Synchronize OS 10.4 with MS Exchange

August 18, 2005 9:13 AM

Can I synchronize my email/calendar/tasks with an MS Exchange server? I have Mac OS 10.4, Mail.app or Entourage 2001.

I use an MS Exchange server at work. Currently, I can send/receive email via Entourage 2001 using my "work" email address from home, as long as I am signed into VPN. However, my sent email does not show up in my sent folder at work, it stays on my folder at home. Also, I would like to have my tasks and calendar synchronized between home and work, such that when I enter a new task, etc at work, it will automatically show up at home. I do not have Entourage 2004, and cannot afford to purchase it. Does Mail.app in Tiger offer Exchange server compatibility? I do not have a .Mac account, so I cannot use iCal to sync. Any help is appreciated.

posted by cahlers to computers & internet (8 comments total)

I haven't tried either, but there's Kerio MailServer and Open-Xchange.
posted by Smart Dalek at 10:48 AM on August 18, 2005

I might add I'm not an IT person, and the above-quoted applications are likely not supported by my place of work. I am able to configure email programs to receive mail from various accounts, but not all too much more. I'm not computer-illiterate by any means, but programs quoted by Smart Dalek do seem a bit over my head, as far as configuration goes.
posted by cahlers at 11:07 AM on August 18, 2005

Have you considered the Outlook 2001 client running in classic mode?
posted by willnot at 2:26 PM on August 18, 2005

Willnot's solution is the best option. It sounds like you're merely sending and receiving mail via POP and SMTP. Failing that, see if your office has a web interface to their Exchange server. It's fairly common.
posted by Mo Nickels at 3:18 PM on August 18, 2005

willnot, I have considered Outlook 2001 with classic. However, right now I don't have classic installed, and am not sure if I have it on my old system CDs. In addition, I'd have to keep switching between classic/Tiger just for that one, albeit important, program.

Mo, we do have a web interface, but it doesn't provide all the funcitonality (syncing tasks, calendar, etc) I want/need.
posted by cahlers at 4:01 PM on August 18, 2005

I happen to be online via VPN with my office [very Mac unfriendly] and read email with Entourage 2004. It works well and does not have the problem you've described with the email you've sent from home not showing up in your Exchange account at the office. Make sure somewhere in the bowels of the version of Entourage 2001 settings there isn't a "save copy of sent items on server" checked. Or set up the account as an IMAP account with the same server name see if that gives you more flexibility in leaving stuff on the server.

Tiger Mail does support exchange -- sort of-- when you add an account exchange is listed. You input your exchange server and your mailbox username/password. [make sure save sent items checked in mailbox behaviors] and you can send/read email to your heart's content.

When you add the server to Tiger Mail you'll see folders for your calendar, notes, tasks, etc. You can get meeting notices in the calendar folder, they are attachments that will save the meeting in iCal. It sucks. You'll have to click on them to get them to work.

Like Mo said, see if there's a webmail version of Exchange running at your office. It lets you do anything you could do from the office, but through a web interface -- set up meetings, check other's schedules, etc. If your site is using Exchange Server 2003, it doesn't suck too much in Safari.

[You can get Office 2004 Student/Teacher for $132 and there's a $35 rebate at Amazon right now. Depending on how much you're going to use the Mac to access the work account you might think about getting it. Entourage gets along much better with Exchange and there are countless bug fixes and compatibility things that have been fixed since 2001 came out.]
posted by birdherder at 4:09 PM on August 18, 2005

Understand that you don't need to restart to switch to classic. When you launch an OS9 application, classic launches in emulation mode. Then you can pick the program just like any other program in your dock. Your interface elements will change a bit, but it's not very noticeable.

Of course, not having classic it is a bigger issue.

To come at this another way, Microsoft says that Entourage 2004 is included with the exchange client license, so you may not need to be able to afford Entourage 2004. It's possible your company has already purchased it.

Additional information linked off this page.
posted by willnot at 4:10 PM on August 18, 2005

By the way, I should mention that even getting Entourage to work depends on what version of the Exchange server you're running. We for instance are a couple of versions out of date, so while I can read mail in a kind of IMAP mode, I can't send it or do any of the calendar stuff.
posted by willnot at 4:23 PM on August 18, 2005