Hello Diane, thanks for the response.
You asked why I would run both sync services and Paul's script. That
is because the sync services hookup does not transfer over Entourage
Categories or Entourage Groups, so they need to be re-created as
Groups in Apple Address Book. That's why his script is still valuable.
The long story is that shortcomings in Entourage have created a
cumbersome workflow for me in running my small business. First of all,
Entourage groups can only include contacts who have email addresses.
So if I want to have a mailing list that includes both postal
addresses and email addresses, I can only create it with Categories in
Entourage.
Second, there is no fast/easy/straightforward way to print mailing
address labels for postal mailings with Entourage. I know, there are
workarounds and Applescripts that attempt to address this, but they
are cumbersome, buggy and frustrating. Therefore, for the past 8
years, I have been maintaining a postal mailing address database in
AppleWorks, essentially duplicating those contacts which I already
have in Entourage, so that I can print mailing labels. This double-
entry has been the bane of my existence.
However, Apple Address Book fixes these deficiencies. Address Book
Groups can include any contact, whether they have an email address or
not. And, Apple Address Book can print mailing labels, and is even
smart enough to be set up to print only the contacts in a group that
have postal addresses. Furthermore, the Apple Address Book/Sync
Services Truth can be tapped into with the FileMaker Inc., application
Bento, which can add a lot more capabilities, such as tracking
donations, tracking which students have taken my classes and studied
which material, etc.
So with all of these advantages, I need a way to organize the Apple
Address Book into the equivalent of the Groups and Categories I have
in Entourage. And that's why one of my questions was how Paul's script
interacts with Contacts that are already present in the Truth.
The even longer story, and one that may not be completely kosher for
this newsgroup, is that I am frustrated with how Microsoft is
developing, or not-developing, Entourage, and can only attribute this
to their corporate conflict-of-interest with Apple. If Microsoft were
serious about serving Mac users, surely they would have addressed the
issues above at some point in the last 8 years, to make Entourage a
really valuable business tool for something over than just email
lists. They seem to be more interested in making Entourage support
their corporate goals with Outlook than in making a killer Mac
application.
And now, I am very frustrated that Microsoft is not making itself part
of the solution for Entourage users who have moved on from Palm
devices to the iPhone. Entourage syncs quite easily with Palm devices,
but I really need to have my Notes and Tasks sync with the iPhone. I
realize this is partly on Apple (which has not completed the links
between the iPhone and desktop for Tasks and Notes), but I also
believe Microsoft could solve this without waiting for Apple. In fact,
I am moving my Tasks and Notes out of Entourage, because the website
Toodledo and the iPhone apps Todo and Notebook (from Appigo) have come
up with an effective solution for syncing these items to the iPhone,
with desktop access through the Web and locally stored data on the
iPhone that syncs to Toodledo over the air/on the Web. There's no
reason why Microsoft couldn't have come up with a similar solution
that would have prevented the tricky, trial-and-error process I have
gone through to get my 300+ notes out of Entourage and into Toodledo.
Except that this would make the iPhone more attractive and successful
for users in their comparatively small Entourage revenue-stream.
My last whinge is about iCal sync with Entourage calendar. Every time
that either Entourage or the Mac OS are updated, I end up having my
calendars populated with hundreds of duplicates. I have now decided to
turn Calendar syncing off in Entourage and do all of my Calendar-ing
in iCal.
Add it all up, and I'm feeling like after 8 or 9 years in Entourage, I
need to move most of my data and workflow out of it in order to get
anything done efficiently.
Sorry to go way off-topic, but I just need to vent, and perhaps
Microsoft are listening or some of the MVPs have some insights.
