Outlook/Sync/Gmail...oh my.

[TheBrownEyedMom]

First of all, if you are a "pro" on this forum, I am very sorry to bug you. I am a very simple person with a very simple problem, but I need some straight answers with some instructions.

I've read that I can't use Outlook to sync my email/calendar/notes/tasks on my new Droid X (which comes today!). My question is this: how can I SIMPLY remedy this? I'm willing to use Gmail if that's the easiest way. Does that mean I just have to change my email address on gmail.com? Anyone up to the challenge of mapping this out for this ridiculously lame and inept former BB user?

 

[hookbill]

Go to you gmail on line, go into settings. Click on the tab forwarding and pop/imap. There are instructions there to convert your contacts on Outlook to csv files and move them over to gmail. Once they are over there Droid will sync with gmail and your contacts will be on your phone.

 

[smalltowngirl13]

I use a software program called gSyncIt. It is quite simple to setup & use. This is a very common question too ... I have a link I will post when I get back to my laptop that explores several options.

Sent from my DROIDX

 

[TheBrownEyedMom]

OK. Thank you hookbill. As soon as this phone gets here I'll try it. I'm lame, I totally admit it. But I appreciate you giving me the baby steps.

 

[wmscottmc]

First of all, if you are a "pro" on this forum, I am very sorry to bug you. I am a very simple person with a very simple problem, but I need some straight answers with some instructions.

I've read that I can't use Outlook to sync my email/calendar/notes/tasks on my new Droid X (which comes today!). My question is this: how can I SIMPLY remedy this? I'm willing to use Gmail if that's the easiest way. Does that mean I just have to change my email address on gmail.com? Anyone up to the challenge of mapping this out for this ridiculously lame and inept former BB user?

After trying a few 3rd party apps, I finally decided to do what others recommended. I exported my contacts and calendar from Outlook to my gmail acct. I wont be using Outlook anymore, but I was mainly using it as a backup for my BB. Im also a former Palm and BB user, and this is the biggest drawback to this new phone. Its a great phone, but this Outlook issue has been a hassle. And I still havent figured out what to do with all of my Outlook Memos (notes) that are still sitting on my pc.

I had a couple of issues migrating my data from Outlook to gmail. 1) recurring calendar events werent handled very well, the export just created hundreds of events, instead of 1 recurring event. 2) from what I can tell, gmail/tasks doesnt handle task due dates/times and recurring tasks like the BB did. I could be wrong about this, but I just decided to stop using tasks altogether, and didnt bother migrating my tasks data.

It suprises me that this phone doesnt interface with Outlook. I knew that when I bought it, but it is still surprising, and the migration process was a little messier than I thought it would be.

Good luck, and let us know if you find any shortcuts to this fun process.

 

[TheBrownEyedMom]

smalltowngirl...gsyncit doesn't work for email though, right?

 

[smalltowngirl13]

smalltowngirl...gsyncit doesn't work for email though, right?

No, but it can be setup so that your email from Outlook is forwarded to gmail thru the gmail account settings.

Sent from my DROIDX

 

[TheBrownEyedMom]

smalltowngirl...gsyncit doesn't work for email though, right?

No, but it can be setup so that your email from Outlook is forwarded to gmail thru the gmail account settings.

Sent from my DROIDX

Oh, that would be just great!! Thanks!

 

[hookbill]

smalltowngirl...gsyncit doesn't work for email though, right?

No, but it can be setup so that your email from Outlook is forwarded to gmail thru the gmail account settings.

Sent from my DROIDX

And how much did it cost? You can set it up for free by creating csv files. I'll bet that program cost you 40.00. That's what most of them cost.

 

[TheBrownEyedMom]

So hookbill, I can do what you told me to do and it will sync email as well?

 

[smalltowngirl13]

smalltowngirl...gsyncit doesn't work for email though, right?

No, but it can be setup so that your email from Outlook is forwarded to gmail thru the gmail account settings.

Sent from my DROIDX

And how much did it cost? You can set it up for free by creating csv files. I'll bet that program cost you 40.00. That's what most of them cost.

$14. 99 & that includes updates... I actually used .csv files but I am a daily user of Outlook & I did not want to do the .csv updates that often. $15 was worth it to me for convenience of a 2way sync.

Sent from my DROIDX

 

[wmscottmc]

Which fields in gmail/gcal get populated with your outlook memos/tasks? Do you lose anything during the transation from Outlook to google?

Thanks

 

[smalltowngirl13]

Which fields in gmail/gcal get populated with your outlook memos/tasks? Do you lose anything during the transation from Outlook to google?

Thanks

To be honest, I do not use the memos/task option of gSyncIt - however, I will check the website to see if they have any screenshots that show that info...I use it primarily for my contacts and calendar entries. I do not have duplication issue and the info that I seem to need appears in both outlook and gmail...

 

[smalltowngirl13]

There was quite a bit of info there on "how to" - I did not see specific screenshots but if you want to check out the website...this should be a good link..

http://www.daveswebsite.com/software/gsync/how-to.shtml

As I had said in an earlier post - here is a link that discusses most of the options available for syncing outlook, gmail, etc...this was previously posted either on this forum or the DroidX forums but was good info so I saved the page to share...

Home | syncdroid.net - because Androids need a good Outlook sync

 

[clsales]

Which fields in gmail/gcal get populated with your outlook memos/tasks? Do you lose anything during the transation from Outlook to google?

Thanks

Since Google does not officially support tasks and notes sync to Android (and Android has no native tasks and notes apps), you'll generally have to go with a third party solution for a complete sync of your Outlook data. As mentioned above, syncdroid.net is a great resource that highlights all the available options.

I'm going to be a little bit biased here and suggest CompanionLink. Outlook sync works in conjunction with CompanionLink's Android app suite DejaOffice. DejaOffice for Android offers complete contacts, calendar, tasks and notes apps for the phone, and supports color-coded Outlook categories, search and sort by first/last/company name, and variable font sizes. CompanionLink starts at $39.95 (the DejaOffice app is free), and a 14-day free trial is available at www.companionlink.com/android