Motorola Droid Sync with outlook?

If you want to sync your gmail/google calendar accounts with other services, the free sync tools from Google seem to work just fine.

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But how does one sync an Outlook calendar if not using Exchange (not everyone has a workplace that uses Exchange). I access Outlook through a pop account. Can I sync that with my droid without having to first import the Outlook calendar into google calendar? Seems like the Corporate calendar function only works with Outlook on an Exchange server.

Originally Posted by Cindy Roberts

Seems like the Corporate calendar function only works with Outlook on an Exchange server.

I believe that is correct.

Google and Microsoft (Exchange) have sync protocols built into their services. POP and IMAP are email protocols - not calendaring services.

If you're running Outlook independent of an Exchange server, you will have to use a third-party solution. One way is to use Google Sync to sync your Outlook calendar with a Google calendar which then gets pushed to your phone.

I've tried that and it works quite seamlessly. But I also share my Google calendar with my wife and she doesn't want to be reminded of my work appointments.

You can also have your company's Exchange server set up as to not work with the Droid corporate calendar. Most people have zero issue using the stock apps - but most isn't all.

I to would like to purchase a Droid, but the only thing I do not like is that it does not sync directly with Outlook.
Having to put my contacts and my calendar online is a NO, NO for me, it is not secure to have that information in any type of email account.
So we are getting close to February and haven't heard of any program that will SYNC the Droid directly with Outlook. Please post if you have found an app or a way.

Thanks

Eddie

Originally Posted by polo_martinez

So we are getting close to February and haven't heard of any program that will SYNC the Droid directly with Outlook. Please post if you have found an app or a way.

CompanionLink will sync directly via USB cable from Outlook to Droid.

It's free to try and for one time use. After that it's $39.95 one-time lifetime. Free telephone tech support too.

Wayland Bruns, CTO
CompanionLink Software, Inc.

Originally Posted by tavenger5

Nancy, the phone itself sync's with Gmail both ways as long as you have sync enabled on the phone (the calendar, email, and contacts). No need for books

How do you sync contacts out of the box? Is there a setting on the phone? If so where. I have Outlook contacts, Droid contacts, and Gmail contacts.

HELP!

Originally Posted by zakany

At work, you're probably using an Exchange server (which is what the work email and calendar functions on the Droid are set up to use).

What I do is use the four included apps as intended. My personal information is pretty well Googlfied: gmail, google calendar, picasa, google voice, google docs, google maps, etc. I gave up using stand-alone email applications for home about a year ago since gmail had improved so much. Besides, I was finding that I'd open two programs every time I rebooted my computer: email and browser. So I just set my browser home page to gmail and voila!

All managed via google dashboard.

Is it true my DROID contacts can sync with Gmail contacts out of the box? if so how would I go baout setting this up? If I can add Outlook contacts into the mix that would be ideal.

thanks again!

Originally Posted by ctn830

Is it true my DROID contacts can sync with Gmail contacts out of the box? if so how would I go baout setting this up?

When you activate your phone, it pretty much asks you for your gmail account information. It then merrily sucks in all your gmail contacts and syncs your phone.

If you log into Facebook with your gmail account, like I do, it'll pull all those people in, too. Including pictures of their ugly mugs.

If I can add Outlook contacts into the mix that would be ideal.

It did that for me when I input my Outlook account info when setting up the email app. It didn't pull in the entire address book (thank goodness - I work for a company with tens of thousands of employees), but it did pull in my personal Outlook contacts.

Actually, it was good for me to have all my contacts in one place on my phone. I spent some time deleting old, inaccurate ones which removed them from their sources.

How do you sync contacts out of the box? Is there a setting on the phone?

You can turn sync off to save battery life.

In the email app (what I use for Outlook) you can give the account a name, change the email check frequency (I have mine set to "push" mail to my phone as it arrives on my company's servers), the amount of mail to synchronize (from one day to one month), etc. You can also enable or turn off contact sync (in case you don't want your Outlook contacts on your phone). So I guess you have the choice whether or not to pull in your corporate contacts.

In the gmail app, your settings are: signature, confirm delete (whether or not you want it to confirm deletions), batch operations (allow simultaneous label operations), clear search history, labels (select which labels are sync'ed), email notifications, select ringtone, and vibrate. Being a Google phone, you're pretty much hog tied to gmail.

Originally Posted by zakany

When you activate your phone, it pretty much asks you for your gmail account information. It then merrily sucks in all your gmail contacts and syncs your phone.

If you log into Facebook with your gmail account, like I do, it'll pull all those people in, too. Including pictures of their ugly mugs.



It did that for me when I input my Outlook account info when setting up the email app. It didn't pull in the entire address book (thank goodness - I work for a company with tens of thousands of employees), but it did pull in my personal Outlook contacts.

Actually, it was good for me to have all my contacts in one place on my phone. I spent some time deleting old, inaccurate ones which removed them from their sources.

I did enter my Gmail account when I bought and it did initally suck the contacts up. But every now and then I have new contact information that orginates on my DROID from people calling me for the first time. I add the contact to my DROID under my gmail as it asks. But when I go online from my computer to my account the contact is not there. So apparantly it's not syncing. Not sure why if my work email and Gmail are both listed as being synced under the phone's "Accounts & Syncs." Can you help?

Originally Posted by ctn830

I did enter my Gmail account when I bought and it did initally suck the contacts up. But every now and then I have new contact information that orginates on my DROID from people calling me for the first time. I add the contact to my DROID under my gmail as it asks. But when I go online from my computer to my account the contact is not there. So apparantly it's not syncing. Not sure why if my work email and Gmail are both listed as being synced under the phone's "Accounts & Syncs." Can you help?

Scratch that! it's there! Sorry

Originally Posted by zakany

Okay, I'm missing something here.

I input my google info and it syncs with my google calendar and gmail.

I input my exchange info and it syncs with my outlook email and calendar.

Everything is kept separate, except contacts.

Calendar = google calendar
Corporate Calendar = outlook calendar
Email = outlook email
Gmail = gmail

No third-party apps required. It does this right out of the box.

In order to sync with outlook, I needed my exchange server info. From outlook:

Tools > Account Settings > Change (not really changing anything, just looking) > More Settings... > Connection > Exchange Proxy Settings...

On your Droid (Settings > Accounts & sync > Manage Accounts (or Add new if you don't have it set up, yet, I guess) > Account Settings > Incoming settings), the "Exchange Server" is what's in the outlook Connection settings box right after "https://". Domain\Username and Password fields should be self-explanatory.

That might look complicated, but it's not.



Both. There are two default calendar and email applications, one set for Google and one for Exchange (Outlook).

I like that better than the kludge of syncing my personal (Google) info with my work (Exchange) mail and appointments. Mainly because I already share my personal calendar with my wife. She doesn't want the calendar she uses to be cluttered with my work meetings.

I tried this before returning the Droid.

Exchange Proxy Settings was greyed out - we connect using a LAN.
Was there an obvious fix that I missed?

Originally Posted by FJD3

I tried this before returning the Droid.

Exchange Proxy Settings was greyed out - we connect using a LAN.
Was there an obvious fix that I missed?

Sounds like your Exchange server isn't configured to allow connections via http. On that dialog box, you have radio buttons at the top (mine happens to be set to "Connect using my LAN") but at the bottom, under Outlook Anywhere, the Connect to Microsoft Exchange using HTTP is enabled. I assume that if that isn't enabled, it means you can't get your work email from the road - you have to be at work connected to their LAN.

Perhaps you could VPN into your LAN from the road, but I don't believe that function comes stock on a Droid.

Did you have a previous phone that could grab your work email? How was it configured?

Anyway, the point of my post was to get people to try the easy and obvious first before getting caught up in work-arounds. Not that anything is easy and obvious when it comes to Exchange. And there are work-arounds, even for your situation, but they can be messy and inconvenient.

I think it is completely unacceptable that you can't sync Outlook contacts without first exporting them to Gmail. I hate the way Gmail is set up. I just bought this phone and feel SO SORRY that i did. I actually had the Palm Pre and exchanged it for this one because i was told it is the "new work horse" of cell phones. Well- I use Outlook for work but now I have an awesome phone that won't sync with my business. I'm pissed.

Originally Posted by dayna

I think it is completely unacceptable that you can't sync Outlook contacts without first exporting them to Gmail

Mine does. Exchange doesn't always play nice with the email app, probably because there are myriad ways to set up Exchange.

I am a small business and do not have Exchange. So it doesn't sync, which is really frustrating. If someone knows of a third party app that can mirror my Outlook, please share!

**************
Anyone know why when I forward work (Outlook) emails from my DROID the recipient receives it as an attachment? And if they're on their Blackberry it's all encrypted. Responding and composing emails from Outlook and Gmail have no issues.

HELP

Sorry I haven't replied in so long. All of my contacts and calendar entries are available on Outlook, and also on my Droid, all the time. While they synch with each other via the cloud, the data is fully resident in both places all the time, even when disconnected from the internet.

I use the basic gmail service, nothing else.

Originally Posted by jmhultin

RandyB - thanks for your info. That may finally get me past the deal-killer for getting a Droid. Couple of questions, however -

Are all of your mail, calendar and contacts resident on your PC, and are your contacts and calendar always resident on you Droid? I don't mind my data being out in the cloud, but I need to have access to it when I'm not connected.

do you have a private domain name, or do you use a "@gmail" address? Do you have some higher level of gmail service other than just the basic freebie service?

thanks
John