Is a specific OST file ANSI or Unicode?

[Chris Yarnell]

I have already posted this once, and didn't get any responses. This seems
like it should be something easy to determine, especially when it's so easy
to determine for PSTs.

I have been researching this for a while now. How can you tell if a
specific .ost file is Unicode or ANSI without trying to actually trying to
sync a 3gb mailbox to it and see it fail or succeed? I have found that you
can easily
determine if a PST is Unicode or not by looking at the properties of the
file from outlook. It will say "Personal Folders File" for Unicode and
"Personal Folders File (97-2002)" if it's ANSI. I have found that it's
possible to set group policy to force Unicode if outlook is in Unicode mode
by using the Outlook 2003 administrative template. I have discovered how to
determine if outlook is in Unicode mode (right click on the root of the
exchange server in outlook, select properties, then advanced twice and look
at the description of the mode in the lower part of the box), but I have yet
to find a way to determine if a specific OST file is currently in Unicode or
ANSI format. I am using Exchange 2007 and Outlook 2003.

We are migrating from a non-Exchange server to Exchange. During the
migration, I want to ensure that all OST files are in Unicode by the time we
leave their machine to ensure that they will not have any problems if/when
they reach the 2 gb limit. I have seen many posts like "delete the current
OST file and it will be rebuilt as Unicode", well I want to be guaranteed
that the file that is created actually is a Unicode OST. Does anyone know
how to confirm this? Thanks.

 

[GustyWinds]

I had a similar issue until I found a neat program called ListPsts created by
Upstart. If you run c:\listpsts.exe /s "C:\*pst"
in a command window it will search your entire drive for PSTs and tell you
if they are unicode or ANSI. You could also use it on a server to search all
existing psts. Here is the link to download this free app:
http://www.maclean.com/upstart/
They also have a converting program you can purchase. I don't think I'll
need to go that far yet, but I'm thinking about it. We've been upgrading a
lot of users to Office 2007 at work and need to make sure everyone has
Unicode PSTs. I was surprised this app isn't mentioned in any of the threads
I've seen around the internet. If anyone else has experience with ListPsts or
the conversion program, please spread the word as it seems a lot of people
are looking for an app like this one.

 

[F. H. Muffman]

I had a similar issue until I found a neat program called ListPsts created
by
Upstart. If you run c:\listpsts.exe /s "C:\*pst"
in a command window it will search your entire drive for PSTs and tell you
if they are unicode or ANSI. You could also use it on a server to search
all
existing psts. Here is the link to download this free app:
http://www.maclean.com/upstart/
They also have a converting program you can purchase. I don't think I'll
need to go that far yet, but I'm thinking about it. We've been upgrading a
lot of users to Office 2007 at work and need to make sure everyone has
Unicode PSTs. I was surprised this app isn't mentioned in any of the
threads
I've seen around the internet. If anyone else has experience with ListPsts
or
the conversion program, please spread the word as it seems a lot of people
are looking for an app like this one.

Well, why would you need an app? Outlook will tell you. Open the PST,
right click on the top level folder and pull up properties and, on the
Advanced button, Format will be either Personal Folders File will be
unicode, Personal Folders File (Outlook 97-2002) will be ANSI.

 

[GustyWinds]

I need the app so I can just scan the server and see which users have ANSI
Psts in their My Documents. Then I can address those specific users instead
of have to go to each user or trusting them to do it themselves.