Be a Choosy Downloader
A reader who asked to remain anonymous requests that I remind readers not to download and install every program they read about in PC World. We recommend only programs that we find useful, of course, but that doesn't mean they're useful to everyone. You may not need a tool for the chore it's designed to do, or you may already have a program that handles it. Remember that every program you download and install clutters your hard drive, and every program that runs in the background slows Windows and increases the likelihood of conflicts.
Office Tip: Share Your Outlook Data
How can two people use Microsoft Outlook to share data across a network?
Andrew Mace, Birmingham, Alabama
This technique doesn't keep one person's data separate from the other's, and it doesn't work between Outlook 2003 and older versions of the program, but it's free: Open Outlook on the first machine and select File, Import and Export to launch the Import and Export Wizard. Select Export to a file, and then Personal Folder File (.pst). Choose the folder you want to export (you can't select more than one folder, so you'll have to run the wizard separately for each folder you want to move). To export everything, select Personal Folders and check Include subfolders. Save the export in a shared folder that the other computer can access. Once the wizard is finished, exit and reopen Outlook.
Now open Outlook on the second PC, and select File, Import and Export to launch the Import and Export Wizard on that system. Select Import from another program or file; for the file type, click Personal Folder File (.pst). Choose the file you just created on the first PC, and click Replace duplicates with items imported. Click Finish, and the data from the first system merges with that on the second.
If you're willing to spend money for a more elegant solution, you might try Vaita's OsaSync ($37.50), which shares only contacts, or its bigger sibling, OsaSync Pro ($62.50), which shares everything. Go to this link to download either of these programs.
Send your questions to answer@pcworld.com. Answer Line pays $50 for published items. You'll find Contributing Editor Lincoln Spector's humorous writing at www.thelinkinspector.com.
Ad Choices