Moving to Outlook 2003 (Outlook 2003)

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I got a free copy of Office 2003 from Microsoft (my name is in their marketing database somewhere…..). I am currently running Office XP. Being cautious, I decided to install on my laptop, not my main PC. I chose the install option to replace Office XP with Office 2003, and the install completed without any problems and I authorized the software also without any problems. When starting Outlook 2003, however, there were big problems. Outlook starts, and pops up a window saying it is converting my old installation, and then fails with a message that “Outlook cannot open” and exits. My configuration uses an Exchange server. After messing around with this, uninstalling, and reinstalling, repairing the installation, etc. (with no improvement), I discovered that if I went into the control panel and deleted the mail exhange configuration, I could get Outlook 2003 to start. Then, I went back in and changed the control panel options back to my Exchange server, and Outlook 2003 is functioning. (If Microsoft expected me to be impressed by the new software, they failed.) I then found that I could not see any of my contacts (which are located on the Exchange server). If you open new mail and click on the To button to get an address list, there are several contact folders listed which are either blank or generate an error message “The address list could not be displayed. The Contacts folder associated with this address list could not be opened…..”. I exported my contacts from my desktop Outlook session, transfered it to the laptop and imported it to the laptop, and now I can see it. (I renamed the contacts to DRContacts, so I know it is the one I imported.) So, now I see three “Contacts” folders and one DRContacts folder in Outlook 2003. My questions are (sorry for the long introduction): (1) how can I delete these useless Contacts entries? I only want my Contacts from the Exchange server. (2) Do I dare try this install on my production desktop PC? I like the new Outlook 2003 layout, but not enough to destroy what I have now.

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>how can I delete these useless Contacts entries?
You should be able to configure your Contacts to show DRContacts first. I believe the option is in the Control Panel Mail applet. HTH

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That seems to only affect local copies on my PC, not the Exchange configuration. I really want to delete them, not just change the sort….

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That seems to only affect local copies on my PC, not the Exchange configuration. I really want to delete them, not just change the sort….

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>how can I delete these useless Contacts entries?
You should be able to configure your Contacts to show DRContacts first. I believe the option is in the Control Panel Mail applet. HTH

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If you can get to your folder list, you should be able to change which Contacts folders also display as Outlook Address Books.
In the folder list, right-click on one of the Contacts lists that you don’t want to see. Choose Properties. Then click the Outlook Address Book tab. Uncheck the box for Show this folder as an Outlook address book. Then OK to set and exit. Repeat for the other one.

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I can open the contacts tree in Outlook, but I only see one contacts folder there. The problem shows up when I start a new email message and click on the TO button to select an address. By default, I get the corporate email list (Global Address List) but if I scroll up in the “Show Names From the:” scroll box I see:

Outlook Address Book
Contacts
Contacts
Contacts
DR Contacts

The last one is the only one usable.

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Using an old profile is asking for trouble. Go into the mail applet and create a new one, it’ll prevent a lot of headaches in the long run. Otherwise, you need to go into the Address book options (tools, address book) and delete all the extra folders then add the correct ones back.

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Thanks for the advice….but: (1) What do you mean by creating a new profile? Outlook is connected to an Exchange Server. Do you mean create a new profile pointing to the Exchange Server, just like my existing profile and then delete the old one? (2) Tools/Address Book doesn’t let me delete any folders. The delete options are grayed out for the bad copies of the contacts folders. The only one I can delete is the correct copy with all my contacts. If I delete the correct contacts folder, I will have lost all my contact information.

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Thanks for the advice….but: (1) What do you mean by creating a new profile? Outlook is connected to an Exchange Server. Do you mean create a new profile pointing to the Exchange Server, just like my existing profile and then delete the old one? (2) Tools/Address Book doesn’t let me delete any folders. The delete options are grayed out for the bad copies of the contacts folders. The only one I can delete is the correct copy with all my contacts. If I delete the correct contacts folder, I will have lost all my contact information.

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Further information….I tried creating a new profile pointing to the Exchange Server and now I only see one Contacts Folder (with my contacts intact!) – so thanks very much. The problem is I have created local (PC) copies of folders to make copies of email, and those have disappeared. How can I recover those folders in the new profile?
A second question. If I go ahead and install Office 2003 on my desk PC (I was testing on my laptop), what do you suggest I do about the profile situation? I think the installation program will offer to convert my Outlook XP configuration – should I not let it do that? Or should I delete the Exchange profile before running the update?

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Further information….I tried creating a new profile pointing to the Exchange Server and now I only see one Contacts Folder (with my contacts intact!) – so thanks very much. The problem is I have created local (PC) copies of folders to make copies of email, and those have disappeared. How can I recover those folders in the new profile?
A second question. If I go ahead and install Office 2003 on my desk PC (I was testing on my laptop), what do you suggest I do about the profile situation? I think the installation program will offer to convert my Outlook XP configuration – should I not let it do that? Or should I delete the Exchange profile before running the update?

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Further, Further Information: I figured out how to recover my local pst files. So, the only remaining question is what should I do (if anything) to prepare to install Office 2003 over my existing Office XP installation. Should I create a new profile again before installing, or can I let it try to convert the profile I have just created?

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It is probably safer in the long run to have a new profile created – provided you are prepared to go that extra mile. HTH

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I created a new profile for Outlook XP and then installed Office 2003 without any problem on my Desktop PC. Everything seems to be working now. Thank you all for your help.

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I created a new profile for Outlook XP and then installed Office 2003 without any problem on my Desktop PC. Everything seems to be working now. Thank you all for your help.

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It is probably safer in the long run to have a new profile created – provided you are prepared to go that extra mile. HTH

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Further, Further Information: I figured out how to recover my local pst files. So, the only remaining question is what should I do (if anything) to prepare to install Office 2003 over my existing Office XP installation. Should I create a new profile again before installing, or can I let it try to convert the profile I have just created?

Reply | Quote

Using an old profile is asking for trouble. Go into the mail applet and create a new one, it’ll prevent a lot of headaches in the long run. Otherwise, you need to go into the Address book options (tools, address book) and delete all the extra folders then add the correct ones back.

Reply | Quote

I can open the contacts tree in Outlook, but I only see one contacts folder there. The problem shows up when I start a new email message and click on the TO button to select an address. By default, I get the corporate email list (Global Address List) but if I scroll up in the “Show Names From the:” scroll box I see:

Outlook Address Book
Contacts
Contacts
Contacts
DR Contacts

The last one is the only one usable.

Reply | Quote

If you can get to your folder list, you should be able to change which Contacts folders also display as Outlook Address Books.
In the folder list, right-click on one of the Contacts lists that you don’t want to see. Choose Properties. Then click the Outlook Address Book tab. Uncheck the box for Show this folder as an Outlook address book. Then OK to set and exit. Repeat for the other one.

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