The Entourage Help Blog

How to get help

2011-03-11T22:46:26Z

We appreciate your comments on our articles, but if you are having a problem with Entourage or have general questions about installing Office for Mac, leaving a comment is not the best way to get individual help. Select the best option to get the individual help you need.]]> Options to find answers

One of the quickest ways to find an answer is to search this blog or the Entourage Help Page.(Google search is also your friend.) Most likely your question has already been asked and answered. Popular links on the Entourage Help Page:

Subscribe to one the following sources for individual help. The same people that write for the blog also answer questions on the newsgroups and mailing lists. Please ask on one source at a time for help.

To learn about Entourage visit, Microsoft Help and How-To and the Get Started section on the Entourage Help Page. In addition to the Entourage Help Blog, see these other Entourage blogs for the most current information.

How to subscribe to the newsgroups

The following newsgroups are active. Please use this list as there are old newsgroups that are not active that are still listed. Evidently a newsgroup can never die and will be listed forever.

microsoft.public.mac.office.entourage
microsoft.public.mac.office
microsoft.public.mac.office.word
microsoft.public.mac.office.powerpoint
microsoft.public.mac.office.excel

Entourage's newsreader is not robust, but it is easy to setup. If you can use email you can use the Entourage newsreader.

In the Entourage Folders list, click on the Microsoft News Server. The newsgroup list will then download.
Type mac.office in the search filter
Select the newsgroup you want and click on Subscribe.
Now click on the microsoft.public.mac.office.entourage newsgroup which has just appeared in your Folder List on the left, under the Microsoft News Server icon.

You can change the number of headers in Tools/Accounts/News/Microsoft News Server/Options. For help using the newsreader, see this page for help.
Starting with Entourage 2008, Spotlight search of the newsgroup in Entourage is a great way to quickly find answers. Click on More button to get older messages.

Click the New button to start a new thread.
You can set a schedule to download the newsgroup, or simply click on the header to download messages. View schedule

Set up a News account

In order to post a question you will need to set up an account to use.
To help avoid receiving unwanted messages (spam) in your regular e-mail account, you may not want to include your regular e-mail address when you post a question or reply to a post in a discussion group. Instead you may want to do one of the following:

Use a secondary e-mail account or alias account
Create a throw away address (disposable email service)
Create a Fake NoSpam Account

Select an account from the popup.

Access newsgroups via web interface

Currently there are several options on the web that are interfaces to the Microsoft newsgroups. If this is your preferred method to connect, check them all out for ease of use and search features. Don't be fooled...the Mactopia Forums are just an interface to the newsgroups. It might appear to be an official support forum but it's not.

Consulting Services

We do our best to help users, but sometimes you need personal help. As a consultant I offer my services to help users with Entourage. I have been very successful in recovering corrupt databases. Fees start at $35.

This is not an official Microsoft support site

We are not affiliated with Microsoft. This blog and all Microsoft MVPs are independent sources for help. We do not get paid to offer support. We are not Microsoft employees. If you are a business, you should contact an official source for help that's offered through your license agreements. Use this phone number to contact Microsoft Official Support: (866) 474-4882 For info on official support visit this link. View official support options and fees offered by Microsoft.

Poll: How big is your database?

2009-06-18T00:52:37Z

Want to know how the size of your database compares to other users? Take our poll and check back to compare.

If you follow us on twitter, you will will be able to easily participate in any future polls.

Don't know how to check for the size of your database?

]]> Entourage stores all of your data (Rules, mailing lists, signatures, messages, address book, schedules, contacts, tasks, notes, calendar events) in a database. Your database is located in your Identity named Main by default.

~/Documents/Microsoft User Data/Office 2008 Identities/Main Identity

Script: AutoArchive Exchange Account to folders "On My Computer"

2009-06-16T00:28:15Z

The AutoArchive script that moves mail from your Exchange account folders to archive folders within the "On My Computer" folder tree has been broken for Leopard. You can download this beta version and see if it works for you. Before using the script, open in the Script Editor and select the version of Entourage you are using. Change this line to 2004 if you have not upgraded yet:

set ArchiveVersion to 2008

For more info on customizing and using this script see the Entourage Help Page AutoArchive Exchange Account to "On My Computer" Updates to the script provided by Entourage user, Michael K. Please report back if it works for you. If you do have problems, try to give details.

Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac 11.5.5 Update

2009-06-12T23:45:08Z

Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac 11.5.5 Update was released June 09, 2009. Finally a combo updater that includes all previous updaters. Available on Mactopia or via Microsoft AutoUpdater. The updater includes security updates and for users of Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard), this update now ignores backup copies of Office that were created by the Time Machine backup tool. For a full description of the updater, see Microsoft KB 969661. Download Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac 11.5.5 Update

Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.9 Update

2009-06-10T05:15:11Z

Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.9 Update is now available on Mactopia downloads or via Microsoft AutoUpdater. You must have Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.0 Update or later installed before you install the Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.9 Update. This is a combo updater including 12.1.7. Along with the usual security updates, it mentions this update readies Office 2008 for Mac for the installation of Microsoft Entourage 2008 for Mac, Web Services Edition, and must be installed before Entourage 2008, Web Services Edition is installed. For more information about this update, please visit the Microsoft Web site. Follow these steps for a successful upgrade: ]]>

Zip your Office for Mac folder in Applications, or be sure you have a backup copy. Updaters do not have an uninstall feature.**
Launch the Microsoft AutoUpdater (MAU) under Help in the Menu bar of any Office application.
When the MAU shows up in the Dock, select "Keep in Dock"
Log out of your User's account
Log in and hold down the Shift key to disable all startup items.
Launch the MAU from the Dock
Select Check for updates
Launch the installer and update.
Restart

** Updates do not include an uninstall feature. To restore your application to its original state, delete it from your hard disk, reinstall Office from your original installation disk, and then install ALL updates. Tip: Archive (zip) your Office folder prior to updating so you can easily revert to the archive copy if needed. If you use Time Machine or other backup software, you can use the copy there if needed.

Problems Updating We are also seeing the typical reports of problems updating. Most errors are a result of users modifying their files. Dos and Don'ts for a good install If you get this error:

A version of the software required to install this update was not found on this volume.

See the solutions on the Error: "there was nothing to update" Page. For help with other errors start on Install/Update Errors Office 2008 for help. Check List to troubleshoot your install When will EWS be ready? Microsoft has not released any info about when EWS will be released. As soon as there is official word, we will post it here and on our twitter account. Follow us on Twitter What is EWS? Entourage for Exchange Web Services is an upgrade to Entourage's Exchange support. See these links for more info:

Entourage 2008 & Spotlight

2009-05-26T02:20:53Z

Spotlight search in Entourage 2008 is so fast, this one feature makes the upgrade to Entourage 2008 worthwhile. If you've been disappointed with Spotlight in the Finder, you'll find using Spotlight within Entourage 2008 to be easy and blazingly fast. You don't get results from other file types and there is no setting for kind or type. You can search by a folder, but searching "all messages" is so fast you don't have to worry about a message lost in some subfolder not showing up in the results. This article is going to focus on the following:

Spotlight Basics
Location of your Spotlight cache files
Saving a Spotlight search as a custom mail view
Troubleshooting problems with Spotlight search in Entourage

]]> Spotlight Basics

Spotlight indexing only works on one Identity at a time.
Spotlight search in Entourage only searches the Entourage Identity and nothing else on your computer.
If you use Spotlight search in the Finder, it can see the cache files from other Identities. You'll have to switch Identities to view the message unless you install the Entourage QuickLook plugin.
Unless the Identity is left open long enough for Spotlight to index, you won't be able to search that Identity.
Is the Entourage Database Daemon (Office Reminders/Notifications) turned on? Spotlight will index any cache files the Entourage daemon has created even if the daemon is not launched, but no new cache files will be created until the daemon is launched again.
Do you have Mail Messages. Contacts, Events & To Do Items selected in Spotlight System Preferences? These options do not apply to just Apple's applications.

Open Spotlight in System Preferences. Be sure all corresponding Entourage items are checked:

Entourage Mail items are listed under "Mail Messages" group.
Entourage Events & Task items are listed under "Events and To Do Items" group.
Entourage Contacts are listed under the "Contacts" group.
Entourage Notes are listed under the "Documents" group

Why do I get duplicate contacts/emails listed in Finder Spotlight results, one for Entourage and one for AddressBook? This is a limitation of the implementation from Apple. Unfortunately there is nothing that can be done about it at this time since Entourage and AddressBook have to share the same basic data 'types'. The Address Book items do not show up if you are using Spotlight search in Entourage. Tips:

If you had Spotlight enabled in Entourage 2004, you can delete those cache files and free up some space. They are no longer needed.
If you delete an Identity in the Finder the Spotlight cache files will not be automatically deleted, but if you delete the Identity in the "Switch Identity" window, the cache files for that Identity will be automatically deleted.
If you did delete an Identity manually, then you will have to manually delete those cache files in this location: Library/Caches/Metadata/Microsoft folder

Spotlight cache files - .vRgemessage

We often have users ask if the files they find in their User's Library that end in .vRge are their lost messages. The answer is no. These are the cache files Entourage creates for Spotlight searches. When you enable Spotlight indexing within Entourage, a "cache" file is created for each item within your Entourage database. If you want to see the cache files, you can find them within your Library/Caches/Metadata/Microsoft folder. I suggest you use Apple 'label' feature as breadcrumbs to highlight the folders in this path in case you want to find your cache files in the future. Entourage creates cache files for Spotlight searches. Spotlight does not actually index the database but the cache files that Entourage creates. Some users select to add their Identity folder to Spotlight Privacy tab. Supposedly, Spotlight is not supposed to search a database, but I have not been able to find definitive evidence to support this. Adding it certainly does not hurt anything. What can I do with these cache files? They do contain, in a different format, almost all the information in the original message. They contain the attributes of the message (sender, time, subject, etc.) and the first 75kb worth of text from the message's body. 90+% of messages are 2kb or less once written to the cache. The format is not what any mail client, including Entourage, expects to see, but if you had catastrophic database failure and no backup, these files can provide some useful info. So the upshot is that if you want to recover a specific, important piece of information, such as an email or phone number, for a message, these files may be useful, but if you are talking about trying to recover lost data en mass, currently there is only a script for Tiger users that works. If you have Tiger and want to test the script out, download Recover Emails from Spotlight Cache by Barry Wainwright.

Saving a Spotlight search as a custom mail view

When you create a search in Entourage using Spotlight, Entourage gives you the option to save the search as a custom Mail View. View image of the search bar Click on Save and enter the name in this window: Entourage saves the search as a custom Mail View. Mail Views are located at the bottom of the Folder window. Besides being fast, another advantage of using a saved Spotlight search is you can easily find messages scattered in different folders.

Troubleshoot Spotlight

Spotlight does not seem to be indexing my Entourage messages.

Check to see if there are any files have been created at this directory:
~/Library/Caches/Metadata/Microsoft/Entourage
Is the Entourage Database Daemon (Office Reminders/Notifications) turned on?
Do you have Mail Messages. Contacts, Events & To Do Items selected in Spotlight System Preferences?
Is "Include Entourage item in search results" checked in the Entourage Preferences: General Preferences
Have you restarted your Mac?
Test in a new Identity. I have seen a few cases where no other evidence of database corruption was evident other than Spotlight search failed to work.

How can you force a rebuild with Spotlight?

Easy way: New to Entourage 2008--Click on the Rebuild button in the Spotlight preference.
Manually remove the files in the Finder.
Library/Caches/Metadata/Microsoft folder
Use the Terminal to rebuild.

Use Terminal You can manually trigger Spotlight indexing in the Terminal by running the following command line tool in Terminal.app: mdimport ~/Library/Caches/Metadata/Microsoft/Entourage/2008 [Added May 28, 2009] I found this link today that offers some additional tips to troubleshoot Spotlight. Spotlight won't work? Fix a broken Spotlight menu with these troubleshooting tips

Recommended Reading: Andy Ruff, MacBU Program Management wrote an article, Basics of Spotlight when Spotlight was first introduced that contains basics every user should know.

Are you a top or bottom poster?

2009-05-19T21:00:58Z

That is, when you reply to a mail, do you quote the original in your reply, and do you like your answer to go above the quoted text or after it? Well, Entourage can do it either way, but the available options can be a little limiting for some people. This article explains the options and presents some alternatives. Let's look at mail first: These are the options to check in the mail attribution part of the preferences window Option 1 - check "Use None" Now, replying to a mail message gives you a window with the Quoted Text, then the cursor for your reply, then your signature (if you have one set). Option 2 - check "Place reply text at top of message..." Now a reply has things in this order: attribution line (you can modify what appears in this in the same preferences dialog); quoted text; cursor; signature Option 2+ - also check the "Place insertion point before quoted text" The order changes to cursor; attribution; quoted text; signature Option 3 - check "Place reply at top of message and include From, Date..." The order in a reply is now cursor; signature; short headers of the quoted message (over 5 lines); quoted text. Nowhere is the preferred option for most top-posters: cursor; signature; short attribution line; quoted text. News Messages Things get even more confusing when we look at replies to newsgroup messages: First, we note there is a separate section in the preferences for News Attribution, with just one editable entry for the attribution line. Now, doesn't this imply that the options just described have no effect on News? You'd think so, wouldn't you. Well, you're almost right. Options 1, 2 & 3 in the mail attribution section have no effect at all. the replies to news messages always contain: a short attribution line; the quoted text; the cursor; your signature. However, select option 2+ in the mail attribution section and replies to news messages ARE affected - the order becomes: cursor; attribution; quoted text; signature. Crazy huh? Note that again, there's no top-posters' preferred option. The Solution Before you despair, there is a simple solution. Paul Berkowitz has written an elegant set of scripts that let you customise your reply format a lot better than the Entourage Preferences. Using this script I have the Entourage preferences to reply to a message as a bottom poster: attribution; quoted text; cursor; signature. So, when I hit Cmd-R I get a bottom poster's reply. I have Paul's script set up to use the keyboard shortcut Cntl-Opt-R, and when I hit that I get a message in the top-poster's layout: cursor, signature; short attribution; quoted text. Beautiful. The best of both worlds. Now why couldn't Microsoft have made it easier than they did?

Please feel free to leave a comment using the links below - comments on this article or requests for future articles are always welcome and will be responded to where appropriate.]]>

Connect Entourage 2008 to Apple's Mobile Me

2009-05-17T17:30:02Z

Having a MobileMe account doesn't mean having to use Apple's Mail application. Any E-mail application can connect to MobileMe since it is just a standard mail service.

When Apple converted its .Mac service to MobileMe, it also made some changes to its servers as well. Some users of their service have noticed they are receiving certificate errors or are having connection problems. Following are the basic setup instructions for Entourage users to reconnect to their old .Mac or connect their new MobileMe E-mail accounts.

]]> What not to do

Entourage comes with a built-in Account Setup Assistant, which you may have used to automatically configure your MobileMe E-mail.

However, its server information has been outdated since Apple switched to the MobileMe brand in July 2008. While the mail.mac.com address will still continue to work to receive mail, the smtp.mac.com address will no longer work to send mail. Additionally, Apple has also increased its security settings for you to connect to your incoming E-mail server, which means that while the address is still correct, you must manually configure even more settings than the Account Setup Assistant has done.

If you have already used the Account Setup Assistant to configure your mac.com or me.com E-mail account then you can still correct your settings without having to worry about starting over. Just follow the instructions below to match your server settings.

Account settings for MobileMe

If you already have a MobileMe account or if you're creating a new account, select Tools --> Accounts... To configure a new account select Mail... from the New menu button. If you already have an existing .Mac or MobileMe account then double-click the account name in the list below.

[Does your existing MobileMe or .Mac account say POP at the end? Consider deleting this account and starting a new IMAP acount instead. You won't lose any of your mail that you've already downloaded and an IMAP account will allow you to keep your mail on the servers where it will be safe and accessible from other computers. For more information about the differences between POP and IMAP accounts read POP/IMAP Accounts on the Entourage Help Page.]

The Account Setup Assistant will appear, however, immediately click the Configure Account Manually button.

In the New Account window, change the Account type to IMAP. Click the OK button.

In the Edit Account window, enter the following information:

Account name -- This is any name you prefer to see. It will appear in the folder list on the left when you are viewing your accounts.
Name -- This is your name as you like your mail recipients to see it.
E-mail address -- This is your full .Mac or .Me E-mail address.
Account ID -- This is the part of your E-mail address before the @ sign.
IMAP server -- Use this: mail.me.com.
Password -- This is optional. If you do not enter it now then you will be asked to enter it when you connect to your MobileMe account.
SMTP server -- Use this: smtp.me.com.

Click the Click here for advanced receiving options button and select This IMAP service requires a secure connection (SSL).

Now, click the Click here for advanced sending options button. Select these options:

SMTP service requires secure connection (SSL)
Override default SMTP port -- enter 587
SMTP server requires authentication
Use same settings as receiving mail server

At this point, Entourage is now ready to send and receive E-mail from your MobileMe account. But let's check out the Options tab.

Configure Options

MobileMe supports some advanced server options, which can enhance the overall user experience. In the Edit Account window, click on the Options tab.

Leave the default selected options enabled. MobileMe supports Send commands to server simultaneously, which means it can process multiple commands at once rather than one at a time. This means a faster transfer of information. The other selected options will increase speed for receiving most mail as well as indicate that you have unread messages in folders other than just the Inbox.

Consider also selecting these options as well:

Live Sync (stay connected with server) -- While Entourage is open, you will receive mail as soon as it arrives and not only when your Send/Receive schedule run (about every 10 minutes).
Only connect to Inbox -- New mail will come to your Inbox. No need to check other folders.
Connect immediately on launch -- Your account is checked for new mail when you launch Entourage.

Click the OK button and close the Accounts window. Your mail should begin downloading immediately if you've already entered and saved your password. Otherwise, you'll be prompted to enter you MobileMe password first.

Microsoft AutoUpdater

2009-05-10T02:08:07Z

The Microsoft Autoupdater (MAU) for Office 2008 is now tucked out of view of Spotlight. In the past the Microsoft AutoUpdater could be found at the root level of the Application folder. If you are using both Office 2004 and Office 2008 you will need both updaters. Neither will be able to see the other's updates. You can find the MAU for Office 2008 by following this path:

Yourstartupdrive/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MAU2.0

Currently, the MAU should be version 2.2.0 if you have 12.1.7 installed. View image If your version is not fully updated or you are wondering what happens to the download file, continue reading...]]> Troubleshooting the MAU If you find your MAU is not fully updated, you will need to re-install Office. "Breaking PPC binary" If you have a PPC computer you might see this error: "You can't open the application Microsoft Entourage.app because it is not supported on this architecture". Go to this folder,

"/Library/Receipts"

and delete the receipts for Office 2008 and then run the MAU. They will all start with "Office2008". Conflict on launch MAU and quit all Microsoft applications We are advised to quit all Microsoft applications before updating, but then Microsoft only gives us the option to launch the Microsoft Autoupdater from an open Microsoft application. Follow these steps for a successful install.

Under Help in the Menu bar of any Microsoft application, select Check for updates. This will launch the MAU.
When it shows up in the Dock, select "Keep in Dock".
Select Log out under the Apple menu.
Log in and hold the Shift key down to disable all startup items including the hidden ones.
Select the MAU from the Dock and download your updates.
Restart between each updater. IMPORTANT
You can remove from Dock after updating.

[Note: if you are doing a re-install, do not launch Entourage before updating. Your Identity will give you this error: "This Identity Cannot Be Opened With This Version of Entourage"] Where did the download file go? After you download the update you'll find it by following this path:

Youruserfolder/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/16807Office 2008 12.1.7 Update

The Temporary in TemporaryItems should give you a clue as to what happens. When you quit the Installer application, the update package vanishes as it was intended for temporary use only. If you want to keep the installer, you can download via Mactopia and download the update directly. Alternatively you can, of course, pull a copy from the TemporaryItems folder before it's vaporized.

Please send Feedback to Microsoft to add the option like Apple does to keep the installer after downloading.

Microsoft has been very good in Office 2008 to roll previous updaters into a combo. Don't assume all your old updaters will need to be used if you have to do a re-install of Office. Even if you use your standalone updaters, I advise running the MAU to let it tell you what's needed in between each update. For users that have an original release DVD, you need two updaters:

12.1.0 SP1
12.1.7

Users with a later release DVD only need one updater: 12.1.7. Select your option in the MAU to check for updates. I advise to check Automatically (Daily, Weekly or Monthly). Even if you do not want the AutoUpdater to download the update, you'll be notified when an updater is available. It does not automatically install. Updates contain bug fixes and security updates. It's important to be fully updated.

Tip: If you use the Apple Label feature, you can label the folders to leave "breadcrumbs" to find files that are buried several folders deep like the MAU when you need to find it again in the future.

Select Application Support folder --> assign a label color
Select the Microsoft folder --> assign a label color
Select the MAU2.0 folder --> assign a label color

For detailed instructions on using label see this page.

Using Quick Look in Entourage

2009-05-09T16:45:00Z

One of the features introduced in Mac OS X 10.5, or Leopard, is Quick Look, which allows you to view the contents of a file without actually opening it. Apple has made sure that Quick Look works with a variety of file formats, including Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations. For more information, check Apple's website. Quick Look is prominently featured in the Finder, but as a feature at the level of the operating system, it is also available to other applications. For example, Apple has built the feature into its own e-mail software, called Mail; as a result, you can use Quick Look to preview your attachments instantaneously, without having to open any supplementary application. The question that must be on your mind right now is: can I use Quick Look in Entourage as well?]]> QuickLook Attachments Script Download QuickLook Attachments script. Once you have downloaded and unzipped the script, put it in the following folder: ~/Documents/Microsoft User Data/Entourage Menu Items (where "~" , the tilde key stands for your user name). This script is a collaboration of Andy Ruff, lead developer for MacBU and Allen Watson, MVP. The script is now available in Entourage; open any message which contains attachments, either in the preview pane or in a window of its own, then click on the script icon in the menu bar and select the script. You should now get a Quick Look preview of the selected file. You can also use a keyboard shortcut; select the attachment, then hit Ctrl-L. (To find out more about accessing scripts via keyboard shortcuts, see this page or follow the AppleScript tutorials on this blog.) Please note that there are some limitations:

Quick Look is only available in Mac OS X 10.5. The script will therefore not work in any pre-Leopard version of Mac OS. On the bright side, the script should work in Entourage 2004 as well, provided that you have Leopard installed.
Some features available to applications that use Quick Look natively are sadly not accessible via AppleScript. The ability to display the preview in full screen mode, for instance, is one of them.

Easily open Windows UNC paths in Entourage using WinShortcutter

2009-05-02T19:36:55Z

Windows users can sometimes be a little blind to the fact that not everything acts like Windows. A perfect example of this is when they send Windows UNC (Universal Naming Convention) paths to Mac users. They expect the Mac folks to be able to click the link in an E-mail message and go straight to a folder on a file server.

What are UNC paths? Those are sometimes short but often long links that look like this:

\\server\Projects\Remodeling\

A UNC path starts of with a set of two backslashes (often called whack-whack), which means "everything after this is on the network, not on my computer". The whack-whack is followed by a server name followed by another whack followed by one or more folder names separated by even more whacks.

Unlike what the name implies, these paths are hardly "universal". WinShortcutter from Lobotomo Software, however, will enable Mac users who work in a Windows world to follow these whack-whack style links.

]]> What is WinShortcutter?

WinShortcutter is a tool that is configured through its Preference Pane in System Preferences and lives in the Services menu found under the Application menu in every application. It does many things including translating a Windows UNC path from this:

\\server\Projects\Remodeling\

to something a Mac can read, like this:

smb://server/Projects/Remodeling/

WinShortcutter works on Mac OS X 10.3.9 and higher and is freeware, which means anyone can download and use the software for free! To begin using WinShortcutter, download and run the installer and then continue reading.

How do I use WinShortcutter to read Windows links in Entourage?

Once the software is installed, it's ready to use for those UNC paths that start with whack-whack. When you receive a mail message in Entourage that contains a UNC path, simply highlight the link and select Entourage menu --> Services --> Open Windows Link.

An activity window indicates that WinShortcutter is attempting to open the link.

If a login to the server is required then the standard login dialog appears.

The appropriate folder from the path in the link opens in the Finder.

WinShortcutter's ReadMe file indicates that it does work with drive mappings in the form of:

E:\Remodeling\

However, careful scrutinization of the instructions and lots of testing give no indication that this works to mount network drive shares. (Writer's note: I'd love to be proven wrong on this. I've E-mailed Lobotomo support to verify.)

Follow us on Twitter

2009-05-01T01:07:14Z

You might have noticed that the Entourage Help Blog is now on twitter from our sidebar twitter updates. If you are suffering from twitter overload, don't worry. You'll get announcements for blog posts as well as tidbits related to Entourage but we don't use it as a social medium for chatting. Because of the limitations to message size, it's obviously not a good medium to ask questions and get any type of meaningful reply, but hopefully you'll enjoy our tweets. Follow us on twitter

Extend & Enhance Entourage using scripts & third party products

2009-04-30T21:26:55Z

We can use AppleScripts and third party applications to extend and enhance Entourage. I encourage you to check out these links for suggestions. Most scripts are free and many of the applications are freeware or donationware.

For example, Sync Entourage & AB Groups to help with syncing your Entourage cell phone category to the Apple Address Book Groups to be used by your iPhone. If you are a switcher, several applications are listed that help with the transition like KeyCue, xCuts and DoubleCommand. Travel often? Check out these scripts and Location X...Location X allows you to, with a single click, change network, time zone, email settings and more all at once. Includes AutoLocate - the ability to have Location X automatically determine where you are based on what AirPort network you are connected to. These are just a few of listed products to hopefully encourage you to check out the listings. I encourage you to leave comments about your favorite script or application to share with other users. Please feel free to share a favorite that isn't listed. Please note, I am not affiliated with the products and receive no reimbursement.

Create individual files for contacts and events

2009-04-26T05:13:10Z

Have you ever wanted to create a file with all of your contacts as .vcf files, or your calendar events as .ics files to share or as a simple, non-automatic back-up? Here is an easy way to accomplish this task. Now you'll see a folder for your Address Book and Calendar in the folder window.
Simply drag the folder to the desktop to create individual files. You'll also note, it's an easy way to view your Address Book and Calendar while still viewing the mail folders. View contents of Calendar folder View contents of Address Book folder]]>

Backup Entourage with SuperDuper!

2009-04-24T03:04:31Z

SuperDuper! for backup and recovery is highly recommended by regular Mac users. It's easy to use and the directions are clear and friendly. I like to describe Time Machine as an Ooops fixer and SuperDuper! as an OMG! fixer.

Backup Options

Using SuperDuper!

You can download SuperDuper! right now and back up and clone your drives for free -- forever! When you purchase SuperDuper! you can unlock scheduling, Smart Update (which saves a lot of time), Sandboxes, scripting and more! $27.95 Previously, we've focused only on backing up your Entourage Identity, but today we're going to also include the importance of backing up your Office for Mac folder in Applications, recovery from a bad system update and backup on the fly using SuperDuper!]]> Backup your Office for Mac folder in Applications You might ask, "Why do I need a backup of my Office for Mac folder?" If you've ever noticed these directions when you download an Office updater you'll understand why.

Updates do not include an uninstall feature. To restore your application to its original state, delete it from your hard disk, reinstall Office from your original installation disk, and then install ALL updates.

I think we can all agree that the idea of removing Office and going through a reinstall and update is not something we want to do if there is an alternative. Failed updates can be specific to your computer or from a bug introduced in the updater itself. If you have a backup copy of Office on Time Machine, a clone created by SuperDuper! or even a zipped copy of the folder, you can replace the failed updated folder and be back to work in a matter of minutes.

Backup your Entourage Identity using SuperDuper!

SuperDuper!'s Smart Update feature will make a backup copy of your Entourage Identity along with all updated files to your clone, but you do need to quit all Microsoft applications including the Microsoft Database daemon before it's backed up. I discussed the importance of quitting all Microsoft applications and the daemon in this article. You don't want to backup your Identity and have a corrupt database because you didn't quit all Microsoft applications and the daemon first. SuperDuper! makes it easy to quit all Microsoft applications. You can select a shell script that does this for you in SuperDuper! You don't even have to know or understand shell scripts to use it. Place the script anywhere you choose. I suggest you create a folder in your Documents folder. Download shell script to quit all Microsoft applications and the daemon Let's get started: 1. Select copy (select drive as source) to (select drive as destination). You'll notice that SuperDuper's window shows you exactly what has been selected. 2 Choose script under using 3. Click on Options tab 4. Under the General Tab select Smart Update. This assumes you've made your clone and restarted from the clone to test it first before restarting from your main startup drive. I suggest you select Sleep computer if you are doing this in the middle of the night. SuperDuper! gives you choices if sleep is not what YOU want. 5. Under the Advanced tab select your shell script to quit all Microsoft applications and the daemon. You can also select to run a script after backup. If you would like to start the Microsoft Database daemon so reminders and Spotlight caches are updated, download this script openmicrosoftdatabasedaemon.sh. Click OK after you make your selections. 6. Schedule your backup.I suggest you schedule SuperDuper! to make a Smart Update daily. The only drawback of this type of backup is the file is overwritten each night and you don't have snapshots of your database in case you need to go back in time to find a 'good' database. This is where having multiple backups come into play. If you also backup daily to Time Machine, you will have snapshots of your Identity, or you can use this option to create a chronological backup using FolderOrgX folder action. (can be used by Tiger users) 7. If your Macintosh is asleep when the time comes to run the backup, SuperDuper!'s scheduling won't wake it up, so the backup won't run. The way to handle this is to use the Energy Saver Preference Pane in System Preferences to schedule a wake (or "start up") event for a minute before the backup is scheduled to run.

Personally, I run my Automator workflows to backup my Identity using the folder action to place the Identity into a dated folder as described in this article, just prior to my SuperDuper! backup. If your data is important don't rely on just one backup option.

Test your backup. Click on the Copy Now button to test your setting while you can watch what is happening. If there is a problem, you can open the SuperDuper! log and it will tell you what went wrong.

Recover from a bad system update

One of the options in SuperDuper! is to create what the author calls a "Sandbox". It's used to revert to pre-update state of your OS. Here's a description of how this option works:

A Sandbox is a bootable copy of your system, stored on another hard drive or partition, that shares your personal documents and data with the original. With SuperDuper!, you actually use the Sandbox as your startup volume. You can safely install any system updates, drivers or programs in the Sandbox, without worrying about what might happen to your system. If anything goes wrong, you can simply start up from the original system. SuperDuper! has preserved it in its original, pre-disaster state but all your new and changed personal documents are totally up to date. Within minutes, you're up and running again without having to go through a difficult and time-consuming restore process.

Backup on the fly

For busy people that don't want a scheduled backup, I found this hint on MacOSXHints that I'm passing on as an option to backup Entourage on the fly. This is also very handy as a way to backup when you are traveling. Use a run-on-drive-connect SuperDuper backup script Thu, Mar 19 2009 at 7:30AM PDT • Submitted by Anonymous [QUOTE] I've put together information from several other guides (see references at the end) that I found around the web to create an auto-run SuperDuper backup script. The backup will start when you attach a USB (or FireWire) drive, and the drive is then automatically un-mounted when the backup is complete. This is very useful for me (versus scheduled backups) because I am at my home and office desks at variable times of the day. When I get to work in the morning, I just connect the drive and away it goes! A few hours later when I leave, I just check Finder to make sure the drive is unmounted and pack up. [/QUOTE] Read the entire hint on Use a run-on-drive-connect SuperDuper backup script

Previous articles on backup

Quit all Microsoft applications before backing up Backup Basics Backup Individual Items Archiving your e-mails with EagleFiler Using Automator and Entourage to back up the MUD folder Automated Backup with Shell and AppleScripts Alternative method to use Entourage and Time Machine Entourage and Time-Machine-like backup (can be used by Tiger users)