Data exchange with Outlook

Do you work for a Global Player? Large companies usually apply standard software. Outlook is standard for e-mails, appointments, daily trifles and for synchronization with tablets and PDAs. That's why in many companies meineZIELE users need to transfer their tasks to Outlook to keep things exchangeable with colleagues. Every now and then, the opposite way makes sense as well, even though you get only a task list because Outlook does not provide an outliner such as meineZIELE's "Objectives" view.

This means that you might work with two systems at once: Outlook should be used for e-mails, communication and the daily trifles. The organization of larger goals and projects should be carried out with meineZIELE, what is due to its many tools that help you keep the overview and do what is really important. We therefore have created an interface by which you can exchange data between the two systems. If you want to exchange data with your tablet, you will use Outlook for this purpose as well.

This page explains the different ways of data exchange:

Integration of e-mails in the 1-click-filing
Synchronization of events and tasks
Individual transfers of events and tasks
Synchronization of contacts
Replication of Outlook categories with icons in meineZIELE

Integrating e-mails in the 1-click-filing

You can integrate e-mails from Outlook directly in the 1-click-filing and recall them later with a single click.

Drag the mail from Outlook to meineZIELE and drop it on any entry.

For further possibilities, open Outlook with the Outlook button in the editing window, i.e. the window that appears when you open an entry for editing (note the screenshot to the right). By this means, you have insight in Outlook's folder structure.

As soon as you open the interface in meineZIELE or want to synchronize data with Outlook, the latter will perform a security check.

There, check the box "Permit access for... minutes". Usually, some seconds should suffice. Click "Yes".

If apparently nothing happens when you open the interface, this is because Outlook sometimes hides this window behind other open windows.

Important: Direct takeover

In many cases you receive an e-mail in Outlook; and after a quick check you want to insert it in meineZIELE's 1-click-filing.

Therefore, leave Outlook open, switch to meineZIELE, go to the task where you want to insert the e-mail and open the Outlook interface (1) from there.

Then, a single click on one of the buttons at (3) is enough to put the e-mail to the 1-click-filing. Since the interface does not have to navigate in Outlook's folder structure, this is done pretty fast. Use the search field at (4) to search within Outlook mails.

There are several alternatives for takeover:

(1)
Insert the e-mail in the 1-click-filing

(2)
Like (1), with an additional copy of the mail (.msg file) in meineZIELE's mail documents directory

(3)
Like (1), with an additional copy of the mail content in a text file and a list of any attachments

(4)
Like (3), but with the text file being opened for editing instantly. It is often good to reduce the e-mail to its essence.

(5)
Create a new line, thus a new task, with the subject of the e-mail as description text. A copy of the e-mail will be inserted in the 1-click-filing of the new "task".

Directly after takeover, meineZIELE switches the view, so that you can see the link in the 1-click-filing for checking purposes.

As soon as you want to tackle your tasks, open the e-mail within the 1-click-filing with a double-click (1). Alternatively, click it once and show it by clicking the "eye" button at (2). Outlook will be opened to display the e-mail content. If there is no other entry than the e-mail in the 1-click-filing, you can also open the e-mail directly from the main window, just as you would do with other files.

Synchronizing events and tasks

By clicking the Outlook button, you can make meineZIELE exchange goals, appointments and contacts. The exchange settings are available in the Options menu (Options -> Interfaces -> Outlook). The following options are available (note the screenshot):

(1) and (2): Select, which type of entries shall be exchanged between meineZIELE and Outlook and in which direction. Usually it is reasonable to exchange calendar entries only. Sometimes one also passes on dates such as birthdays or deadlines and transfers only dates with time information. Recurring events such as "Football training, Wed 7PM" are constructed differently in meineZIELE and Outlook, for which reason an exchange of this kind of events is often not reasonable.

If you use meineZIELE as we do, you utilize it to plan larger projects, goals and tasks including any arising events. At the same time, a variety of day-to-day business events are organized in Outlook. Outlook works well for appointments and contacts. However, it fails at the administration of tasks as soon as their organization structure exceeds a simple list. In such a case, we therefore recommend to transfer to Outlook the few events which have emerged in meineZIELE and to pass on transfers in the opposite way.

Since deleted tasks should probably not reappear by a simple synchronization, it is often meaningful to activate automatic deletion in both programs.

(3) Those who use both Outlook and meineZIELE might record only few tasks in Outlook. These tasks should generally be for the short-term and be set as "active" in meineZIELE. This makes them appear in the "Today" view automatically.

(4) In rare cases there are situations where one wants to select individual entries for synchronization, while others shall remain untouched. Then, all entries which shall be exchanged can be marked with an icon, as indicated.

(5) There is the situation where somebody uses a panel folder for their paper documents en route. Since they have organized all these documents in meineZIELE's 1-click-filing, it would be good to get the compartment numbers on their mobile device. Outlook has to be used for data transfers from meineZIELE to mobile devices. However, since Outlook does not handle compartment numbers, the field "documentation" can be added to the task description, e.g. the an appointment with a client.

(6) If categories shall be used in Outlook and synchronized with meineZIELE, one chooses proper icons with a description text which must be exactly the name of the corresponding Outlook category.

(7) In meineZIELE, events are usually deleted by the user and recalled, if at all, in the success collection. In Outlook, events remain in the calendar, whether the user has attended them or not. Therefore it can be useful to define if days from the past shall be synchronized as well

(8) Outlook offers reminders for the events of day-to-day business. Reminders can be activated for appointments that are transferred from meineZIELE to Outlook.

(9) Some customers have thousands of e-mails in Outlook. When you open the Outlook interface, see below, excluding very old mails is reasonable. 

Contacts can be synchronized between meineZIELE and Outlook. This can be carried out manually or automatically at each synchronization.

When you will have been using the data exchange functionalities for a while, you may want to think about giving up the redundant data administration. If you do so, you can set in the "Options" menu (Options -> Outlook) that tasks (2) and / or events (1) also be deleted in the other program.

Obs.: meineZIELE and Outlook consider appointments differently - meineZIELE works goal-oriented and lists all entries within their logical context. Everything that carries an event becomes an event, but will stay at its place in the hierarchy of goals and tasks. Also deadlines are always visible in the calendar. In contrast, Outlook is a calendar program. It does not know any connection between tasks and events and therefore administers tasks with deadlines as tasks.

For advanced users: Individual data import from Outlook

meineZIELE can also import data from Outlook individually. For that purpose, you can have insight in Outlook's directories with meineZIELE. The feasibility of this interface depends on the configuration of Outlook. Furthermore, the utilization is not always meaningful because a large number of entries cause very long runtimes.

Therefore, use this special feature of our Outlook interface only in exceptional cases.

When you open the Outlook interface (1) only the main folder (2) can be seen. meineZIELE will need some time to access Outlook's folders. Outlook will actually only be accesses when you click the "+" to the left of a folder.

The window will then display the folders and their respective tasks. Any tasks that have already been transferred to meineZIELE are labeled green.

Folders and individual entries are selected by clicking them with the mouse.

When you click an entry with the right mouse button (1), meineZIELE asks if a task or the entire contents of a folder from Outlook shall be transferred to meineZIELE. The entries are inserted at the entry that is currently selected in meineZIELE. Also, an e-mail can be inserted in the 1-click-filing of any entry in mZ.

Contacts

meineZIELE can synchronize contact data with Outlook as described above. Contact information from folders that are not standard can be taken by the same means as just described for tasks.

There is also the possibility of transferring (3) or synchronizing (1) contacts once only. The possibilities can be found at the footer of the open contact list (note the screenshot).

Furthermore, it is possible to take the contact that is currently open in Outlook to meineZIELE (2).

Outlook categories

meineZIELE can match icons to Outlook's categories.

Icons can be assigned descriptive texts (see icons). If the text you enter as descriptive text is the same as the name of any category from Outlook, then this category will be synchronized with the corresponding icon. That means: An entry in mZ with this icon will get the corresponding category setting in outlook. However, this optional setting has to be activated in the Outlook-Interface- Options of mZ first.

Private entries in Outlook

Outlook and meineZIELE differ considerably in how "private" entries are defined. Using meineZIELE, private and business can be separated by the "worlds". Using Outlook, each desired entry has to be marked as private individually. To avoid, for instance, that private events from meineZIELE become visible in Outlook, these events can be assigned the icon shown in the screenshot above. Please do not use this function if you make further distinctions in Outlook, such as "confidential" events etc. The function is optional.

 

Synchronizing iCloud folders

If you are using the iPhone, a fast and elegant way of synchronizing active tasks with the iPhone is the utilization of iCloud. Therefore, meineZIELE can create a folder "iCloud" in Outlook. Synchronization is available for events, tasks and contacts. A particular Options window is available in meineZIELE for this purpose.

For advanced users: Outlook cannot synchronize between its calendar and the iCloud. There exist two different calendars. Since meineZIELE can be synchronized with both calendars, distinct events can be synchronized with each of them. Obs.: meineZIELE can only synchronize data that is supported. If any entry is modified on the iPhone as well as in Outlook between the synchronizations, one of these changes will be lost.

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