.pst file format defined?

[Chris Barnes]

Ok, bear with me a moment as this is going to be complex.

The question is:
Is the format for the .pst file which OL uses to keep it's contacts, etc
defined anywhere?
If so, where can a mere mortal such as I see it?


Here's what I'm wanting to do:
Several MS programs seem to have the ability to utilize information inside
an outlook.pst file. For example, mail merge from MS Word using a
contacts list. I want to write an exention for Mozilla (Sea Monkey) and
Thunderbird to utilize the contacts list in an outlook.pst file as an
addressbook.

Note: I am NOT interested in merely importing it into the addressbook that
TB uses normally.


There are several reasons for this, not the least of which is that Outlook
already snyc's w/ my pdaphone, where as other addressbooks do not (plus I
simply like using OL for contacts, calendar, & tasks - and having the
addresses in 2 places is a senseless duplication).

--

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Chris Barnes AOL IM: CNBarnes
(e-mail address removed) Yahoo IM: chrisnbarnes
Computer Systems Manager MSN IM: (e-mail address removed)
Department of Physics ph: 979-845-7801
Texas A&M University fax: 979-845-2590

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

No, and no. If you want to access data in a .pst file, you can use one of the published APIs available. See http://www.outlookcode.com/d/sec.htm for information on what probably will be one of your biggest concerns

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[Diane Poremsky]

there are no published specs for the pst format.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Coauthor, OneNote 2003 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Need Help with Common Tasks? http://www.outlook-tips.net/beginner/
Outlook 2007: http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/ol2007/

 

[Don Caton]

Ok, bear with me a moment as this is going to be complex.

The question is:
Is the format for the .pst file which OL uses to keep it's contacts, etc
defined anywhere?

I don't believe the actual binary format of a pst file is publicly
documented anywhere, but you can access the data in a pst a couple of
different ways. You can use the Outlook object model, but you may run
into some security issues.

You can also access the file using the MAPI API, but you need to be a
fairly experienced C or C++ programmer in order to get anywhere with
that, and even then it is a very complex API to work with. You can find
the documentation in MSDN under "Servers and Enterprise Development",
"Exchange Server", "Messaging API (MAPI)".

If you decide to go this route, try to find a copy of "Inside MAPI".
It's long been out of print but you might find a used copy somewhere.
It's not the greatest and the sample code is incomplete and buggy, but
it's the only book ever written on MAPI.

There's also the "Simple MAPI" API (documented in the same MSDN section)
that may suit your needs. The Outlook object model is by far the
easiest to work with, but the most restrictive.

And the Outlook Spy add-in is worth its weight in gold no matter which
route you take.

 

[Chris Barnes]

No, and no. If you want to access data in a .pst file, you can use
one of the published APIs available. See
http://www.outlookcode.com/d/sec.htm for information on what probably
will be one of your biggest concerns

Thank you. I will read up on the info from that site...



--

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Chris Barnes AOL IM: CNBarnes
(e-mail address removed) Yahoo IM: chrisnbarnes
Computer Systems Manager MSN IM: (e-mail address removed)
Department of Physics ph: 979-845-7801
Texas A&M University fax: 979-845-2590

 

[Chris Barnes]

You can also access the file using the MAPI API, but you need to be a
fairly experienced C or C++ programmer in order to get anywhere with
that, and even then it is a very complex API to work with. You can
find the documentation in MSDN under "Servers and Enterprise
Development", "Exchange Server", "Messaging API (MAPI)".

Actually, this method is already available to Thunderbird/Mozilla/Sea
Monkey users. But this isn't a very nice solution since it requires OL to
be the default mail client (understandably - users of TB/Moz/SM want
that email program to be the defualt).

And the Outlook Spy add-in is worth its weight in gold no matter which
route you take.

Never heard of it (but looking at it now).


--

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Chris Barnes AOL IM: CNBarnes
(e-mail address removed) Yahoo IM: chrisnbarnes
Computer Systems Manager MSN IM: (e-mail address removed)
Department of Physics ph: 979-845-7801
Texas A&M University fax: 979-845-2590