SOLUTION: Transferring Messages between Outlook and Entourage
Paul Berkowitz
Outlook (Windows or Mac) and Entourage. My Export-Import Entourage scripts
(shareware) transfer contacts, calendar, tasks and notes, but not messages.
Similarly I have free scripts for transferring Outlook Windows and Outlook
Express Mac contacts, but not messages. The best way of transferring
messages is via an IMAP account (details below), especially if you use
Outlook on Exchange Server. But if you don't have Exchange Server and have
hundreds of MB worth of messages, IMAP transfer at 10 MB a time with a free
IMAP account is going to be far too tedious.
I have discovered and tested a method for transferring both directions via
Eudora Windows, which I describe below. The details are from my new updated
ReadMe in v1.0.8 of Export-Import Entourage. I have added a new script -
Outlook Folders to MBOX - for helping the Outlook-to-Entourage direction,
but it can be done without the scripts (also described below). It's quite
easy in Entourage X, more complicated in Entourage 2001. (The method
unfortunately can't work at all for Outlook Express Mac.) It has been
thoroughly tested for Outlook 2002 (XP) and 2000, and Entourage X and 2001.
I have not been able to test it yet with Outlook 2001 Mac, but a) it should
not be necessary since by definition you're on Exchange Server and can use
the IMAP method and b) if it doesn't work with Eudora Mac, you can export or
import your messages as .pst files to/from Outlook Windows and use the
Eudora Windows method.
Here follow the adapted notes from the ReadMe. If you want to transfer other
data (contacts, calendar events, tasks, notes), you'll need the
Export-Import Entourage scripts available at
AppleScript Central <http://www.applescriptcentral.com/>
and should then use the "easy" Outlook Folders to MBOX script to finish the
import into Entourage from Outlook. The non-script method is added here.
-----------------------
You can transfer messages from Outlook to Entourage and vice-versa via an
IMAP account, or via Eudora Windows. IMAP is the best way, as it preserves
attachments, which the Eudora method doesn't, but may not be feasible if you
have a lot of mail and are not on Exchange Server.
IMAP
If you are using Outlook ‹ whether any of the Windows versions or 2001 for
Mac ‹ at work with an Exchange Server, ask your System Administrator to set
up your email account(s) with IMAP access. Keep all your mail folders, sent
mail, etc., on the server and access them from Entourage as you would any
IMAP account. If you have Outlook without Exchange Server on an individual
PC, then use a free IMAP account and set it up both in Outlook and
Entourage. (You can get a free IMAP account at http://www.MyRealBox.com. If
you need more than the 10 MB My Real Box gives you free, you can rent more
space.)
€ Drag-copy messages from your exporting program to similarly-named IMAP
server folders.
€ Go to your other computer, access the the same IMAP account.
€ Drag-copy messages from the server folders to similarly-named local
folders
€ If necessary, delete messages from server, go back to the exporting
program and repeat the process as often as necessary until done.
€ Optionally, delete the IMAP account - or keep it!
---------------------
Eudora
Alternatively, if you have hundreds of MB of messages, use Eudora (free
"sponsored" version) as an intermediary:
Outlook Windows to Entourage X:
€ If you don't have Eudora Windows, download v5.1.1 or later from
http://www.eudora.com. Let it install it to its default location at
C:\Program Files\Qualcomm\Eudora\.
€ Open both Outlook and Eudora. (If you have ever used Eudora, make sure
that you have its MAPI setting to "Never".) Do not make Eudora your default
email client if asked.
€ Go to File/Import, choose Microsoft Outlook, check Mail checkbox, uncheck
Address Book. Eudora will import all your mail folders as Eudora Mailboxes
in an Outlook subfolder.
€ Close Eudora, and go to C:\Program Files\Qualcomm\Eudora\Microsoft
Outlook.fol\Outlook.fol\ . You will see all the mailboxes (your former
Outlook folders) as .mbx files.
€ Copy all the .mbx files to (a new folder on) your desktop. Burn them to
CD, copy to Zip disk, or zip the folder and email it to your Mac. Copy or
save the folder and files to your desktop or other hard disk location
(important - especially if on CD).
[Entourage X]
€ The simple way into Entourage X is to just change the extension from .mbx
to .mbox for each file, and drag it into Entourage (On My Computer). But you
will find that you have an enormous of empty "<no subject>" messages in
every new folder - in fact twice as many as real messages. You will have to
shift-click to select them all and delete them - in every folder.
€ To avoid this and other possible problems, instead select, drag and drop
the .mbx files a few at a time onto the Outlook Folders to MBOX X script in
the Outlook Converters folder in the Export-Import Entourage X script
package. It will take care of everything, and import the files into
Entourage cleanly.
[Entourage 2001]
Note: You cannot drag these .mbx files into Entourage 2001 as you can with
Entourage X, not even by changing the extension. If you did that, you would
find only one massive message per folder including all of them as message
text. You can modify as follows (or use the MBOX script):
€ First open each file in a text editor: Tex-Edit Plus or BBEdit (Lite will
do), which are free. (The files will almost always be too large for
SimpleText.) You will see two or more usually three lines at the top looking
like this:
From ???@??? Fri Aug 23 10:49:32 2002
(All lines after the first will probably begin with a rectangle character -
that's OK.) Remove all but one of those "From ???@???" whole lines (you
must leave one). Save and close the file.
€ Then use File Buddy or any other utility to change the FILE TYPE of each
.mbx file to to "MBOX" [no quotes] - you should also change the creator type
to "OPIM". Remove the .mbx extension now or later.
€ Now drag each MBOX file to the ³Folder List² bar to make a top-level
folder, or into another folder to make a subfolder. All your messages will
be there. But you will find that you have an enormous of empty "<no
subject>" messages in every new folder - in fact twice as many as real
messages. You will have to shift-click to select them all and delete them -
in every folder.
€ To avoid this and other possible problems, instead select, drag and drop
the .mbx files a few at a time onto the Outlook Folders to MBOX 2001 script
in the Outlook Converters folder in the Export-Import Entourage 2001 script
package. It will take care of file type, and message demarcation
conversions, and convert the .mbx files to MBOX files with Entourage icons.
Then drag them into Entourage as in previous paragraph, but you won't have
any blank messages this way.
You will not have attachments via this method, nor (with either method)
special characters transcribed for Mac. (This could be done with a later
update if desired).
Outlook 2001 Mac to Entourage X:
If Eudora Mac 5.1.1 will import from Microsoft Outlook 2001, follow the same
directions as above, choosing Eudora Mac in the MBOX script. Otherwise,
export your message folders as .pst files into Outlook Windows on a PC, then
follow the instructions above exactly.
Entourage X to Outlook Windows:
€ If just exporting a few folders, just drag them from Entourage to your
desktop. If more (or preferred), use Folders Export from X script to export
folders as MBOX files, but choose MBOX format as for exporting to another
Entourage identity, rather than TEXT as for Eudora Mac (although that's OK
too). Do NOT choose "Unix" or "Mail" options.
€ !! Do NOT try to change the file extensions on your Mac (important! They
will appear to change but it would just add a second extension, the wrong
one)
€ Move all the mbox files to a new folder on your desktop. Burn them to CD,
copy to Zip disk, or zip (with DropZip, not stuff with DropStuff or
Entourage) the folder and email it to your PC. Copy or save the folder and
files to your desktop or other hard disk location (important - especially if
on CD).
€ If you don't have Eudora Windows, download v5.1.1 or later from
http://www.eudora.com. Let it install it to its default location at
C:\Program Files\Qualcomm\Eudora\, not the alternate location (important).
Open it, without making it default, (make one or two messages if you like)
and quit it.
€ On your PC, unzip the folder you brought over, if zipped, and change the
file extension of every mbox file to .mbx
€ Go to C:\Program Files\Qualcomm\Eudora\. Drag in all the .mbx files, which
should now appear with the Eudora mailbox icon. (If you didn't change the
extensions to .mbx, do so now.)
€ Open Eudora (the program) in Start/Program Files. Do not make it your
default email client if asked. Click on each and every imported mailbox
until you see the messages appear - important. This gets Eudora to make its
TOC file for each mailbox, and is essential. Then quit Eudora if you wish.
€ Open Outlook, go to File/Import and Export/Import Internet Mail and
Addresses/Eudora (Pro and Light) 2.x, 3.x, 4.x. Check Import Mail. Uncheck
Import Address Book. Finish.
Entourage X to Outlook 2001 Mac:
If Microsoft Outlook 2001 will import from Eudora Mac (I can't check at this
point - check the File/Import and Export menu item to inspect), then use
Folders Export from X script to export folders as MBOX files, but choose
TEXT as for Eudora Mac. Do NOT choose "Unix", "MBOX", or "Mail" options.
Install Eudora Mac for Classic OS 8/9 in OS 9. Drag the text files into the
Eudora folder in the OS 9 System folder where you see the other Eudora
mailbox files. Open Eudora, click on each imported mail folder in turn
(important!), the quit Eudora, open Outlook, and import Mail from Eudora (if
you can). If you can't do this, you'll have to follow the directions above
for Outlook Windows, then export you mail folders as .pst files (Personal
Folders), and import them into Outlook 2001 (Tools/Services/Personal
Folders).
--
Paul Berkowitz
MVP Entourage
Please "Reply To Newsgroup" to reply to this message. Emails will be
ignored.
PLEASE always state which version of Entourage you are using - 2001 or X.
It's often impossible to answer your questions otherwise.
David J. Braden
Many thanks for the post.
Dave B
In article <B98D6751.1CBFE%berk...@silcom.com>, Paul Berkowitz
<berk...@silcom.com> wrote:
--
E-mail (ROT-13'ed): qoe...@ebpurfgre.ee.pbz
Gene van Troyer
Berkowitz" <berk...@silcom.com> wrote:
> There have frequently been questions about transferring messages between
> Outlook (Windows or Mac) and Entourage. My Export-Import Entourage scripts
> (shareware) transfer contacts, calendar, tasks and notes, but not messages.
> Similarly I have free scripts for transferring Outlook Windows and Outlook
> Express Mac contacts, but not messages. The best way of transferring
> messages is via an IMAP account (details below), especially if you use
> Outlook on Exchange Server. But if you don't have Exchange Server and have
> hundreds of MB worth of messages, IMAP transfer at 10 MB a time with a free
> IMAP account is going to be far too tedious.
For Outlook Express 5.0.2 and Entourage 2001, the first run transferred all
of my messages. Later, for other messages, I just did this: I opened
Entourage and created an OE Transfer Folder. I opened OE, and in the various
message folder windows I selected however many messages I wanted to
transfer, then dragged them to the Transfer folder window in Entourage and
dropped them. They copied over just fine, marked as Unread messages, but you
can select Mark All Read afterwards. Outlook Express and Entourage store
their Identities folders in different places, so you can have both going.
You can't share the same databases, but...
Anyway, this strikes me as a quick way to transfer messages between the two:
Drag&Drop. Everything gets copied, including attachments. If you have a
couple of thousand messages in one folder to copy? The copy as fast as your
HD can copy data for any other kind of file.
Gene van Troyer
Mickey Stevens
Express and Entourage versions. Paul is talking about transferring between
Entourage and Outlook (a completely different application for the Exchange
Server) and other applications that don't support that file format. Those
programs don't have an import function from Outlook Express or Entourage, so
you do need to use an IMAP server or an intermediate application like Eudora
(with the optional help of the scripts) to transfer messages.
On 8/26/02 4:11 AM, in article B9901FCC.97EF%geva...@nirai.ne.jp, "Gene van
Troyer" <geva...@nirai.ne.jp> wrote:
--
Please post replies to this message within the thread instead of e-mailing
them to me. Thanks!
Gene van Troyer
"Mickey Stevens" <mwst...@eudoramail.com> wrote:
> That's the best way to do it Gene, but only for transferring between Outlook
> Express and Entourage versions. Paul is talking about transferring between
> Entourage and Outlook (a completely different application for the Exchange
> Server) and other applications that don't support that file format.
You know, I get terribly confused sometimes between Outlook and Outlook
Express, and if mail is being discussed and the two get mentioned in more or
less the same breath, I'm a goner... :)
Gene van Troyer