Transfer from Outlook to Mac?

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Hey guys,

I am in the process of switching from a Windows XP SP2 Laptop running Office 2007 to a Mac Book Pro I have yet to buy.

The thing is:
I already sold my Toshiba laptop (got a good offer, sold!).
I took all the data of it. Now I have the *.pst file created by outlook, with all my emails/contacts/calendar entries/tasks in it.
What do I need to transfer those things onto my new MacBook?

I will definitely need some software, the question is: Is it enough to take the *.pst file and then some software running on the Mac will be able to read that and import that into whichever program is the Outlook equivalent for Mac, or do I need a Windows PC running Outlook from which I can export using some software into a file format that the Mac can then read?


I am sure dozens of people have already done this, so please let me know how you did it and what your experience is.

I greatly appreciate it.
Thank you very much.
Chris :Cool:
 
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Google a program called Outlook2Mac....

It's $10 and makes the switch totally easy!
 
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I think O2M is a PC program and will not run on a Mac.
 
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I think O2M is a PC program and will not run on a Mac.

Yes, that is exactly the problem I have.

Ok, but one thing just came to my mind:
Can I run a virtual machine on the MacOS (like VM-Ware in Windows), therein setting up a Windows XP environment that will then allow me to convert the PST files into files importable by the mac software, then move them from the virtual machine to the real OS and use them there?

Right now that is the best solution I can think of. Hoping you guys have a more elegant idea...
Because when buying the Mac, it'll just be me and my external HDD (with the pst file).
The PC I am writing from right now will be in another country by then....

Best wishes,
Chris
 
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Wasn't one of the tricks using Thunderbird to import the .pst file and then have Mail import the .mbox packages from thunderbird?

I seem to remember it being a 2 step process...
 
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MAC OS X software (mail and entourage) cannot understand PST files...I know MS made office 2008...office 2008 does not support pst files by design.

The easiest way to get my pst support back was to run VMware and install vista...office 2007 and I was away...job done.

On a side note...office 2008 is nice office 2007 does it for me...and with unity its like magic :)
 
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CG-ITS,

You can use Parallels to load Windows programs in a virtual environment.

I loaded XP into my Macbook's Boot Camp and from there installed Parallels into the Mac. When I started Parallels the first time, I installed XP into it from Boot Camp and it works great in the Convergence Mode (both Windows and Mac on the same desktop). You can drag files from one to the other, etc. I have both Office 2007 (with Outlook) and Windows 2008 (Mac version) and save files in either.

BTW, I installed Word 2007 into the virtual XP and can read Outlook directly from it while in Convergence mode. So you don't need to convert if you do that kind of virtual set-up.

Good luck, Noel
 
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I have Thunderbird on my laptop PC for work and it does say that it can import Outlook PST files. You would think that it can do the same thing on a Mac but this doesn't seem to be the case.

I tested this by copying a .pst file from my work laptop to my Mac and firing up Thunderbird's Import dialog. The only two choices it gave me to import from were Communicator 4.x and Eudora. Since there was no "browse" type dialog to let you locate the file you want to import from, this would seem to be a dead end.

It would seem that you must have Windows running, with both Outlook and Thunderbird installed, in order to have the option to use Thunderbird as an intermediate step in the Outlook -> MacMail process.
 
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Sorry I haven't gotten back earlier... 3 yobs keep me busy.

So, basically, all I need is my MacBook, my external HDD with my .pst file and so called "Parallels", right?

And then, running Parallels, I can run windows from my MacOS Session and then, to avoid the step through Thunderbird (as far as I understand, Thunderbird will not support calendar/tasks/...) I run O2M, exporting from the "virtual" Windows/Office, copying onto the external HDD. Exiting the virtual environment, plugging the HDD to my "real" Mac and then import those files (the ones O2M just created) into whichever programm is the Outlook equivalent for Mac.

Am I on the right track here?

Thank you so much.
Really do appreciate it.
Chris O:)
 
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Sorry I haven't gotten back earlier... 3 yobs keep me busy.

So, basically, all I need is my MacBook, my external HDD with my .pst file and so called "Parallels", right?

And then, running Parallels, I can run windows from my MacOS Session and then, to avoid the step through Thunderbird (as far as I understand, Thunderbird will not support calendar/tasks/...) I run O2M, exporting from the "virtual" Windows/Office, copying onto the external HDD. Exiting the virtual environment, plugging the HDD to my "real" Mac and then import those files (the ones O2M just created) into whichever programm is the Outlook equivalent for Mac.

Am I on the right track here?

Thank you so much.
Really do appreciate it.
Chris O:)

Chris,

You'll need to have at least Windows installed on your Mac before you can use Outlook. You can do that 2 ways:

1, Install Windows in Boot Camp, then just run Windows natively there without using OS X. You can then install Office 2007 directly into Windows and have Outlook available that way. Then use that to import your Outlook files and use them with Windows in a strictly Windows environment;

or 2, install Windows into Boot Camp and then install Parallels in Mac OS X. You can then import Windows into Parallels from Boot Camp and install Office into Windows on the OS X desktop. Doing it that way, you'd have both Windows and OS X working on the same desktop. Note that Windows runs a little slower this way, but you have direct interface with Mac programs.

Note in 2, you don't have to install Windows into Boot Camp. You can install Parallels in OS X first and then install Windows directly into Parallels.

Hope this clarifies the situation a little.

Noel
 
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Wow this is complicated. With 'MobileMe' just around the corner, Apple obviously has a way to read/convert Outlook files. Maybe this will be included in the next Mail update?
 
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Not sure that is true. MobileMe uses the "Cloud" as the Mail recipient and then syncs to your desktop or Macbook or iphone. It would not need to read an Outlook pst file as it is only pushing the mail message to whatever mail client you are using.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this?
 
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alright guys, thanks for the advice.
I now used O2M on my windows machine and have a bunch of what are supposed to be MAC files. I got those on my HDD and now I'll be off to get the Mac Book. Can't wait.
I'll let you know how it worked out when it's done.

Thanks,
Chris.
 

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You're replying to a post well over two years old! Please take notice of the dates of original posts before replying.
 
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You're replying to a post well over two years old! Please take notice of the dates of original posts before replying.
He's a spammer. Why would a spammer care?
 
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