..............

Following my two part series on how to backup and restore (as well as transfer Microsoft Outlook from one computer to another), I received a number of emails asking as well as highlighting other areas of Outlook customisation which can be backed up.

Custom Dictionaries

Custom Dictionaries allow you to store words that are not in the standard dictionary but which are valid. Names, surnames, towns as well as technical terms are common examples of correctly spelled nonexistent dictionary phrases. You would add these words to a custom dictionary so as to prevent the spell checker from prompting you whenever these words are used in an email.

With custom dictionaries it makes more sense to move the file to the folder that holds the pst files. See the article titled “How to backup your Microsoft Office 2007 Outlook in its entirety (Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7)” for more information. For Windows 7, the suggested folder was %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Outlook while under Windows XP it was %USERPROFILE%\My Documents\Outlook. This ensures that all terms added to the dictionary are backed up whenever you backup this folder.

Custom Search

Read more »

In my entry titled “How to backup your Microsoft Office 2007 Outlook in its entirety (Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7)” I described how to backup the Microsoft Outlook 2007 data file together with that part of the Windows registry that stores within it the email accounts from where Outlook retrieves emails or via which emails are sent out. Today I discuss how to use that backed up information to either recover a failed computer or to transfer the settings from one computer to another. The former may happen if the hard disk fails or as a result of a malware attack while the latter would apply if you are upgrading your computer or operating system.

On your freshly formatted computer you need to install Microsoft Outlook. Accept all the defaults. After the installer completes, run Microsoft Outlook for the first time. You will be asked a number of questions. Enter anything that will allow you to proceed to the end of this process. Do not enter valid email account details because Outlook will attempt to download mail after you complete the process and since this is not the database you will be using, you do not want any messages to end up here (this can be fixed but why create a problem that will need fixing).

Custom Search

Read more »