Using Outlook from 4 different computers

[Don]

Scenario:

Dell computer with XP Home SP3
HP Laptop with XP MCE SP3 (can be upgraded to Vista Home Premium
if necessary)
HP Desktop with XP Pro XP3 and Vista Home Premium SP1 (Dual Boot)

MS Office Standard to be installed in all 4 instances.


(Before you ask, yes they are all legal. I have two copies of
Office Standard 2007 with the Military Appreciation license for 3
installations each)


These are all personal computers and connected to a network to
share internet access. I have not set up sharing files, printers
or other devices.

The laptop is used primarily for traveling but is also used at
home sometimes.

I have external drives available including thumb drives up to
16GB and hard drives up to 320GB.

I want to be able to use Outlook in all 4 instances as
transparently as possible. I can use both IMAP or POP/SMTP or both.

If possible, besides messages and address book I would also like
to be able to synchronize or export/import the various settings,
filters and other configuration data from the first instance to
the other three in order to minimize the work of setting them up.

I have not seen this specific scenario in any of the searches I
have. If I have read and understood my search results correctly
it may be possible to simply move the Outlook data files (.pst)to
an external drive and then point each instance to that external
drive.

Another option might be to select an external drive as the
installation directory, but I suspect that the data files would
still be "installed" on drive C: and would need to be relocated
as above any way.

I originally thought using IMAP would be the easiest way to do it
since all mail is kept on the server and would thus be available
to all four computers. Unfortunately, that doesn't help with the
address book or settings and filters.

I do not know how to install or set up a server but I can learn
if necessary. The Dell or another computer I have laying around
could be used for that if it can be done using XP Home as the OS.
The only problem I see using a server would be taking the laptop
on trips and having access to the address book. I assume Outlook
will work fine with a server.

I know this can be accomplished using a portable version of
Thunderbird and to a limited extent with Outlook Express pointed
to the address book and mail store on a portable drive . . . but
Thunderbird has its own quirks and limitations that make it
less than desirable and Outlook Express is not available in Vista.

Can some one here help or point me to a website, "Dummies" book
or other resource?

Thanks,
Don

 

[DL]

Office or Outlook cannot be installed to an external drive for use on other
PC's
An Imap account has its own seperate pst, calender/tasks/addresses etc would
be in a seperate pst
The Server option is not going to help unless you use an Exchange Account
and purchase Exchange version
MS doesnt reccommend the use of a pst over a LAN as it can cause corruption
of the pst
www.slipstick.com has various methods of syncing outlook available/explained

 

[Don]

I rather suspected what you said about external drives and
networks/LAN.

I visited slipstick but everything I read there (Outlook 2002,
Zip Drives and other clues) suggested it was for older versions
of Outlook and I know 2007 is vastly different from earlier
versions. I looked for a forum to get some clarification on that
but could not find any.

The link did have some links to commercial third-party software
to do the job, but the one I liked the most does not support 2007
and is no longer being developed.

If you had better luck finding something at slipstick I would
appreciate a more specific url.

Thanks

Don

 

[j.bloss]

I am successfully synchronizing my Outlook on 4 machines with Sync2
program. Great tool! http://tinyurl.com/32k8ss