Hi, its me again. I hope the info I posted before was helpful to Mike Nibeck and others. I just thought I would state that Microsoft claims to be updating Outlook for Macintosh so that it will be compatible with Outlook 98/2000. You can read about it at http://www.microsoft.com/MAC/Exchange/default.htm

I'm converting from PC based Outlook (not Outlook Express) to the Mac version. Now, I need to convert the Private Folders (.pst file) and my Personnel Address Book file (.pab) so that the Mac version can read them. I tried simply copying them frm my PC to my Mac, but Mac Outlook says they are the wrong file type.

Any ideas???

I am in the procees of migrating some clients from cc:Mail to Outlook, so I do have some experience with this.

Unless you can find a utility out there that allows you to convert those files, I think your best bet is going to be moving those emails (from Outlook for the PC) to your Inbox, or creating folders that will reside on the email server and moving your email in to those folders. [File Menu, New, Folders] Then when you login to Outlook for the Mac, you will be able to see them and drop those emails into the .pst you create there.

I LOVE the macintosh, but "Outlook for Exchange Server" for the Macintosh BLOWS. MS has done a really poor job on it. Even from a strictly email management stand point... It's just awful. Make sure you are using Outlook 8.2.1 It is the least buggy version.

So-alive is correct. The only way to get a mail file from a PC to a Mac (or vice-versa) is to move it to the server from the old system and then access it from the new. You can't do that with pab files however. You're going to have to recreate it by hand on the Mac unless you have your PC address book entries in a Contacts folder on the server. If so. you can export that folder to a csv file, which can then be imported into a Mac address book IF YOU HAVE OUTLOOK 8.2 on your Mac.

So-alive is also right that Outlook for the Mac leaves ALOT to be desired. MS is promising a "full" version, including Outlook calendar format, for release next year. Here's hoping...

I've had tons of problems converting Outlook 97 and Outlook 2000 to Outlook 8.2.1. Unfortunately, the fastest way I've found so far to transfer some things is to print them out and retype them in the new app. The coversion process is painful at best, and I find myself wasting too much time. I hope that future updates of Outlook for Mac will solve some of these problems.

I've been using Outlook 97 and 8.2.1 and know the difference between the 2 are like night and day. So-Alive is correct that the only way you can covert is to move them to your inbox and then connect from the mac to save them there. When you do create csv files with your contacts as Roger T suggests and try to import them with 8.2.1 I've had nothing but trouble and it moves the e-mail address to the wrong field. It seems to put the username in the e-mail field when I've imported. You are all correct in saying that this product for the Mac COMPLETELY BLOWS!! It was purely an afterthought like so many of Microsofts products were in the past.

[shanepalmer]

I work for a department at Iowa State University and we just finished migrating all of our Mac and PC users to the Exchange email platform and we found the same problem early on. There is a TechNet article on Microsoft's website that cover's this very topic. The URL is http://support.microsoft.com/support.../Q148/2/71.asp

Basically you just login on the PC create a message and add all of your contact/pab entries to the TO: field, then save the message to the inbox, but don't send it. Login on your mac and control click on each name in the TO: field and select Add to Personal Address Book. It works, but it is a long process for large contact/PAB lists, and it will not bring over any personal groups.

I too would have to go with the info that so-alive put forth....at least that has been my experience.

On a side note, has anyone else had difficulty getting Office 98 and Outlook Exchange 8.2.1 to run together? I realize that you have to install Outlook after Office due to a problem with the OLE Automation file, but often when I launch Outlook (to configure), it gets to the splash screen then the app quits....no error codes or anything, it just dies, but doesn't seem to affect the computer. I have to de-install & re-install to get it working again. This has happened on at least 4 old 7100/8100's running 8.1. Any ideas on a remedy?

At our office we have migrated to Exchange and had real difficulties with the Outlook handling on the Mac. Using Outlook 8.2.1 on the Mac is fine but don't try and open your account on a PC or through the exchange web access. Exchange will strangely add a new profile as a screen between you and the PC users, your calender looks okay on your Mac but the PC user will see a blank version which no one updates. Complained to Microsoft through their premier support but still no answer.

As an alternative, I might recommend using Outlook Express and accessing the outlook exchange server as a pop3 client from express, or to set the outlook/exchange server to forward all messages to a POP3 server like earthlink. Not needing the calendar, and only reproducing what address the exchange client has that I need, I use the outlook/exchange only to access the forwarding and out of office autoresponder. This also leaves you free to use OE5 for palm synching if needed, and you can use a PC for the Outlook calendar synch if needed.