Steven Cedrone
11-12-2003, 04:54 AM
Time for yet another ActiveSync rant... :wink:
I'll be honest with you, I've said it before and I'll say it again. When ActiveSync works, it works well, but when it breaks, you wind up wanting to break things...
So let me start my saga with a little background information. Work PC, a Compaq running Outlook XP and ActiveSync 3.7.1. Home PC, a clone running Outlook 2003 and ActiveSync 3.7.1. The Pocket PC, an Ipaq 2215...
I decided to rebuild my machine at work, it just needed to be done, it was acting up. No problem, had the machine up and running in a few hours. All software was loaded and life was good. Until it came time to sync my 2215. I gently placed the device in the cradle and...
Guest...
O.K., so I soft reset and place in the cradle again...
Guest...
O.K., so I reboot the machine and reset the 2215 again...
Guest...
Son of a *&^%$!!! So I walk away to calm down. You shouldn't drink coffee to calm down, it doesn't work! Now I start tweaking to get the device to sync, I tweak and tweak and tweak some more...
You guessed it: guest...
Aaaarrrggghhhh!!!
Now I decide to sit back and really think about it a minute. Where have I seen this behavior before? Some of you may or may not remember these: sync stations! So I decide I will toggle the "GuestOnly" registry key to see if it will help. I go to Chris De Herrera's CE Windows Web Site (www.cewindows.net) and grab the Undocumented ActiveSync Keys App. (http://www.cewindows.net/applications/undocumentedactivesync.htm) I said to myself "what the heck, it can't hurt. So I toggle "GuestOnly" on and off, drop the 2215 in the cradle, and what do you know...
The "Create Partnership" wizard... (It worked for me, YMMV... :wink:)
Cool, things are great. Uh oh, 4276 calendar appointments need to be sync'd, and I'm staring at the wonderful "Do you want to combine these items" dialogue box...
Oh &^%$...
Well, I really don't have a choice, so I give it the O.K. Finally, sync is complete, and I check the calendar. Every appontment I ever made has duplicate entries. I expected no less. :roll: Now I head on over to grab my copy of Outlook Duplicates Remover (http://www.hlyspirit.org.uk/cms/index.php?id=48) and stand vigil as my calendar is purged of all of the duplicates. It takes what seems an eternity, but it finally finishes. Thank goodness, because that really had my blood pressure up...
Then I went home... :evil:
I put my 2215 in the cradle and, I am again staring at the "Do you want to combine these items" dialogue box...
What the ^%$#!!!
Well, you can see where this is going, again I combine, and purge. I am now caught in this loop... (remember the ST:TNG episode???)
So what's the point you ask???
I'm getting to it, trust me. :wink: I know when I go to work tomorrow I will be facing the same ugly dialogue box, and I know ActiveSync is going to trash my calendar. Eventually, I will get it all straightened out, but it could have been so simple...
Palm, had this much right: I should be able (before I even cradle my device) to choose a partnership and specify one of the following:
Desktop overwrites handheld.
Handheld overwrites desktop.
Syncronize the devices.
Do nothing.
Then I could have made the work desktop overwrite my hadheld, brought the 2215 home and had the device overwrite my desktop, and all three devices would be on the same sheet of music. Is it too much to ask for? Why can't Activesync be modified to do this? Don't tell me about the wonderful future versions of Windows that will make sync'ing your device a breeze. I don't want to hear it. If it is based on ActiveSync as it is today, it will still be a headache to deal with...
Why can't ActiveSync work for us as well as HotSync works for Palm users??? The only advantage ActiveSync has over its Palm counterpart is that I don't have to push a button to syncronize my device. Well I'll tell you what, I'll gladly give up that advantage in a heartbeat if I had more control over what ActiveSync does, and more importantly, doesn't do, with my data...
Rant over...
I feel much better now... :wink:
Steve
I'll be honest with you, I've said it before and I'll say it again. When ActiveSync works, it works well, but when it breaks, you wind up wanting to break things...
So let me start my saga with a little background information. Work PC, a Compaq running Outlook XP and ActiveSync 3.7.1. Home PC, a clone running Outlook 2003 and ActiveSync 3.7.1. The Pocket PC, an Ipaq 2215...
I decided to rebuild my machine at work, it just needed to be done, it was acting up. No problem, had the machine up and running in a few hours. All software was loaded and life was good. Until it came time to sync my 2215. I gently placed the device in the cradle and...
Guest...
O.K., so I soft reset and place in the cradle again...
Guest...
O.K., so I reboot the machine and reset the 2215 again...
Guest...
Son of a *&^%$!!! So I walk away to calm down. You shouldn't drink coffee to calm down, it doesn't work! Now I start tweaking to get the device to sync, I tweak and tweak and tweak some more...
You guessed it: guest...
Aaaarrrggghhhh!!!
Now I decide to sit back and really think about it a minute. Where have I seen this behavior before? Some of you may or may not remember these: sync stations! So I decide I will toggle the "GuestOnly" registry key to see if it will help. I go to Chris De Herrera's CE Windows Web Site (www.cewindows.net) and grab the Undocumented ActiveSync Keys App. (http://www.cewindows.net/applications/undocumentedactivesync.htm) I said to myself "what the heck, it can't hurt. So I toggle "GuestOnly" on and off, drop the 2215 in the cradle, and what do you know...
The "Create Partnership" wizard... (It worked for me, YMMV... :wink:)
Cool, things are great. Uh oh, 4276 calendar appointments need to be sync'd, and I'm staring at the wonderful "Do you want to combine these items" dialogue box...
Oh &^%$...
Well, I really don't have a choice, so I give it the O.K. Finally, sync is complete, and I check the calendar. Every appontment I ever made has duplicate entries. I expected no less. :roll: Now I head on over to grab my copy of Outlook Duplicates Remover (http://www.hlyspirit.org.uk/cms/index.php?id=48) and stand vigil as my calendar is purged of all of the duplicates. It takes what seems an eternity, but it finally finishes. Thank goodness, because that really had my blood pressure up...
Then I went home... :evil:
I put my 2215 in the cradle and, I am again staring at the "Do you want to combine these items" dialogue box...
What the ^%$#!!!
Well, you can see where this is going, again I combine, and purge. I am now caught in this loop... (remember the ST:TNG episode???)
So what's the point you ask???
I'm getting to it, trust me. :wink: I know when I go to work tomorrow I will be facing the same ugly dialogue box, and I know ActiveSync is going to trash my calendar. Eventually, I will get it all straightened out, but it could have been so simple...
Palm, had this much right: I should be able (before I even cradle my device) to choose a partnership and specify one of the following:
Desktop overwrites handheld.
Handheld overwrites desktop.
Syncronize the devices.
Do nothing.
Then I could have made the work desktop overwrite my hadheld, brought the 2215 home and had the device overwrite my desktop, and all three devices would be on the same sheet of music. Is it too much to ask for? Why can't Activesync be modified to do this? Don't tell me about the wonderful future versions of Windows that will make sync'ing your device a breeze. I don't want to hear it. If it is based on ActiveSync as it is today, it will still be a headache to deal with...
Why can't ActiveSync work for us as well as HotSync works for Palm users??? The only advantage ActiveSync has over its Palm counterpart is that I don't have to push a button to syncronize my device. Well I'll tell you what, I'll gladly give up that advantage in a heartbeat if I had more control over what ActiveSync does, and more importantly, doesn't do, with my data...
Rant over...
I feel much better now... :wink:
Steve