The issue

We have this issue every time we setup an iPhone on Exchange.

Selecting “Keep on My iPhone” will keep contacts on your iPhone, but only on your iPhone. This defeats the purpose of having Exchange, which is to automatically sync your contacts across multiple devices.

ContactMover iPhone app

To jump straight to our solution, check out the ContactMover iPhone app. Read on to see the time-consuming workarounds that inspired us to write this app.

Known workarounds

1. Sync iTunes

• Configure iTunes to synchronize to an Outlook profile with at least one contact in it
• Export the PST that has the contacts in it
• Import the PST into an Outlook profile that is configured to that Exchange server
• Delete the contacts from the phone, and watch them trickle in from the Exchange server.

However, there are several issues with this workaround:

• You will not always be near the computer that the end-user normally syncs iTunes to
• iTunes may not be installed, and you may not have time to wait for a 100MB download and lengthy installation process
• You may not want to alter iTunes/Outlook sync settings
• iTunes is a heavy program, and you could literally be there for an hour trying to make this happen

2. Export CSV

There are other applications that email you an exported CSV that you can import into Outlook. You then must spend 30 minutes mapping the fields in Outlook. But Outlook’s field mapping interface is unforgiving – get one wrong and you have to delete all the imported contacts and start over.

3. Contact Groups

Some apps let you manage groups of contacts on the iPhone. But they all present you with a single list of “All Contacts” with both Exchange and Local merged. None of them distinguish between sources which is the difference between Local and Exchange.

Our contact sync solution

Stop wasting time with workarounds to this problem. Purchase the ContactMover iPhone app through iTunes, move the contacts directly, and be done.

iOS5 Compatible

Version 1.2 is now compatible with iOS5 and iCloud contacts.

New in version 1.3

Version 1.3 fixes a bug where the app would not always select the default Exchange contact list (e.g. “Suggested Contacts”).

September 17, 2012 Update

We have received several questions regarding the following error message:

You do not seem to have an Exchange source of contacts therefore this application can do nothing for you. It is possible that you only have Local contacts and no Exchange account setup.

‘Contacts’ Folder

The error is mostly affecting non-English speaking customers. The app is currently looking for a folder called Contacts, literally. In Outlook, simply create a new folder in your Inbox and call it Contacts. The app should now function as expected.

iOS6 Support

Please note, the app will not work on iOS6 since several changes were made in how an app can communicate with a user’s contacts list.

New in version 1.4

Introducing full support for iOS 6, while retaining legacy support for iOS 5. We also updated messages and notifications to help users run the app successfully.

This article originally posted on Move local contacts from iPhone to Microsoft Exchange with this app

As an IT professional, there are few things more frustrating than dealing with a BlackBerry device.

Here is a typical scenario:

• Client: I see you guys offer hosted Exchange
• Me: Yes
• Client: Great! I can finally end the nightmare of manually deleting messages I’ve already read on my home computer after I’ve read them on my phone.
• Me: Yes
• Client: And you said this will work on BlackBerry right?
• Me: Well, yes, but…
• Client: Great! Let’s get started
• Me: OK…

How to setup BlackBerry on Exchange

RIM has made the process of setting up a BlackBerry device on Exchange infinitely more difficult than their competitors. I’d get more joy from leaping over hurdles while on fire and wearing a Medieval suit of armor than registering a BlackBerry device on Exchange. Here’s the typical process:

1. Convince the client to pay more money per month (15 minutes) – I have to convince my client to pay an extra $15/month to the wireless provider for a BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) plan. Blackberries do not natively support Activesync, which allows most other devices to sync quickly and free of charge.
2. Wireless Provider (30 minutes) – I have to call the client’s wireless provider, have the client attempt to remember their PIN number and other personal information, and ultimately be told by the support rep that they don’t know what the Enterprise plan is or how to set it up. Eventually I get forwarded to someone who does.
3. Sync to BlackBerry Enterprise server (10 minutes) – I attempt to sync BlackBerry to the Enterprise server. This will fail if the client has ever attempted to sync the phone to BlackBerry Desktop Manager – of course, most people have done this. I will inevitably need to wipe the phone, but the client has pictures of their kids, dog, dog’s kids, etc. that must be backed up and saved.
4. Setup BlackBerry Desktop Manager (25 minutes) – I download and install the 300MB BlackBerry Desktop Manager software with Media Director to make a backup of the phone.
5. Backup the Phone (15 minutes) – I make a backup of the device to preserve user settings.
6. Wipe the Phone (10 minutes) – The only effective way to unpair the device from Blackberry Desktop Manager is to completely wipe the phone.
7. Enterprise Activation (10 minutes) – With a freshly wiped phone, the Enterprise activation process usually completes successfuly this time.
8. Restore from Backup (10 minutes) – I can restore the backup of the phone I took earlier, and the client will have contacts, photos, etc. back on the device.
9. Email History Issues (30 minutes) – I will soon get a call from the client wondering why emails are only prepopulated for 3 days, despite the 90 day setting in the phone itself. I will perform the steps in the following article to increase message prepopulation from 3 days to the maximum of 14 days. This requires me to repeat steps 6 through 8. I have to explain to the client that in 76 days, they will in fact have 90 days of mail at their immediate disposal.
10. Why BlackBerry fails (30 minute) – At this point, the client is finally willing to hear my explaination of why an iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile or any Activesync-compatible device would have been a smarter purchase, and it could have been setup on Exchange in 5 minutes.

This article originally posted on BlackBerry plus Microsoft Exchange equals Garbage

Up until 2 days ago, I always felt like something was missing. As a Mac user I have been exposed to a plethora of amazing software that Windows developers cannot come close to replicating. I could modify any file on a website in a matter of seconds using Coda, flip through databases and execute queries with Sequel Pro, schedule upcoming tasks with Things, and the list goes on. But a trusted email software was always missing.

Apple Mail

I used Apple’s Mail application to send emails throughout the day, but using it almost drove me to start handwriting letters; it would crash incessantly. Oh, and do you have Exchange 2010? Sorry, Mail can’t utilize its features – not even push.

I was excited about Snow Leopard because I knew the new Mail could handle Exchange, and it can, but only if you’re using 2007 or below. Also, if you are using Exchange 2010 with Mail and you enable the new Archive Mailbox feature, Mail will no longer connect to the Exchange server. At this point I wanted to rip my hair out. In my frustration, I had the thought of switching to a PC just to experience a real E-mail client. Of course, I would never actually do this as my productivity would plummet.

Outlook 2011 for Mac

While perusing the Apple store I noticed that Microsoft released Office 2011. I didn’t read anything about it but I knew Office 2008 was dated and buggy so I picked up a copy. Once the installation completed, I looked over the new icons on my Dock, and what is this I see? Is that a big capital “O”? No… it can’t be!? Microsoft Outlook has arrived for OS X.

Increased Productivity

Oh, the joy since that day! I can send E-mails at blinding speed. Below are some other reasons why I say that Outlook 2011 for Mac is AMAZING.

Everything under one roof

In Outlook my E-mail, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks and Notes are integrated into one application. Something I never understood about the standard Mac software was the separation of utilities. Why have your address book and your calendar detached from your e-mail client? These things belong together. In Outlook I can quickly switch between each of these utilities using keyboard shortcuts (E-mail: ⌘+1, Calendar: ⌘+2, Contacts: ⌘+3, Tasks: ⌘+4, Notes: ⌘+5)

Memory Consumption

Outlook eats up about 68.7 MB of memory. Mail, Address Book, iCal and Stickies eat up 61.0 MB, 35.7 MB, 40.2 MB and 12.3 MB respectively, totalling 149.2 MB of memory to perform the same tasks Outlook can do alone. I don’t factor Tasks into this equation because, as nice as Outlook Tasks are, I still prefer to use Things.

Searching

Locating a message In Mail can be a pain. You type in some criteria in the search box and it defaults to search who the message is ‘From’. You can modify this criteria to search within the content of a message, the ‘To’ field or the ‘Subject’ field, but that’s all. I don’t want my mail client limiting my search capabilities. Outlook leverages the NSPredicate object of Objective-C and lets you utilize its full power in their Advanced Search. The level of granularity is astounding, and you can even write your own raw query!

Conversations

Sometimes in Mail, it is difficult to go back and read a long list of messages and all the replies that go with them. Outlook makes this simple with Conversations. A Conversation is a logical grouping of an original message with all replies associated with it. It also logs other relevant data, such as the last person to reply. This feature is a lifesaver when looking through old E-mails. It can get obnoxious when looking through newly arrived messages, but, thankfully, it can be disabled.

Outlook 2011 Overview

Outlook 2011 is overwhelming – in the good sense of the word. It is jam-packed with all sorts of great features and customizations. I can:

• Move the reading pane to any position
• Schedule a meeting based on an E-mail
• Quickly contact a coworker via Communicator
• View a preview of “My Day”
• And many, many more great features

Outlook 2011 feels more like a Mac app than Mail does. The Office Mac team at Microsoft went all out and I am overly impressed. Where Mail is a hurdle, Outlook is a pair of rocket-powered rollerblades. It’ll really fly once someone creates a Quicksilver Plugin.

If you don’t have Outlook 2011, get it. Now.

This article originally posted on Outlook 2011 for Mac is AMAZING