Multiple custom contact lists in Outlook

[linda]

I had multiple custom contact lists in Outlook 2000. When
we went to Small Business Server 2003 I was upgraded to
Outlook 2003. At first my multiple lists did not copy over
so the Tech had to copy them individually. Then I had 3 of
each set. He deleted one set of each. I now have two sets:
one in personal folders and one in public folders, because
one of the lists is shared to others on the network. The
custom categories did not save very well and when I tried
to set them up again, it really squirreled up everything.
Now when I try to add a new contact, even a contact from
an existing company, I get a new category rather than
adding to the other category, and the same company. I went
from approximately 500-600 contacts in the multiple lists
to over 1500 and there are 4 listings of a lot of the
contacts. Do I have to ditch it all and start over or what?
Our whole office depended on these lists. Now they are
virtually useless. Does anyone have any ideas? The Tech
says I will have to work thru them one by one.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP]]

I don't understand what the real problem is here.

 

[linda]

I am sorry I did not make the questions clear the first
time. I have multiple issues. 1. My categories in my
personal folder "Client Contact List" did not transfer
properly when Outlook 2000 was upgraded to Outlook 2003 by
our computer tech. But when that folder was copied to be a
public folder the categories show as before.
2. One list of 117 items copied to the personal folder
of "Client contact list" mentioned in #1 copied under 9 of
the divisions that should have been different categories.
So I have the same 117 items duplicated under 9 headings.
3. Under the categories, I have multiples of the same
person but the information under them varies. So I have to
look at each entry to see which one has all the
information and delete all the others individually. I was
originally wanting to know if there was any other way to
do this.I just did not want to take the time to delete
1000 items one by one. But I guess from reading the other
posts that is all I can do, as they are not
truly "duplicates".

The fact is now my question has changed to another issue
regarding the same public "Client Contact List".

When I try to add another contact to an existing category,
I get a new category of the same name and the new contact
goes in there rather than adding the new contact to the
original category and company name. How can I have all the
individuals from the same company under the company name
in the proper category like they were under Outlook 2000?

And if I ever get this straight again, do I have to re-
share this folder for the changes to show for others as
the folder is not "syncing" for those that it is shared to?

Is there a phone support number for assistance with
complicated issues like this? Or can I fax a print out to
someone to show what my issues are? This is a major
setback for my company since our Client Contact List is so
fractured it is almost unuseable. I really need some help.

I am sorry this is so long and complicated by this is just
the way it has been left for me to deal with by the tech.

Can you help? I have looked at your books for assistance
but they do not seem to address the what can go wrong
issue.

Thank you for any help you can give us. Linda

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP]]

1) What do you mean by the categories not transferring? In other words, when
you open these items and look in the Categories field, what do you see?

2) What were the exact steps used to copy this list? From where?

3) You can get a duplicate cleaner from
http://www.slipstick.com/addins/contacts.htm#dupe that will help you merge
data and eliminate the extras.

4) What do you mean by "add a contact to an existing category"? exact steps
please.

5) Syncing? Sharing? If it's a public folder, sharing is controlled by
permissions on the folder. Synchronization to an offline file is controlled
by each user. That's the only synchronization in Outlook.

If you go to http://support.microsoft.com, you can explore your options for
phone, web, and other support.
--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of
Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers