Backing up Outlook 2010 Tasks

[paulajune]

Greetings.

I found I can pretty simply back up my Outlook files now, by going to My Documents > Outlook Files - a folder automatically created when I installed the program - and copying onto my external hard drive.

There are individual files for calendar and contacts, but there is not one for tasks. Are tasks included in the outlook.pst file? I really want to make sure these are backed up. I use them heavily.

Thanks so much,
PaulaJune

 

[Madawc]

I don't know of a way to save the data as such. But what you could do as a work-round is make an extra task folder and copy your tasks there. That means you don't lose them completely if you accidentally delete something.

Madawc Williams (East Anglia, UK). Using Crystal 2008 with SQL and Windows XP

 

[paulajune]

Thank you so much for answering. But where do I find the files to copy? I don't understand why there is not a separate .pst file for tasks, but I'm thinking it could be within the outlook.pst. When I google, I can't find the answer. Thanks again.

 

[Madawc]

I'm suggesting you copy the tasks as such, without trying to figure where the machine stores the data.

Madawc Williams (East Anglia, UK). Using Crystal 2008 with SQL and Windows XP

 

[paulajune]

Hi, Madawc.

Do you mean to literally copy and paste, line by line each task? That's pretty much not doable. But if there are files somewhere that are task files, I can see that. You see, there are literally hundreds of tasks. Sure I can imagine, perhaps, taking a screen print of them. But it's difficult for me to believe the data doesn't reside somewhere to be backed up, just as the other Outlook items are. Thanks again.

 

[kjv1611]

What's stopping you from just exporting the tasks folder contents as an Outlook file or else a CSV amongst other options?

"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57

 

[paulajune]

Yes, thank you for that. I found the procedure here:

http://www.technipages.com/outlook-2010-backup-export-data.html.

This is just like the old method for exporting .pst files with the wizard, although I was unable to find the wizard in this version of Outlook until I found it online just now.

However, what is the point of being able to back up all other .pst files from the folder that is automatically created for us upon installation of the app, but not the tasks .pst? Why must I do my backup in two steps? That is why I suspect the tasks possibly reside in the Outlook.pst file. No one knows, huh?

Thank you for your replies. Much appreciated.
PJ

 

[Madawc]

Click on a task within its folder without opening it. Then [ctrl]c and [ctrl]v should duplicate it. You can then move it to anther folder.



Madawc Williams (East Anglia, UK). Using Crystal 2008 with SQL and Windows XP

 

[paulajune]

Thank you Madawc, but I will never back them up one task at a time. At least the wizard will capture them all in one sweep, although I'm still confounded about what I wrote earlier, as to why you would not be able to back up tasks the same as all the other Outlook features (calendar, contacts, etc.). Any Microsoft folks out there who can say whether tasks reside in the Outlook.pst file?

Thanks again,
PJ

 

[kjv1611]

However, what is the point of being able to back up all other .pst files from the folder that is automatically created for us upon installation of the app, but not the tasks .pst? Why must I do my backup in two steps?

Unless I'm missing something, Outlook backs up the tasks same as the other Outlook objects. I"m not totally sure as to what you're saying/asking with this piece.

"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57

 

[paulajune]

If you read my original post, I noted that all the Outlook .pst files are located in this folder: My Documents > Outlook Files, EXCEPT for tasks. Here's what my folder shows:
calendarbackup.pst
contactsbackup.pst
(my email address.pst files)
outlook.pst
personal1.pst (just the folder I created to house email folders locally)

The Outlook Files folder and its contents was automatically created with the installation of MS Office 2010.

No tasks .pst file. This is why I thought perhaps tasks might be held within the outlook.pst file. Does this make sense?

I have lost all my data in the past and was unable to recover most of it, even though I backed up to CD regularly. The CD files didn't work, for some reason. This is why I'm now hyper-vigilant in backing up these files to my external hard drive.

Thanks again.

 

[cmeagan656]

The CD files didn't work, for some reason.

That is likely because files stored on CD are stored as read only files. To restore, you must copy them to your hard drive (I usually create a folder on my desktop) and remove the read only attribute before trying to import the files back into Outlook. If you can't remove the read only attribute then you have to take ownership of the files first.

Hope this helps.

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[paulajune]

Thanks, Cmeagan656.

Yes, I learned my lesson back then, and have been backing up to my external hard drive ever since, as I wrote earlier. None of the files are read-only.

But I would sure still like to know if the tasks reside in the outlook.pst file. I guess the answer cannot be known. :-(