Just curious. In what way does importing and exporting solve your problem of
not being able to keep track of where your Outlook data (PST) file is
stored for every version of Outlook and every OS? You must still know those
files' locations in order to import and export. I don't follow your logic as
to why you "and many others" are more secure with Import/Export.

The reason I do not recommend Import?Export for PST files is that it alters
the data. Even worse, in more recent versions of Outlook it also corrupts
the Outlook profile: Users who import their entire PST file end up with 2
PST files, neither of which they can close or combine into one. Also,
Outlook's programmatically derived fields such as Full Name and File As are
often corrupted when Contacts are imported. Finally, the following data is
also lost or disrupted when you import a PST file:
1. Custom Forms
2. Custom Views
3. Connections between contacts and activities
4. Received dates on mail
5. Birthdays and anniversaries in calendar
6. Journal connections
7. Distribution Lists
All of this information is preserved when you simply open and reuse a PST
file.
Your choice.
Outlook data files always have a .pst extension. Searches always returns
them when the search includes hidden files--in every OS.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
"Denzil Hathway" wrote in message
...

"Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]" wrote in message
...
(clip) Your second problem has been answered countless times. Exporting
and importing are never the correct way to transfer Outlook data. Doing so
through a non-Outlook format is just a guarantee that you will lose and
corrupt data. Electronic addresses, for example, are never resolved when
you import them. That of course is why they don't show up in the Address
Book view. Open and save each Contact record one at a time to force the
resolution, or go back and transfer the data correctly: Place them in a
PST file and open that PST file in the new installation. Do not ever touch
the export and import command to transfer Outlook data ever again. Not
even once.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
"Blasting Cap" wrote in message
...
I am trying to get a couple issues resolved with Outlook 2003 on a
Windows XP media system.

First issue is with the "The Operation Failed" with your only option an
OK button. I've re-created the profile, but it hasn't been fixed yet.

The system was originally connected to a Microsoft Exchange server, as
its default mail server. The user had a number of contacts, which were
saved as a Windows CSV file. The contacts, once the Exchange server was
removed from Outlook, were imported. They show up in contacts.

This brings me to the second problem - even though the contacts that
were imported into Outlook show up under Contacts, when you click on the
Check Name tool on the toolbar, it can't find it, looking in Contacts,
and Address book has no entries.

How do you make this thing check name against the contacts you have on
the system? These problems may be related to one another.

Please advise.

Thanks,

BC

=====================

Russ, despite the "countless times" this subject of how best to transfer
Outlook PST data between machines has come up I feel that I'm going to
have to chime in here - I hear the proferred professional advice from you.
As a simple domestic user using XP/Outlook 2003 and Vista/MS Office 2007 I
have occasion to move stuff between machines every spring and fall when I
move from a winter setting and a summer setting. Consequently I have the
need to update things like contacts and move material under current
consideration periodically. Leaving out the niceties of differences
between contacts and address books, which I don't understand anyway, I
find Outlook's internal Import/Export system useful albeit a little labor
intensive - but I have yet to experience a loss, corruption or garbeling.

Frankly, especially between the myriad versions of Outlook I've
experienced and now yet another Windows, I don't know where my Outlook
data is stored or what the files are called. I can tell you that if I
search my XP or Vista machines, including hidden files, for PST files I
don't return any, unless I have created some into a hard drive folder in
anticipation of transport on one of these inexpensive mobile drives
available today.

So if I have a question it is where does does Outlook store its data ...
in XP ... in Vista ... and what are these files called? Is there any
consistency here? With shifting locations, mutiple users etc and different
search functions and now "indexing" in Vista it's a wonder that I ever
find anything.

I am fearful of losing or corrupting or leaving data behind if I get into
diffricult to understand areas like this, difficult for a domestic
civilian such as me that is. I'm much more secure with Import/Export - as
I'm sure many others are. Regards, Denzil.