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        I want to add my voice to the chorus requesting the ability to mesh PST files.  When I learned that Mesh existed, Outlook was the first program I thought about as benefiting from the service.  To find that pst files have been excluded, has me reconsidering my use of the service.   

        Live is already providing me with storage in the cloud to share my files over multiple computers.  The synchonization available with Mesh takes that up a notch.  This service could really take off, but I half expected to find a wizard already developed that would walk me through meshifying my Outlook on multiple platforms.

    Monday, August 18, 2008 2:37 AM

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    I'm sure someone from Microsoft could answer this better, but please understand that this has nothing to do with limitations of Live Mesh and everything to do with the implementation design of Microsoft Outlook.  What is basically required to do what you ask is to completely rewrite the storage/database engine for MS Outlook, and to then roll out updates to all Outlook users.  Users would then most likely have to manually elect to Meshify their outlook databases, since not everyone would want this.  Because the product cycle of Outlook is tied to the entire MS Office Suite, it is EXTREMELY unlikely that this will happen until the next version of Outlook comes out a few years from now (or perhaps even the version after that).

    I think it is likely that the sister product, Windows Live Mail, will get these updates sooner, due to fewer coorporate demands and a more frequent update cycle.

    Hope this helps!

    ~ Aaron
    ~Aaron
    Wednesday, August 20, 2008 5:12 AM
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    Travelers8 -

    I am in the same boat as you - Outlook was the first thing I thought of.  I don't believe it would have to be as difficult as Aaron portrays.  By addressing one common request - "Support for Delta level file sync" - I would be able to access the same PST from multiple locations.  I don't care to actively share the same PST - just access the same file in several locations.
    JJM
    Friday, August 22, 2008 4:54 AM
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    I've seen this sort of conversation a few times now and my first reaction is... why on earth is this so important?  Outlook connects to Mail servers.  Mail server which typically already exist in the cloud - Exchange, Hotmail, etc.

    "Meshifying" pst files would be very low on my list of priorities.

    Sunday, August 24, 2008 10:28 AM
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    Hi,

    The ability to sync Outlook files with Live Mesh is one of our most popular feature requests, and I've added the votes cast here to our internal list of suggestions.  I'm afraid I'm unable to speak to if/when/how Live Mesh might be integrated with Outlook in the future, but I can say a little about why .pst files are currently excluded.  The basic problem is that Outlook writes constantly to the .pst file while it is open, and this has the potential to generate a whole host of conflicts and problems if the file is included in your mesh.  Nevertheless, the ability to sync Outlook is, as I said, a popular request, and we are listening to all the feedback we're receiving - so if you've got something you'd like to see, please continue to let us know. :)

    Thanks,

    Ben.
    Tuesday, August 26, 2008 7:38 PM
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    DNeimke said:

    I've seen this sort of conversation a few times now and my first reaction is... why on earth is this so important?  Outlook connects to Mail servers.  Mail server which typically already exist in the cloud - Exchange, Hotmail, etc.

    "Meshifying" pst files would be very low on my list of priorities.



    I'm with you - I can't understand what people are wanting to do with this. If you're somewhere with Internet connectivity, then you should be able to get to Live Desktop and get to a remote session to your machine with Outlook on it. Same thing, isn't it? Except you've only got one copy of the .PST file, not several that are trying to sync constantly. Particularly if you leave Outlook open on a machine...
    Wednesday, August 27, 2008 8:53 PM
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    Two comments.

    1. Apple's MobileMe already allows syncing of Outlook.  So this is not only an issue of the way that Outlook is designed, and we don't have to wait three years for this to be possible.  Mesh should figure out a way to do this, too.

    2. As to the "why would you want to do that?" question:  I use three different computers. I don't like web-based email programs, especially because I frequently search for and reference emails that were sent to me a long time ago.  I would like them to be available to me, and not through a clunky, web-based interface, everywhere and at all times.  Similarly, if I download emails where I have web connectivity, and get on an airplane, and read, file, etc. them, I want that work to then be represented on all of my machines.  And, if I take contact info from those emails, and put it into Outlook, I want that to similarly update everywhere.  Yeah, sure, I'd like that on some sort of Live Office application.  But I'm still using my computer's hard drive for a lot of this.  FolderShare gets me a lot of the way there right now, too.... but not far enough.  Outlook is still problematic.
    Wednesday, September 10, 2008 8:54 PM
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    The ability to mesh outlook would need to be added into outlook itself as a plugin that was mesh aware.
    Like Ben said, you can't sync files that are open and in use. Outlook rarely ever closes a file so the mesh would never update.
    This would also be a great addition for SQL server which is in the same boat but DOES have a mechanism for tracking changes, transaction logs, which would just need a mesh aware client to process. Database mirroring/sync via mesh would be awesome.


    Thursday, September 11, 2008 10:35 PM
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    I too need to sync my PST. I travel extensively and have a VERY wired house. Desktop in home office, desktop at office, laptop, media centers in master bedroom and den, old desktop in basement for hobby (model railroading) and would like access to my email from each of them. Also would like to sync contacts only on my PDA. Is this excessive? Maybe, but its my life and I'll live it like I want. Please don't whine "Why would anyone want to do this". We ALL have reason why we need/want to do something. Don't question it, just lend a helping hand.

    I do this with my favorites. Why not my emails?!

    Proposed work around until MS works out how to do this. ONE machine is the master sending and receiving the emails. Each of the others syncs with the cloud doing no direct connection to the mail server. Is it fool proof? No, but nothing is.

    As it is now I use desktop remote or the mesh remote to accomplish this. It a messy solution I would like to streamline using Live Mesh.

    Any ideas around the PST sync issue?????

    Thanks,
    Rich
    Thursday, November 20, 2008 3:19 PM
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    IMAP--it's its reason for being. Or Exchange Server. Either one solves your problems (well, only exchange solves shared contacts).  You HAVE to have a mail server ("in the cloud") that stores at least a master copy of your e-mails. You then only have an offline cache of the e-mail (hmm, somewhat like what Mesh is intended to be). Get a GMail account but forget its GMail. Just use it to aggregate your mails (it does this natively fairly well, but if the delay that it imposes is to much then set up a forwarding rule to forward your current emails to the gmail account). Add your GMail account to Outlook as an IMAP server. Copy all of your existing mail folders to this account (takes forever). Set up the GMail IMAP account on all of your PC's. You don't have to use GMail for anything. Still SEND your mails using your current SMTP account settings (this is why they are separate).

    Search Google for GMail IMAP Outlook or something.

    Sync'ing a massive PST file (mine would be 3 GB) is simply not a viable option, even with "delta sync".
    Thursday, November 20, 2008 11:47 PM
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    yeah, like the only thing you can store in Outlook are emails :P
    Working with T4? http://visualt4.net
    Thursday, April 2, 2009 9:03 PM
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    I use the Outlook Connector to sync outlook with my hotmail.co.uk and live.co.uk accounts.  Outlook connector sync's Mail, Calendar and Contacts.  You can then install the outlook connector on several PC's and have the same data on all of them.

    It may mean changing your e-Mail address but until people learn your new address you can forward their mail to your new address automatically so that the syncing will occur.

    Outlook Connector can be downloaded from: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=9a2279b1-df0a-46e1-aa93-7d4870871ecf&displaylang=en

    Hope this suggestion helps some of you guys.
    Friday, April 3, 2009 8:21 AM
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    As a completely alternative solution, you could use Google Apps for Your Domain to setup a Gmail-clone e-mail server on it.  You can import your messages and contacts very easily, and then you'd have the same set of e-mails and contacts on any computer, anywhere, plus mobile devices.  Also, there's an offline function that allows you to get to your mail when you're not connected to the internet.  I know a lot of people prefer desktop e-mail clients, but the gmail web interface is really just about as good, imo.

    There are even ways of setting up your gmail address so that your outgoing messages still appear as coming from your original e-mail address, so you don't have to go through the pain of notifying everyone that you've got a new e-mail address.

    Not exactly what you were hoping for, but maybe something to consider.
    Saturday, April 4, 2009 8:32 PM
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    silly to use google when you can use hotmail
    Sunday, April 5, 2009 5:40 AM
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    I just found a way to sync Outlook using Mesh software, although that might be risky and you will most likely have to take care that only one of the connected computers is running Outlook at the same time (At least I do, since I don't know what will happen if two computers update the same file between sync intervals).
    You just need to rename your main Personal Folders file (no need to sync IMAP or MAPI files) to something with a different file extension (with Outlook closed), then open the Mail properties in Windows, open the properties for this data file, and, when Outlook asks you to show it where the file went, sleect "*.*" as file type, and select the renamed pst file (I called it "Outlook.pstx").
    From then on, the Personal Folders will stay synchronised between all your meshed devices.
    Of course, you will have to point your other Outlook installations to the same file.
    Tuesday, December 1, 2009 3:10 PM
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    If the same .pst file is changed on two PCs at the same time, you'll have a conflict. Live Mesh can't merge the files. You would need to pick which changed file "wins."
    -steve
    ~ Microsoft MVP Windows Live ~ Windows Live OneCare| Live Mesh|MS Security Essentials Forums Moderator ~
    Tuesday, December 1, 2009 6:23 PM
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    Yes, exactly what I thought. I always make sure to close outlook and then wait for Mesh to update before opening it on another PC.
    Inconvenient, but better than not being able to sync at all.
    Tuesday, December 1, 2009 11:56 PM
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    I tried getting my solution up there working as I wanted it to, and it kept causing trouble. Conflicts, lost Outlook elements because of delayed sync, stupid user (me) forgetting to exit outlook before opening it on the other PC...

    So now I switched to Outlook Live Connector and set the Live Mail account as my default storage location.

    This way it works almost exactly as I wanted it to work (even the appointment categories are synced and are visible in both Outlook installations, although Live Calendar doesn't seem to support them in itself, online or via Live Mail software). Even syncing to my PDA works flawlessly.

    The only function that does not really work as expected is the ability to create To-Do-Items from Mails and assign a due date to them. Somehow, the due date is not kept in the online store. Reminders are, though, so it's not a big problem.

    So, forget about my last suggestion for syncing Outlook via Mesh and just use the already available and apparently quite stable solution called Outlook Connector.

    Thursday, April 1, 2010 11:24 PM
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    Nice try.  I also add my voice that functionality from Live Mesh should be incorporated within Outlook.

    Tuesday, September 14, 2010 9:26 PM
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    Nice try.  I also add my voice that functionality from Live Mesh should be incorporated within Outlook.


    Curt, I'm sure that many people want this. However, the answer is simple - use a web mail service or use Exchange to sync data between devices. Synchronizing via a *file* sync program is inefficient at best, and risky at worst.

    In any event, this beta is going to die. Head over to http://windowslivehelp.com for Live Sync discussion. Microsoft will be renaming that product to Live Mesh upon release as it merged the functionality of both services.

    -steve

    ~ Microsoft MVP Windows Live ~ Windows Live OneCare| Live Mesh|MS Security Essentials Forums Moderator ~
    Wednesday, September 15, 2010 11:14 AM
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    "Why would anyone want this"

    I swear this is the exact reason why everyone I've ever met who has had to deal with an 'MVP' hates it. 

    I have 10+ years of old email saved in .pst files that I would like to back up.  They aren't used in outlook, and they won't be read by outlook until and unless I need to go searching for something from the past.  But hey, guess what, Windows Live Mesh won't sync them anyway.  How does it know?  Seems to be that the extension is the key.

    Here's an idea: instead of spending your waking hours passing microsoft certifications, perhaps you could

    1) interact with the rest of the people around you and learn about how they USE the software.  Or,

    2) offer some kind of suggestion on how to fix the problem.  Or,

    3) Recognize that being an MVP should discourage you from being a dick when a user asks you for solutions.

    4) Don't answer the question if you don't actually have an answer.

     

    I'm going to test changing the extension of these files to see if this will get past the limitation.  I don't expect Mesh to sync my email, but I damn sure DO expect it to back up my files regardless of their extensions.

    Thursday, October 14, 2010 3:33 AM
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    I agree Stephen.  I think that when something is given away for free, people want to much more.   Give an inch and they want a foot.

    My thought is a scale back that we pay for to keep data in the cloud like an Azure account.

    But there have to be limits.   And that's ok with me.  Software should not all be free, because when you write it you know the cost.

    It would be a cool way though to archive mail in the cloud, and it's possibly a business opportunity for someone.

    I would like to see a Mesh Tool bar for reaching Mesh from within Outlook though.

    I don't think we should keep the email in Live mesh but the attachments would be helpful.  This would make a PST file possible much smaller and we could possibly have an end pointer to the attachment in Live mesh like we do when we store a BLOB in a file server structure insead of the Share Point data base.

    But all of this is too much product overlap.

     

     

    Curtis J Spanburgh
    Thursday, October 14, 2010 12:12 PM
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    ScanIAM,  the MVPs voluteer their time and do the best they can to address answers.

    Since Live Mesh was beta, I see no reason to be upset at what essentially is a free service, if it doesn't do something that fits your criteria.

    Sorry your upset with the MVP program but these professionals are trying to help, and like any doctor we often need more information.  

     

    Curtis J Spanburgh
    Thursday, October 14, 2010 12:19 PM
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    "Why would anyone want this"

    I swear this is the exact reason why everyone I've ever met who has had to deal with an 'MVP' hates it. 

    I have 10+ years of old email saved in .pst files that I would like to back up.  They aren't used in outlook, and they won't be read by outlook until and unless I need to go searching for something from the past.  But hey, guess what, Windows Live Mesh won't sync them anyway.  How does it know?  Seems to be that the extension is the key.

    Here's an idea: instead of spending your waking hours passing microsoft certifications, perhaps you could

    1) interact with the rest of the people around you and learn about how they USE the software.  Or,

    2) offer some kind of suggestion on how to fix the problem.  Or,

    3) Recognize that being an MVP should discourage you from being a dick when a user asks you for solutions.

    4) Don't answer the question if you don't actually have an answer.

     

    I'm going to test changing the extension of these files to see if this will get past the limitation.  I don't expect Mesh to sync my email, but I damn sure DO expect it to back up my files regardless of their extensions.


    Say what? I'm sorry, the only "dick" I see here might be you. I did not say, "why would anyone want this?" And, I provided a solution, given the limitations imposed by Microsoft *and* the fact that Live Mesh beta is going away. You've now stepped in to complain and you aren't even using the product that is being discussed. You're in the wrong forum. 

    For discussion of the new Windows Live Mesh (formerly Sync), (as well as the released Live Sync version) go here:

    http://windowslivehelp.com/forums.aspx?productid=24

    Yes, changing the extension will allow the files to sync. However, each time these files are opened in Outlook, the entire file is updated and needs to sync once again.

    -steve

    ~ Microsoft MVP Windows Live ~ Windows Live OneCare| Live Mesh|MS Security Essentials Forums Moderator ~
    Thursday, October 14, 2010 1:53 PM
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    I too thought first about Outlook syncing when I read about Windows Live Mesh.  I am an indepent consultant with no corporate servers to synce my Outlook between computers.  So for people like me there is a real need for this.  In meantime, you have a need and are willing to pay a modest fee try Syncing.net for syncing Outlook and other folders.  I have been using since for last 4 months and it works well and you don't have to have only one computer running.  They have a 30 day free trial so you can see if it meets your needs.

    Martin

    Saturday, March 5, 2011 4:11 PM