I think I might have asked this before but it was buried in another thread. For some asinine reason, Microsoft has made it impossible to sync to a public outlook folder on an Exchange server. My office (part of a larger multioffice conglomerate) uses a public calendar because we have numerous people using one calendar. I now use an iPhone 3G which I bought because it does use a form of ActiveSync. I can wirelessly receive my emails, my personal calendar syncs, my contacts sync perfectly. I cannot sync my office calendar.

I was able to find a solution for my boss's BlackJack running WM6 which is Chapura PocketMirror. Still far from perfect but it does the job.

Chapura puts out FolderMirror which they state is similar but supports the iPhone. I can't get it to work at all and there is no support whatsoever for the program on its website and they won't answer my emails.

So does anyone have a workaround for this? And why-oh-why does Microsoft do this? Aren't there a lot of people who use public calendars?

Also, OWA is not a solution because it is way too cumbersome. It takes at least 5 minutes to navigate to the calendar. Can't save passwords, can't create shortcuts. Just awful.

Thanks for any assistance/advice.

What do you mean by "can't create shortcuts" for OWA public folders? I've never had a problem doing that with OWA 2000/2003; I haven't tried with 2007.

Beyond that, I don't have any suggestions for you for getting a public folder sync'd to a mobile device. Sorry.

On my device, I have to log in to OWA with very long name and ridiculous password each and every time. Then, as I said we are a huge organization with 101 hierarchies, I have to search for my agency, then my office, then my calendar. It will take a minimum of 8 to 10 clicks, with reloads every time. Thus, a total of 5 minutes. I cannot seem to set this up any differently.

I don't really understand what you are trying to do but this is what I gather;
you are trying OTA sync with Exchange Server. This is an iPhone package, not Microsoft, from what I understand. What you want to do certainly works on other platforms such as WIndows Mobile. Regarding Chapura, I have used their software for years. I have never used their Windows Mobile stuff, only Palm OS. I have called them and received support, and recently emailed them and got an immediate response. Try calling them on the phone.

Thank you for the info. I'm not even trying OTA sync. It is a known issue with Exchange that you cannot sync, wired or wireless, a public folder. I can certainly wirelessly (and wired) sync my own personal calendar but not one that is in a public folder. It doesn't matter what device you use. That's why Chapura makes PocketMirror. If someone knows another workaround, that's what I'm looking for.

I have emailed Chapura twice with zero response. I just tried telephoning and the have a message that they're ALL in a meeting. Someone else needs to address this bizarre issue.

You can absolutely sync a public folder offline with Outlook.

What type of device are you trying to sync it to?

What version of Exchange are you running? If the "options" menu is on the bottom left then it is 2003. If it is in the top right corner then it is 2007. That will make a difference in getting the URL for going directly to that folder instead of navigating to find it.

Hmm, I don't know what version of Exchange I'm using. I access Outlook 2003. The menu is in the lower left corner. I sync my mail, contacts, and private calendar using the Exchange server but it does it in the background. FWIW, I'm sure it's 2003 because we wouldn't upgrade unless it was absolutely necessary.

I am using an iPhone 3G. But it doesn't matter what the device is because as I said earlier, I couldn't sync my own Blackjack I or my boss's BJ II running Windows Mobile to a public calendar without the Chapura app.

I don't know what you mean by syncing but MS Exchange doesn't allow syncing of public folders to a PDA or cell. See, e.g.:

http://www.petri.co.il/forums/showthread.php?t=23155

Unfortunately, the third-party app this thread discusses costs hundreds of dollars and requires tech support to intervene which my IT department (if you can call them that) will not do.

Maybe I'm not explaining what I'm trying to do correctly or simply no one tries to view their public calendar on their mobile device. I don't know. Are you talking about OWA?

Thanks for your help.

I was talking about OWA as an access method when asking about the versions. You should be able to directly access a Public Folder, including a calendar folder, through a single URL rather than needing to browse all the way out to get to it through the many levels. That would help somewhat.

As for sync'ing a public calendar offline, you make it sound like it is a personal calendar that is stored in the PF hierarchy. That seems like a bad way to use the system. If you're using it as a shared calendar with many people's calendars in a single view and you're using it to ensure coverage or something like that it isn't a bad approach, but actually putting your personal schedule in your personal calendar and making that one accessible to others is a much better approach.

I don't have a solution for you to fix the sync tool not working; sorry.

No, I appreciate all your help. It's a shared calendar. Many people from two different offices in the north and south of the state post to one calendar because we share appointments. I have a personal calendar for my own use. That one, which is much less important of course, syncs just fine.

If I could get a URL directly to this calendar, OWA would be a fair compromise. I can get to the public folders but I still have 4 more levels to go through. Believe me, I didn't set this up.

To get the OWA path directly to your desired folder you just have to assemble a URL that includes all of the hierarchy. If it is in All Public Folders\Subfolder\Other Subfolder\Calendars\Office then the path in OWA should be http://owa.company.com/Public/Subfolder/Other%20Subfolder/Calendars/Office. Use %20 to replace any spaces. Other non-alphanumeric characters may also need to be substituted. And obviously replace owa.company.com with your normal OWA server address.

S.

sbm12 has a great answer if you need more help let me know. I have not heard of your problems. I have an iPhone 3G, a blackberry 8830, and have no issues with Exchange whatsoever. There were some significant changes in Exchange 2007 which require changes for Mac users, but my 3G synced right up to the Exchange server...how are you setup for public folders. This sounds more like a Mac issue...

I have the same type of requesting hitting me. Our office is running exchange and my boss uses both a personal calendar and a shared office calendar. Right now using sync he only gets the personal calendar on his Treo and he wants to get both. I have not been able to find a way to make this happen other than add on software that I do not want to introduce into the office.

Has anyone been able to get both types of calendar to sync to a Treo? If so how??

Thanks in advance!

Thanks to sbm12 for the info. I will try to figure out the correct path for OWA since it appears the only way to view the public calendar. Chapura still won't respond to my emails. Strange.

For philfna, we don't run Macs in the office. This is all a windows issue. I do sync right up to the exchange server for my mail, contacts and private calendar. That's not the problem, it's just the public calendar that won't sync and apparently MS wants it that way.

Check out add2exchange

http://www.diditbetter.com/add2exchange.aspx

It's a server side application that runs and replicates the public folders you specify to your inbox in your personal folders. That will synch out to the users, and should you change something, it will then copy the changes or adds (if you set it to do so) back to the public folder once you connect and synch up.


It may do what you are looking for if you can figure out the licensing. They have a 21 day free trial available.

Exchange 2007 has a mobile user server role in the Enterprise edition that works quite well. We've used it now for last month big improvement with mobile users.