Outlook 2007 - compatibility with 2002 version

[Moonstone]

I have Outlook 2002 and am thinking of buying the 2007 version. Can anyone
tell me

1)If I can upgrade 2002 to 2007 - or do I have to purchase a stand alone
version
2) If the latter, will 2007 run on a computer that already has 2002
installed? Or do I have to uninstall 2002 first?
3) Can I import 2002 contacts and e mail into 2007?
4) And if I can import 2002 contacts into 2007 - will the 2002 categories
turn up in the 2007 version (I have lots of contacts and lots of categories
and would not wish to have to re-categorise all my contacts)?

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

I have Outlook 2002 and am thinking of buying the 2007 version. Can anyone
tell me

1)If I can upgrade 2002 to 2007 - or do I have to purchase a stand alone
version

I don't know of any "upgrade" versions of Outlook. You can purchase either an
Office 2007 suite contaiing Outlook or Outlook 2007 as a separate product.

2) If the latter, will 2007 run on a computer that already has 2002
installed? Or do I have to uninstall 2002 first?

Outlook 2007 requires Windows XP, Vista, or 7. Only one version of Outlook
can be on a PC, unlike the rest of the Office suite, which allows multiple
versions. Installing a newer Outlook _should_ detect the older Outlook and
remove it first, but uninstalling Outlook yourself is recommended.

3) Can I import 2002 contacts and e mail into 2007?

There isn't any need to import. You can simply reuse your existing PST. At
your earliest convenience, however, you should convert it to a Unicode PST
(introduced in Outlook 2003). The PST you're using now has a 2GB size limit.
Unicode PSTs have an initial 20GB size limit and that can be adjusted upward
if need be. See these web sites:
http://www.howto-outlook.com/howto/backupandrestore.htm
http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/ansi-to-unicode.asp

4) And if I can import 2002 contacts into 2007 - will the 2002 categories
turn up in the 2007 version (I have lots of contacts and lots of categories
and would not wish to have to re-categorise all my contacts)?

If you reuse your existing mail profile and PST, I believe they'll show up,
and you can conver to color categories later, but make a backup of the Master
Category List. See this: http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/olcat.asp

 

[Moonstone]

That's very helpful - I appreicate the reply.