A way to merge folders?

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Okay, we have a really strange situation here

Large corporation – network delivered Outlook 98; *.pst files are on the shared drive. It will be difficult to explain this, so try to picture:

I have a user who somehow accidentally created a second personal folder (although I can’t find a separate *.pst file). So on her Outlook folder list, she shows the regular Outlook Today (that says Personal Folder in parenthesis after it — it SHOULD say her name instead)with all the usual Calendar, Inbox, etc subs.

Then she also has a “Sue Smith” (we will call her that) folder, with subs of inbox, calendar, etc.
Okay — all her Calendar, Tasks, Contacts, etc are showing up under the Sue Smith folder, and all the e-mail is showing up under the Outlook Today (Personal Folder) tree.
If I attempt to manually move the items from the Inbox to the Sue Smith inbox, it automatically moves them right back to the other one! And new mail comes in to the Outlook Today (Personal Folder) branch.

I’m tempted to just delete her *.pst file and start over, but I’m afraid I will lose all her emails, contacts and calendar items. Is there are way to MERGE these folders so that she can be properly put back under the Outlook Today branch, with all her items intact?

Thanks! pribb in PC Support!

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How about setting up the folders and then using Import on the File menu?

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I guess I’m not quite following your idea, egghead. If I import the existing *.pst, it will look exactly the same as the problem I currently have, won’t it? Isn’t the folder structure in the pst?

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After re-reading your first post, I realize that you DON’T want to import the Sue items into the Outlook Today (personal folder) branch. You actually need to get the branches set up the right way, right?

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Right!
Currently, her folder list shows:

Outlook Today (Personal Folder)
     Calendar
     Contacts
     Inbox
     Journal
Mailbox - "Sue Smith"
     Calendar
     Contacts
     Inbox
     Journal

(I’m not exact on this – don’t have it in front of me)

and it is using the Inbox from one branch,and the Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, etc from second one. I’m trying to put them all back together.

pribb

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What does it show under Tools/Services on the Services tab for Profiles? Does it show an Outlook Address Book? Maybe there is something in there that should be added or changed.

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I did check tools – services; All our users have a global address book and a personal address book.
(Microsoft Exchange Server)
(Outlook Address Book)
(Personal Address Book)
are the normal services. And hers seems to be okay on that part.

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How about checking the Registry?

HKey_Current UserSoftwareMicrosoftOffice8OutlookTodayFolders?

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are both psts identical? can both be opened? can the extra one be closed? (file > close when it’s selected)

right click on each one and look at the full path to the location of each pst.

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BTW – if you want to do anything, delete the profile and start over with a fresh one. i think she is just seeing the same pst listed twice and that’s the easiest way to fix it. (other way is registry editng)

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oh, one more thing… you have Exchange server but are using a pst? Is delivery supposed to be to the pst? if so, then the sue smith one is the exchange service and the pst is the message store. The diagram you created is correct and you need both there. The pst is set as the default delivery location and all mail is moved there from the exchange mailbox.

the calendar etc should have been moved to the pst automatically (because it’s the default message store), not sure why it wasn’t. just drag the contents to the pst if that is where you want them.

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MaryJ’s last post nails the problem. We have this lots of times at work. We use Outlook in Corporate mode with Exchange server 5.5. This means mail is supposed to be held on the Exchange server, but because we have strict mailbox size quota rules, people set up Personal Folders services to file mail offline and frequently (how?) manage to set the profile to deliver mail to the .pst file.
To sort this out : with Outlook running, go Tools | Services and then click on the delivery tab. In the first field Deliver new mail to the following location it should show Mailbox – Sue Smith. From the symptoms you describe, it is currently set to deliver mail to the personal folder.
Changing it to the mailbox will make all new mail from this point on stick in the Inbox. Any mail in the .pst which is required online will have to be moved back into the mailbox.
In our experience, once Outlook in corporate mode has been instructed to deliver mail to a .pst file, the resultant personal folders service mapping to that .pst file cannot be removed from the profile. The only way to clean up the Outlook view is to create a new profile – remembering as the last thing of all to check that delivery is set to the mailbox!

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Thanks to all. This sounds do-able, and I will let you know if it works when I get back over to her building to try it. Sorry it took me a while to get this reply to you.

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