.
3. Re-open Entourage Prefs > Sync Services and RE-check "Synchronize events and tasks...." Click OK and choose the third option, that deletes the iSync data and replaces it with Entourage's data.
4. Wait a few minutes for iSync to work its (tediously slow) magic.
5. Open iCal and be sure the Entourage calendar has appeared. (It really does take several minutes, at least for me.)
6. Sync up with Missing Sync.
Many thanks to Apple iTools tech support for talking me through several troubleshooting ideas until we found one that works--even though it's not their software that's the problem. (HINT, HINT....)
Sure miss the good ol' days of a single Entourage conduit that worked witha single button-press....

I couldn't agree with you more and have told 4 people in Microsoft
this and all 4 have sent this on to the Product team.

In Tiger that's were it is located. In Leopard I'm not sure where the
DB is.

There is one trick to get sync services reset so that it works fine
that hasn't been mentioned. Do all of the above after you first go
into iCal and delete the Entourage calendar, backup up your empty ical
DB to the desktop and then use the restore function to overwrite the
current iCal DB. This resets iCal and resets sync services. The iSync
Reset History in preferences just doesn't cut it. The above works
well.

Its just unfortunate, we have to go through all these steps as sync
services is very flaky today as it was when it came out and it mucks
up even if you're not using Entourage and just using iCal and
Addressbook alone.

 

[Kerry]

SyncServices are obviously not going well. At this point, there is no
reliable trick,

Corentin

--
            --- Mac:MS MVP  http://www.cortig.net/wordpress/---
       http://www.mvps.org      -    http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
    MVPs are not MS employees    -    Les MVP ne travaillent pas pour MS
 Remove "NoSpam" to e-mail me    -      Retirez "NoSpam" pour m'écrire

See my post for one trick no one has mentioned but that always works
for me. But I agree with you 100% that sync services is not going
well. I've talked to four people in Microsoft and said that the
conduit was great, sync services conceptually is neat, but in reality
it sucks big time. They got the message that we want a conduit back
for our Palms.

 

[Kerry]

BTW--
The "solution" I shared above doesn't always work. Sometimes (fairly often, in fact) I'll get a message that Microsoft Sync Services has quit unexpectedly, after which point iCal goes dead.
According to Mark/Space support, when that happens I need to re-establish the link between iCal and its data, thusly:
1. In iCal, choose File > Backup database, then revert to the same database by choosing File > Revert to database backup.
2. in iSync, open Preferences and click "Reset Sync History." (This may take a while, but it's done when the button de-grays and is selectable again.)
3. Restart the Mac.
Add these three steps to the 6--er, 7 (how'd I miss that?)--from above, and you get a process that usually works, except when it doesn't.
See? Progress!

Funny - I just got to your post and that's what I posted as the trick
to get sync services going again. The problem is that sync services
breaks very easily - maybe within a couple of weeks. And then we have
to do all these steps all over again. The conduit was just so trouble
free - for 3.5 years of my use.

 

[Kerry]

Yep, this trick (as well as the trick where you disable the Birthday
iCal calendar) do help for people who do not see their data in iCal, but
it does nothing for duplications.

The root cause of the contacts duplications is not known at this point,
but it is NASTY when it hits you,

Corentin

--
            --- Mac:MS MVP  http://www.cortig.net/wordpress/---
       http://www.mvps.org      -    http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
    MVPs are not MS employees    -    Les MVP ne travaillent pas pour MS
 Remove "NoSpam" to e-mail me    -      Retirez "NoSpam" pour m'écrire

Yes Corentin - I was one day scanning my iCal calendars looking for
something and noticed every all day event was duplicated. I have no
idea when that started and what a pile of steps we have to go through
to fix it. I don't know if Microsoft did a general beta (I've often
done this for various software companies) but if they did I have no
idea how this couldn't have been picked up. It is just so in your face.

 

[Corentin Cras-Méneur]

I don't know if Microsoft did a general beta (I've often
done this for various software companies) but if they did I have no
idea how this couldn't have been picked up. It is just so in your face.

For the recurring events, it has been mentioned that it could very well
be Apple's fault (the SyncServices are far from perfect unfortunately)
For the contacts, I have no clue who is to blame, but I'm sure both
Apple and MS are looking into it.

Corentin

 

[Fred_Davenport]

Thx to all on this and other posts for all you are doing to help us import/sync/export our calendars/contacts for our PDA's and iPhones.

As an Apple and MS user since 1984, I am shocked that the two billionaires cannot help us with this.

 

[Fred_Davenport]

Coretin,

Just did a few of the many work-a-rounds suggested in this thread and still NONE work.

Hope the folks at Apple and MS are hearing the frustrations we are having trying to get our data to and from Apple and MS products and software.