[markw10]

I have a PC but plan to get my first Mac shortly and will get Office 2004. Entourage looks very similar to Outlook but from what I'm reading it's not compatible with .pst files. I have seen there is a .pst converted for earlier versions (Outlook 2001) but yet I really don't want to convert anyway since down the line I may share this .pst file with the Outlook on the PC. Is there any way of doing this or another Mac program that works with PC .pst files?

[JKT]

You have to wonder about what goes on in the mind of MS developers - if MS software is incapable of supporting their own proprietary formats what chance do third parties have... sheesh. I would post what the help for Entourage recommends you do to get around this but it is eye-poppingly moronic.

My recommendation is to stop using Outlook on the PC (as someone who uses it every day and has it drive them batty with its idiotic interface and usability issues, it ranges from the good to the exceptionally mediocre to the infuriatingly rubbish anyway) and move to software that doesn't lock you into proprietary formats or monolithic databases for files that you will need access to in the near to distant future. I would also strongly advise you to not use Entourage for the same reason. Unless you use the business-orientated features, you are much better off using Mail. Wean yourself off the MS teat... your life will be much better for it.

[sray]

This is simply not possible as PST files are proprietary to Microsoft and for whatever reason, Outlook and Entourage do not use the same format.

When we converted a some of Windows users to new Macs in our company this year, we used Outlook2Mac to convert the PST files and contacts to Entourage. However, this is a one way conversion.