Microsoft Releases Lotus Domino/Notes Connector For Outlook 2002/2003

[Ed Hansberry]

<a href="http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=8ebbba59-5f17-4e52-8980-c4f0dfa92d65&DisplayLang=en">http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=8ebbba59-5f17-4e52-8980-c4f0dfa92d65&DisplayLang=en</a><br /><br />Microsoft has released a connector to install on your PC that will allow you to connect Outlook 2002 or 2003 to a Lotus Domino 5.x or 6.x server. It will sync email, tasks, appointments and contacts. It requires Windows 2000 or Windows XP on the client side. The reason I am posting this is if this allows Outlook to connect directly to Notes, will this allow you to install ActiveSync and sync with your Notes server without third party software?

[burtman007]

Yup. It works just like that and it works pretty well, too.

I was using this connector about a year ago and it seems to work okay. It stopped working (or rather started acting a little flaky) when our admins upgraded the Domino server to version 6.

I will warn you though, watch out for replication conflicts. Especially if you choose to sync your PPC using Outlook and still use the Notes Client for your desktop work. I ran into some issues where the connector doesn't always catch new calendar entries (most notably meeting invitations).

I've got mNotes running now, but if someone else runs this new connector with a Domino 6.5 server, let me know!

[acollet]

I been wanting to have my lotus notes calendar in Outlook.. I hopt this works.. anyone know if you can use this to sync outlook and mNotes to sync w/ notes just not use activesync ?

[lapchinj]

This would be great since I uses Notes at work and I really didn’t like the third party software available. I would rather have a Microsoft connector that would hook up to Outlook. I always had problems keeping my address and emails synched up between the two.

Jeff-

[Rolf Olsen]

It works like a charm.. both the old version for outlook 2002/xp and this new version for outlook 2003.

I have used for old version together with active sync and my iPAQ for a long time, and no real problems so far. And the new versions seems to work even better. With this I could finally upgrade to outlook 2003.

Only draw-back is that you cannot sync. contacts between notes and outlook with the connector, but I just have my contacts in outlook / on the PDA and skipped notes for that part.

[heliod]

I will warn you though, watch out for replication conflicts. Especially if you choose to sync your PPC using Outlook and still use the Notes Client for your desktop work. I ran into some issues where the connector doesn't always catch new calendar entries (most notably meeting invitations).


This is my greatest concern. Having Notes as your client and syncing via Outlook is not a trivial thing, and can surely bring to unexpected results.

[JvanEkris]

So this is an improved version of the old one. Does this one still need the Lotus Notes client installed on the client-side?????

Jaap

[EricMCarson]

Yes, you need the Notes client installed to use. Also, after installing, I had several replication errors, including duplicate contacts (what a pain to clean up!). Also, my tasks started on the days they were supposed to end on (?), so they wouldn't show up in Lotus Notes (how my secretary checks where I am) until the day they were due, not the day I was working on them. But, it does allow me to sync Notes e-mail, which was my major concern. I wish I could turn off the contact, calendar, and task syncing, since these appear to be a tad buggy.

[Bruno]

I have been running the outlook connector for Domino for over a year now. I just recently switched over to the new version with support for Outlook 2003/domino 6.

It works really great and brings together my information in my PocketPC and Lotus Domino quite nice. BUT...

Don synchronize your calendar between Notes and Outlook if you have repeating appointments. Youll eventually end up with a LOT of meetings instead of one repeating meeting. And the you have o clean up the mess manually. Believe me, I have done this twice already and its not fun at all.

Si use the connector to hook up to domino but I also use a local PST file for the calendar. To make the calendar to sync to the PST file I must designate the PST inbox as my primary inbox. Thus I get no alarms in Outlook when mail arrives in the Domino Inbox- But I can live with that. Outlook 2003 makes it really somple to open two calendars (as my PST calendar and the Domino calendar) side by side so I can easy work with both calendars and move all important stuff to my Oulook/PocketPC calendar.

[Jimmy Dodd]

I've looked at this for a little but am still not sure how to use it for my situation. Maybe someone with more experience can assist.

I use Notes at work for work-based email and calendering. I use Outlook for my tasks and for my hotmail account. Currently the only thing I maintain on both systems is calendering: I enter everything in Outlook by hand, while my meetings are automatically added to my Notes calender. I manually copy the Notes appointments to Outlook.

When I installed the Outlook Connector for Notes I created a new profile (as per the directions) but of course that only has my Notes appointments, email, etc. available in Outlook when I select that profile at startup. Is there a way to switch between profiles without stopping and starting Outlook?

Is there a way to have the emails from both Notes and from hotmail (or some other source) both synch'ed down to my PPC?

Can I keep the contacts from synch'ing, while allowing all else to do so?

I've tried the mNotes trial and it worked a little more intuitively for me. If I can get the Outlook conduit to work for me I'd rather go with it, though.

[pjtrader]

OK, I've been looking forward to this type of product for a long, long time.

But...after installing and pointing the connector to my Notes server, everything downloaded to a Domino Mailbox account. So far, so good.
But how come when I reply to any message in those folders it uses my non-Domino Notes account? There doesn't seem to be any way to set the from address properly?

Any suggestions?

Cheers,
Pam

[pjtrader]

Ignore the previous post...I've mostly solved that issue.

Because the installation created a separate set of folders for the Notes account, they're not synching with the PPC. What should I have done differently?

Pam

[ale_ers]

I wish I could turn off the contact, calendar, and task syncing, since these appear to be a tad buggy.

I agree. I just tried this...didn't like it at first. Then I had problems deleting it (outlook wouldn't open). So rather than try to solve that problem, I think I will try it for a week or so. I would much rather just be able to get my Lotus e mail in Outlook and use my regular calendar and such. There was an option in the beginning that asked if I wanted to make my Notes stuff the default. It said that this would be my default calendar, mail, tasks and such....I checked it, but now I can't find out how to get back and deselect that option.

I'm also going to have to figure out how to delet this if I don't like it....

[Jimmy Dodd]

I wish I could turn off the contact, calendar, and task syncing, since these appear to be a tad buggy.

I agree. I just tried this...didn't like it at first. Then I had problems deleting it (outlook wouldn't open). So rather than try to solve that problem, I think I will try it for a week or so. I would much rather just be able to get my Lotus e mail in Outlook and use my regular calendar and such. There was an option in the beginning that asked if I wanted to make my Notes stuff the default. It said that this would be my default calendar, mail, tasks and such....I checked it, but now I can't find out how to get back and deselect that option.

I'm also going to have to figure out how to delet this if I don't like it....

Control Panel -> Mail -> select "Prompt for a Profile to be used."

[ahovis]

I just set this up and everything seems ok except I can not send anything. Incoming mail works fine and I can search and find addresses on the lotus server but I do not get a send button on a new mail message and the "send and receive" mail will not do anything that I can see. What is wrong?

[pjtrader]

The reason I am posting this is if this allows Outlook to connect directly to Notes, will this allow you to install ActiveSync and sync with your Notes server without third party software?

To answer Ed's question, I think the answer is NO. When the connector installed, it created an additional set of folders labeled "Domino Mailbox - User Name" and replicated the folder system I had on the Notes Mail server. I subsequently ActiveSync'd and all that stuff, but...this is my theory...becausee the new set of folders don't exist as a subset of the the regular Outlook Personal Folders, they do not replicate. Of course, I tried to move the Domino Mailbox folders, but they wouldn't budge from their installed location.

While I'm disappointed in the fact that I'm not able to ActiveSync my Notes and Outlook mailboxes to my PPC, it still isn't a bad solution for single mailbox access.

Of three people trying this installation, one of us has had the connector fail to find the Notes client and create the proper access. We're not sure why yet.

Cheers,
Pam

[Bruno]

The reason I am posting this is if this allows Outlook to connect directly to Notes, will this allow you to install ActiveSync and sync with your Notes server without third party software?

To answer Ed's question, I think the answer is NO. When the connector installed, it created an additional set of folders labeled "Domino Mailbox - User Name" and replicated the folder system I had on the Notes Mail server. I subsequently ActiveSync'd and all that stuff, but...this is my theory...becausee the new set of folders don't exist as a subset of the the regular Outlook Personal Folders, they do not replicate. Of course, I tried to move the Domino Mailbox folders, but they wouldn't budge from their installed location.

While I'm disappointed in the fact that I'm not able to ActiveSync my Notes and Outlook mailboxes to my PPC, it still isn't a bad solution for single mailbox access.

Of three people trying this installation, one of us has had the connector fail to find the Notes client and create the proper access. We're not sure why yet.

Cheers,
Pam

Not so!

You just have to chose which inbox is your preferred inbox for new mail. You do that under E-mail properties/E-mail accounts/View or change exisiting e-mail accounts/Deliver new e-mail to the following location.
Whatever inbox you chose to have as the default inbox (including the one connected to Domino) will be the folder structure which is synchronized with Active sync.

But be warned that repeating meetings in Domino WILL mess upp your calendar in Outlook. So I dont synchronize the calendar but everyting else.

I think this is a thing that should be fixed in Activesync. You should be able to chose any fodler structure as sync folders regardless of where your default inbox is placed. Anyone at Microsoft listening?

[ale_ers]

[quote="ale_ers
Control Panel -> Mail -> select "Prompt for a Profile to be used."

Thanks...but I think I got it working. Now it doesn't seem to have the bugs I had before. I don't know what I did other than uninstalling it and reinstalling it a few times.

I still have not been able to Uninstall it and have Outlook work as it did before (I keep getting a 'files not found' message even after I ran a repair on Outlook)...but that is not an issue because it seems to be working well.

Now I just have to figure out how to send my personal mail while on my work VPN.

For those having trouble sending or receiving mail...try deleting the mail account then setting it up again...it worked for me.

[hdsalinas]

Well I installed the notes connector and got it setup in my 2003 outlook. My problem is that I cant get my lotus mail to sinc with my ipaq. I only get the pop email account that I already had. How can i add the notes account to my PPc?

[doughboy]

All:

Thanks for turning me on to this! I have installed it and it worked well for a day or so, but now it has three messages backed up in the outbox that I cannot remove (delete, remove, etc.). I receive a message indicating the MAPI Spooler is sending the messages and they cannot be deleted.

I must be really dense. I can find discussion of a Hotfix on Microsoft's website regarding "database locks" but cannot locate the actual link to the download. I humbly request someone take a fresh look at it and advise me of the location of the Hotfix. (http://support.microsoft.com/common/canned.aspx?R=d&H=Articles%20related%20to%20Microsoft%20Outlook%202002%20Connector&LL=kboutlook2002con&Sz=kboutlook2002con

Thanks.