Creating/Updating a new/existing contact in WP7 - Windows Phone 7 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi,
Before I get bashed on this let me explain please. I know I can sync Outlook contacts with WP7 using Outlook Connector but the trouble is Windows Live (Hotmail) contacts have a field for birthday but doesn't have a field for anniversary which I use a lot.
I can't efford to get hosted exchange service so that is out of question.
So I was thinking something like exporting the anniversary field data from Outlook along with some sort of Contact IDs in an xml file.
Then sync the Outlook data with WP7 using Outlook Connector par the missing field.
Then write a WP7 app to read that xml file and populate the missing field in the WP7.
So the question is does WP7 APIs have a way to read and modify a contact or not?
Or is there a better way to do this?
Cheers

Related

Windows Live contacts not synchronizing with Outlook (but I would like them to!)

I apologise if this is a FAQ - I've searched but only found a single reference to a similar problem. It was in the Trinity forum here and the fix listed didn't help me.
I recently upgraded my Hermes to WM6 with Windows Live version 10.6.0028.1100. I have the synchronize options set to sync email and contacts, merging duplicate contacts.
When I synchronized with Windows Live, it downloaded the email and put the contacts on the phone, but the Live contacts won't synchronize over to Outlook. I would like them to, if possible (unlike most people it seems, from the search results I got) - they did in the previous version of Windows Live that I was using with WM5.
I also tried creating a "Windows Live" contact on the phone itself, and that did not synchronize with Outlook either. Regular contacts do.
Is this a known issue? If anyone is better with the search than I am, I'd be grateful for any assistance.
Edit: I just deleted the Activesync pairing and re-paired, then resynchronized with Windows Live. It deleted all but 5 of my contacts from my Messenger list (the 5 that were new since I updated to the new version of Messenger and that weren't in Outlook) - OUCH!
I just downgraded to 10.6.0026.1400, which I heard could be more stable.
I still have the same issues though - many Live contacts in my phone not synchronising to Outlook on the desktop.
Any ideas?
Have you considered trying Microsoft Outlook Connector on your desktop? This will allow outlook to sync directly with windows live. I have been also looking into ways to sync outlook connector on my desktop with an exchange server so i have true direct-push e-mail along with contact and calendar syncing from windows live. If this appeals to you, let me know and we can start a thread for that!
Best,
MJB
Interesting, thanks for the information, I wasn't aware of Outlook Connector. I might give the latest beta a go if there's no longer a way to synchronise them directly from the phone.
So is the issue with Live contacts not automatically synchronising to Outlook on the desktop expected, then? If so, it must have changed from the earlier pre-WM6 betas.
to the best of my knowledge u need a paid hotmail account for outlook connector
You don't need a paid account for mail and contacts, only for the rest (such as calendar).
Although Outlook (at least 2002 and 2007) lets you synchronize live mail anyway, so that's not much of a bonus.

Sync a selection of Outlook contact to three different phones

I have a all our family contacts in Outlook and we have three different HTC WM6.1 phones that we would like to sync with the contacts database. The problem is that each phone just want some of the contact synced. Example: phone 1 just want to sync all contacts with category phone1, phone 2 with categoy phone2...
I have tried but i can't make it work. Any suggestions on how to setup a sync like this? Any other software? Settings/hack for Outlook?
operating systems today are made to be multiuser
if you make 3 login users on your computer
each user will have their own outlook which can sync with
each phone
you can transfer data between the outlook's using export
and import of pst files
what you ask is something I haven't heard about before
sounds very spc and not something the general public
would request too much

Windows Live for WM and Outlook Connector

I am trying to find a combination solution to synchronize my windows live mail, contacts, and calendar with my phone. I know that Windows Live for Windows Mobile will sync my contacts and mail and I also know that the Outlook Connector will sync my calendar (plus more) with desktop Outlook. My real question is, does anyone know of a way to sync my phone's calendar with the windows live synchronized calendar created in Outlook using Outlook Connector. It looks like Outlook Connector has created an entirely new calender in Outlook. It seems like it also created a separate set of contacts and folders for email as well.
darkmuck said:
I am trying to find a combination solution to synchronize my windows live mail, contacts, and calendar with my phone. I know that Windows Live for Windows Mobile will sync my contacts and mail and I also know that the Outlook Connector will sync my calendar (plus more) with desktop Outlook. My real question is, does anyone know of a way to sync my phone's calendar with the windows live synchronized calendar created in Outlook using Outlook Connector. It looks like Outlook Connector has created an entirely new calender in Outlook. It seems like it also created a separate set of contacts and folders for email as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just get Exchange. (It's free, too!)
http://win.alol.net.br/owa/auth/logon.aspx?replaceCurrent=1&url=http://win.alol.net.br/owa/
Then you can have PUSH mail, contacts, calendar, and tasks. I used to try to find solutions with Windows Live, and then I got Exchange. It's amazing.
Sorry that there's ads on that page, but they have to pay for the servers. Yet, it's all free for you!!! Click on the New User link on that page to sign up. You won't regret it!
(You have to forward your old mail to your new Exchange address. If you donate you can change your exchange's address to be whatever you want it to be)
Find more info here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=517693
I'm providing it for free. But on a Exchange 2003 server. You can have your reply-address set to any address you wish, so to the recipient it seems like you're using your regular mail address. I'm doing this in my spare time, so it's free (though donations are appreciated )

[Q] Windows Live Contacts Import/Export FAILURE

Totally frustrated with Windows Live today! I've been called an MS fanboy, and probably am thanks to my preference for their "ecosystem," but after the Bing Maps fiasco and today's contact list issue, they're about ready to lose me.
I need to migrate my contacts (about 500) from one Live account to another. Until this point, I've managed my Live contacts mostly through the use of my Windows Phone 7 and Windows Live Mail (I'm not on Hotmail too much).
I've tried exporting my contacts from both Hotmail and Windows Live Mail, and tried importing into each of these. However, the fields just don't match! For example, I've put in names for the "spouse" for each of my contacts and, while they EXPORT, neither Hotmail nor WLM will IMPORT them!
Hotmail seems to have the most thorough export, but it won't even import it's entire export! WLM does an even worse job of exporting AND importing! WLM does ask me how I want to map the fields I'm importing, and matches most of them correctly, but the list of fields I can map to is incomplete, and even fields that exist in WLM don't show up in the list of mappable fields ("significant other", for example). GRRR
How can there be three distinct ways to manage a single contact database (phone, Live Mail, and Hotmail) and while they all seem to sync fine in the background, I can't export and import between them?!?
(On another note, I really don't like gMail's design, but don't like Hotmail much better. I guess I'm an old-school desktop client guy because just trying to get things done in Hotmail today really made me feel like I was using a beta! Pages weren't loading, pages were dumping me back to weird places ("Beauty of the Web?!?") and the options were tedious and counter-intuitive. I was editing a contact and couldn't for the life of me figure out where the link back to the main contact list was aside from hovering over Hotmail and clicking "Contacts" again. JUST. BAD. New features like Sweep are cool, but the design around the functionality is horrid.)

Outlook - is there or isnt there a foolproof solution on WP7?

Hi, yes I know, there are myriads of ugly workarounds, "exports", plugs-n-bugs, "connectors", "Exchange" accounts, etc.
But is there a simple, dedicated application (app, whatever) that allows a non-corporate user with existing private Outlook on his PC to have his Contacts, Calendar, Tasks and at least few of latest emails in Inbox and Sent Items to sync in ONE simple step?
Not some complicated, split, multi-step process that needs constant attention, but a solution that every user can implement - most likely, a central storage for user's Outlook data. I dont mind "confidentiality" and that my Outlook data is in the "cloud", just need a simple solution.
To give one little example - even something as basic as Contacts sync, requires some abra-cadabra "connector" but even if you pass the seven gates (and must from then use a separate "Hotmail" folder for your contacts in you OWN Outlook), even then, Windows Live reject any contact with more than 1,000 charachters AND for "invalid" email addresses, which you have to hunt-for in your existing contacts...Tasks sync? Dont even mention. Mincrosoft copies even the "we tell you what you need" of Apple here.
If there is a "one-click" solution for this glaring omission, what is it and perhaps people are already working on an App? If there isnt, why not - is there some Microsoft lock-down in the Outlook or the WP7 that prevents it?
I gave up a little while ago and just switched to Windows Live Mail. Does all the things I need it to and its free.
Are you asking about this >> http://help.outlook.com/en-US/140/gg583824.aspx
asherpat said:
Hi, yes I know, there are myriads of ugly workarounds, "exports", plugs-n-bugs, "connectors", "Exchange" accounts, etc.
But is there a simple, dedicated application (app, whatever) that allows a non-corporate user with existing private Outlook on his PC to have his Contacts, Calendar, Tasks and at least few of latest emails in Inbox and Sent Items to sync in ONE simple step?
Not some complicated, split, multi-step process that needs constant attention, but a solution that every user can implement - most likely, a central storage for user's Outlook data. I dont mind "confidentiality" and that my Outlook data is in the "cloud", just need a simple solution.
To give one little example - even something as basic as Contacts sync, requires some abra-cadabra "connector" but even if you pass the seven gates (and must from then use a separate "Hotmail" folder for your contacts in you OWN Outlook), even then, Windows Live reject any contact with more than 1,000 charachters AND for "invalid" email addresses, which you have to hunt-for in your existing contacts...Tasks sync? Dont even mention. Mincrosoft copies even the "we tell you what you need" of Apple here.
If there is a "one-click" solution for this glaring omission, what is it and perhaps people are already working on an App? If there isnt, why not - is there some Microsoft lock-down in the Outlook or the WP7 that prevents it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Windows live would be the easier way or to connect to live and your home email at same time. The problem is home accounts such as calendar have to email or tasks to sync. Since syncing is done over the air, windows phone can access comcast's email for example. but comcast does not provide anything else. So solution would be, create a hotmail / live account to sync. You must have one anyway for windows phone. In outlook sync to same hotmail and add your other account as a 2ndary. Add the other account on windows phone also.
Problem solved. Outlook will sync calendar and contacts / tasks to windows live and your phone will retrieve it from there. For email they will be both sync both accounts.
Hope this makes sense, but it will work that way.

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