sidekick 98 conversion to microsoft outlook

[blatoff]

my boss decided that an ipaq 3800 would be a good PIM and didn't look into the compatability of sidekick. sidekick isn't a file type that is importable to microsoft outlook at least not that i know of. i need to import the sidekick 98 cardfiles into microsoft outlook and i have exhausted my efforts trying. Is there a way to make sidekick 98 importable to microsoft outlook?

 

[james33]

Dear blatoff,
If what you require is a once-off conversion then you can open your Sidekick files in SDK95 and then save them and using the info in
faq807-2703
that way you can at least transfer them to Outlook97 and then to Outlook2000 or you may be able to open them in Outlook 2000 directly.

In fact you may be able to transfer the CardFiles Direct from SDK98 by
saving as tab delimited.txt
but VIP this does not include the Contact Log
The Calendar is the most difficult and that is the by the way I have previously suggested.
HTH Regards Jim
If links I supply do not work
For instance: if the Company they refer to alters their Site, check the FAQ area of this Forum for more updated Links.

 

[james33]

Dear blatoff,
To be more precise,
There is an option in Sidekick98 to
File|Export the cardfile in
ASCII Tab-Delimited Text (*.Txt) form
which can then be easily opened in Outlook97/2000/2002.

See faq807-1409 for the details.

Regards Jim
If links I supply do not work
For instance: if the Company they refer to alters their Site, check the FAQ area of this Forum for more updated Links.

 

[blatoff]

alright so what i did was export a single card file in many different formats so i could try importing them all. the only one that i could get to work was the comma separated values for windows. this wasn't all that great. on a sidenote the only thing i want to transfer is all the contacts! after importing the comma separated format file only like 3 or 4 fields transfered i need like 20!
the other format i'm trying to import is the dbase format. everytime it errors outlook errors and says it has to shut down.
thanks for the help so far i was thrilled to see someone help
blatoff

 

[james33]

Dear blatoff,

I believe the problem may lie with the Field Mappings
are you matching the fields from the .csv file with similar fields in Outlook?
Are you using the Import Data method in Outlook? Regards Jim
If links I supply do not work (usually if Starfish updates their Site), check the FAQ area of this Forum for more recent Links.

 

[blatoff]

When i get to the field mapping part i drag over the field from the left to the right however when i open up the imported contacts menu in outlook not all the info is there. also what do you mean by using the Import Data method in Outlook? I go to file and down to import/export. Is there another way to import?

 

[blatoff]

let me be more specific of my needs with the program. My boss is a medical product salesman. he has a hospital cardfile with sidekick that has custom defined fields for all the hospitals which include all the departments of a hospital... purchasing, accountspaybable, neonatology, infection control, bloodlab... things of this nature. so when i'm matching the fields i'm not matching much of anything precisely b'c there isn't any fields that match things like Pharmacy or Infection Control.

Another question is you said it would be easy to import a .txt file in outlook. I can't find an option to import that file.

 

[james33]

Dear blatoff,
I'm working on it, as I haven't had to do it recently so I'm giving myself a refresher course so 'Watch this space'.
Exactly how many fields are there in the cardfile?
When I was referring to a .txt file I was referring to .txt (tab delimited text) which is strictly speaking a Text file separated by Tabs, sorry I wasn't too precise I will try to make amends. Bear with me for a few hours.
Someone said that TrueSync which is distributed with Motorola phones is actually Sidekick99 cut down without the Calendar does anyone know if that works with Windows CE or whatever the operating system that your IPaq uses? Regards Jim
If links I supply do not work (usually if Starfish updates their Site), check the FAQ area of this Forum for more recent Links.

 

[james33]

Dear blatoff,
The method I described above does work.
i.e. I exported from Sidekick98 in

ASCII Tab-Delimited Text (Windows)

I Included all the fields in the Export and then imported the resulting File into Outlook via File|ExportImport

The FirstName LastName and Initial/MiddleName are concatenated as well as some of the Address fields when shown in Outlook97.
What I mean by that is:
If you expand (click on the Plus+ Sign) the FieldNames on the right of the Grid before you drag the fields from the .txt File, any Data you put in those fields will look like one Field when you open it in Outlook, but you can choose to view the fields whichever way you like.

Regards Jim
If links I supply do not work (usually if Starfish updates their Site), check the FAQ area of this Forum for more recent Links.

 

[blatoff]

Ok I think i know what's going on a little bit better now. So all of the informatin i want to transfer over is transfering just fine but not in a usable way. when it gets to the file mapping part where i drag from the left to the right to place all the things in the spots where they will go this is where the problem lies. If you have used sidekick you know that you can customize all your fields. I don't htink this is possible in outlook. What i really need is for the window on the right to have separate categories that are named by me. i don't think these can be changed. When i'm in outlook and go into one of the cardfiles there are tabs on each card. General, Details, Activities, Certificates, and All fields. So far I've added all the fields to the All fields i want but what i need to do to get this to work properly is rename the general tabs fields. I see that all the numbers are in drop down categories now but that doesn't benefit me b'c it's in the business number drop down portable and it's the number for a phlebotomy lab. so i believe this program outlook is not as versatile as sidekick unfortunately. unless you have an answer to change the default feilds which seem impossible to change it looks like my efforts are futile.
thanks for the help your absolutely a lifesaver and great person
blatoff

 

[james33]

Dear blatoff,
What version of Outlook are you using?

There are what are called Custom Fields in Outlook

Go to Help in Outlook and then the Index Tab and type in Custom Fields to find out about them.
I am at work at the moment so when I get home I will try it out but I do believe the Custom Fields are available from the Import Wizard in Outlook.
This means, 'hopefully', that once you have set up your Custom Fields you can access them the next time you Import which may make life easier...
Regards Jim
If links I supply do not work (usually if Starfish updates their Site), check the FAQ area of this Forum for more recent Links.