outlook should permit me to report bugs.

[Guest]

I am using beta 2, v. 7. I tried to export a folder--it deleted it instead. I
tried to restore it from the backup I've been making daily--I found only
"deleted" email there and not what was missing. I'm out years of saved email
from that folder! I can't report it to MS or get any help about it.

----------------
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http://www.microsoft.com/office/com...9435-845ea4c262e3&dg=microsoft.public.outlook

 

[DL]

So you used a beta without having any origonal data backups?

"JustUpdatedToServicePack2"

I am using beta 2, v. 7. I tried to export a folder--it deleted it instead. I
tried to restore it from the backup I've been making daily--I found only
"deleted" email there and not what was missing. I'm out years of saved email
from that folder! I can't report it to MS or get any help about it.

----------------
This post is a suggestion for Microsoft, and Microsoft responds to the
suggestions with the most votes. To vote for this suggestion, click the "I
Agree" button in the message pane. If you do not see the button, follow this
link to open the suggestion in the Microsoft Web-based Newsreader and then
click "I Agree" in the message pane.

http://www.microsoft.com/office/com...9435-845ea4c262e3&dg=microsoft.public.outlook

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

This is not a bug. It is not a suggestion. This is end user error.
Post what you did in clear and accurate detail as a question in the
newsgroup so we can tell what you did wrong. Do not abuse the suggestion
feature for questions.

 

[Guest]

This is not a valid response. It is not helpful. It is typical Microsoft
STONEWALLING. The detail is clear enough. Try to export a folder from
Outlook, version cited, then try to access the Access database created, using
the version of Access supplied with the beta version of Office that the beta
version of Outlook is. See if you can duplicate my tragic results.

And yes, I learned a lesson about total backup & the necessity to do it
every damn day in an independent manner from that provided by the software
provided.

This is not a bug. It is not a suggestion. This is end user error.
Post what you did in clear and accurate detail as a question in the
newsgroup so we can tell what you did wrong. Do not abuse the suggestion
feature for questions.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
"JustUpdatedToServicePack2"

I am using beta 2, v. 7. I tried to export a folder--it deleted it instead.
I
tried to restore it from the backup I've been making daily--I found only
"deleted" email there and not what was missing. I'm out years of saved
email
from that folder! I can't report it to MS or get any help about it.

----------------
This post is a suggestion for Microsoft, and Microsoft responds to the
suggestions with the most votes. To vote for this suggestion, click the "I
Agree" button in the message pane. If you do not see the button, follow
this
link to open the suggestion in the Microsoft Web-based Newsreader and then
click "I Agree" in the message pane.

http://www.microsoft.com/office/com...9435-845ea4c262e3&dg=microsoft.public.outlook

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

No, you have not provided clear enough detail. The people trying to help you can't read over your shoulder, nor can they try to duplicate your results if you won't make the effort to clearly describe the *exact* steps you're taking and the results you're seeing.

By "beta 2, v. 7" do you mean Outlook 2007 Beta 2? Why make people guess? Why not give the version number clearly? Obviously you're frustrated and perhaps that's making it hard to provide coherent steps that someone else can try to reproduce. We can be patient and wait for you to catch your breath, but shouting won't get you very far. That these are peer-to-peer forums. The people you're shouting at are other Outlook users who are volunteering to try to help you.

You mentioned Access. Are you trying to say that you're exporting from Outlook to Access as a way of backing up your Outlook data? That's not a viable backup solution. The right way to backup Outlook data stored in a Personal Folders .pst file is to make a complete copy of that .pst file file.

I have never heard of any case in any version of Outlook where exporting a folder caused that folder to be deleted. There's just nothing in the export functionality that does anything to the existing data.

But maybe you're trying to do something else. When you can give us the exact steps, maybe we'll know what that is.
--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[Guest]

Yes, I mean Outlook 2007 beta 2 before the "Technical Refresh."
I don't mean to shout. I mean to convey my frustration, which in this case
is entirely justified by the fact that Microsoft does not provide a simple
and convenient method for users to report bugs. I am trying to get the
attention of somebody at MS who has the brains to see this is not a
productive way to relate to their millions of users. This is the first time
in my life I've thought of buying an Apple computer next time.

You say Access is not a viable way to back up Outlook emails. Funny that
that very option is available in Outlook 2007. I wonder why. Maybe it's
because people like to back up their data in a form that is portable from one
application to another. Ever try to get your contact list out of a Hotmail
account in text form ( comma separated or tab separated)? I couldn't find a
way to do it. You are trapped in the application when it is non-functional as
mine was.

If you want all your email in straight text form to archive somewhere you
can get to it with a simple word processing program (not Word necessarily,
not Outlook), then saving a .pst file is NOT the way to go.

I have never heard of any program screwing up your backup and your export
function in the terrible way I experienced it either.

So, you have denied (1) my need to export my email into a neutral format and
(2) my experience of having lost years of email and disapproved of my
expression of frustration.

I gave you the steps--try to export a folder, folder disappears, try to open
the exported file, nothing there but a few deleted emails. I am not going to
try to go through those steps again. My fear is too great.

And by now, things have changed. I'm using the Technical Refresh version.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

I don't mean to shout. I mean to convey my frustration, which in this case

is entirely justified by the fact that Microsoft does not provide a simple
and convenient method for users to report bugs.

If you want to provide feedback on the public preview version of Office 2007, get the Send a Smile tool from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=A2E1F4E2-BC0F-4403-B09F-7A677D55F274. This tool will transmit your comments and a screenshot back to Microsoft. As Jensen Harris explains at http://blogs.msdn.com/jensenh/archive/2006/06/23/644160.aspx, all SaS comments do get read and routed to the right people at Microsoft.

You say Access is not a viable way to back up Outlook emails. Funny that
that very option is available in Outlook 2007.

Export and backup are not the same thing. You wouldn't back up your Word documents by saving them as .txt files, would you? Or save an Access database as a .csv file? If you want a backup of Outlook data, you need to use a native Outlook format, which is a .pst ifle.

If you want all your email in straight text form to archive somewhere you
can get to it with a simple word processing program (not Word necessarily,
not Outlook), then saving a .pst file is NOT the way to go.

Archive and backup also are not the same thing. Backup implies full fidelity to restore all data to the same state as when it was backed up. Archive often makes compromises to accommodate the scenarios you describe -- later retrieval with a different application or by different users.