Filed under: Software, Productivity, iTunes, iPhone
Sync your iPhone with Microsoft Entourage
I must admit I'm a bit surprised that this slipped past me, so I hope I'm not the only one that didn't realize Entourage can sync with the iPhone via its oft-forgotten ability to play well with Mac OS X's Sync Services. According to this Apple support doc, switching on the preference you see above in Entourage 11.3.5 or later will break down the barriers between Entourage, Address Book and iCal, allowing iTunes to unite your iPhone and Entourage in beautiful synching harmony (however, as far as I can tell, iTunes won't be able to sync your actual email accounts from Entourage).
How well this bridge will work in practice I can't tell you; I'm not an Entourage man myself. But this might be great news for those still on the fence between an iPhone and something like a BlackBerry for whom Entourage synching is a deal maker or breaker. If anyone has been using their iPhone with Entourage, please sound off on how this setup's been treatin' you.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Circ said 1:37AM on 7-20-2007
I don't have the i-phone - yet, but, my ipod picks up my exchange calendar and contacts via the entourage and mac sync connection - I figured the iphone would too. Unfortunately, we still can't get the iphone to authenticate with our exchange server for email (imap) so it's still a moot point for me.
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Alex in Amsterdam said 1:39AM on 7-20-2007
But what about syncing with Outlook, since I'm forced to use a )(#*$&@(#*$& Windows machine for work?
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Storm9 said 1:51AM on 7-20-2007
It sync's flawlessly with Outlook.
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momo411176 said 2:38AM on 7-20-2007
Wikipedia specfically for your iPhone!
ENjoy guys! =)
http://idotg.com/iphone/index.php
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Beau said 3:13AM on 7-20-2007
I exporting and importing contacts out of Entourage earlier today. I didn't know of this feature. I now have my calendar and contacts from Entourage syncing almost flawlessly.
The only problem I ran into is you cannot use the "Entourage" calendar to add events from my iPhone. Even if you set it in the iTunes/iPhone sync preferences to add new events to the "Entourage" calendar it won't do it.
Other than that small problem it works perfectly.
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Jay Brewer said 8:03AM on 7-20-2007
That would be my only problem as well. It's a one way street - the ical and address book get items from the iPhone but they never make it up to Entourage. Regardless - it works and works well.
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Andrew Luter said 8:14AM on 7-20-2007
Honestly - the solution is a bit clunky, but it seems to work well enough. I have not had any problems with bi-directional functionality or synching my "Entourage" calendar back and forth. After switching from the MotoQ with active synch, however, I am hoping that Apple has a better solution for those of us stuck in Exchange-land. Getting all of these updates wirelessly no matter where I happened to be was a godsend.
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Ben said 8:43AM on 7-20-2007
I've been using the Entourage sync for as long as it's been available, it works good, but make sure you're on the latest Entourage update.
I really have my hopes that with leopard sync services will sync directly with MS ActiveSync as well as the iPhone.
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Barney said 9:35AM on 7-20-2007
I have been using this since day one. No problems yet, and I also have no trouble getting mail from my exchange server using IMAP.
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Jeff said 9:31AM on 7-20-2007
Well, here's my dilemma. I use Entourage at work but I sync my iPhone at home. So, how do I get my work Entourage calendar at home?
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F.goodman said 9:43AM on 7-20-2007
I have been using this method since the first day. It works very well, you can even input things on ical and they wil end up on Entoourage and from there go to your iphone.
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beige.inside said 10:31AM on 7-20-2007
Last time I used Entourage and tried syncing it my iCal, I got some crazy error that made all other calendars invisible. Haven't used it since. Does this mean that isn't a problem anymore?
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matte said 10:17AM on 7-20-2007
Been using this since I got my iPhone. After cleaning up my Entourage calendar a bit (syncing to iCal didn't like recurring all-day events from Entourage for some reason) it's been working like a charm. For, me, it syncs both ways, Entourage --> iPhone and iPhone changes/additions --> Entourage. Coupled with my IMAP connection to Exchange on the iPhone, this is *almost* as good as true Exchange support for me on my phone. Now, if only Entourage was Universal on my MBP...
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kenyatta said 7:21PM on 7-20-2007
I also run Entourage and iCal simultaneously on my G4 at work, simply because Entourage plays nicely with Exchange and I prefer the look of iCal. I think of this as, "running Entourage in the background". The iPhone sync worked flawlessly (because I sync through iCal) from the first time on (and still does).
As for post #9, you might benefit from publishing/subscribing iCal through .Mac to get your home Mac sync'ed up with your Entourage calendar...just sync Entourage to iCal at work and off you go. Works for me.
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Jason said 10:29AM on 7-20-2007
I've been doing this since the first night I had my iphone. It works flawlessly. I still miss the active sync of my old treo, with my calendar being updated on the fly. But this will do. Also, as a workaround for my exchange e-mail, I set up a yahoo mail account and have been forwarding my exchange mail to it through entourage. The yahoo mail then gets pushed to my iphone - voila! exchange e-mail push.
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Angelo said 2:10PM on 7-21-2007
Beau,
I've got it working in "reverse" (adding iCal events on the iPhone and them showing up in Entourage).
Under iTunes syncing, choose "Selected Calendars" and it will allow you to choose Entourage under "Put new events in..."
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Bob Fairbairn said 5:03PM on 7-29-2007
iPhone syncs two way, but wiith my setup of having three calendars in iCal. The changes go into my Home calendar, not into the Entourage calendar. It may be that it goes into the "first" calendar on the list. I have not tested it.
For me it is ok as I put my work stuff into Entourage and my personal stuff into Home.
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Israel said 2:31AM on 8-01-2007
I am using e2Sync's e2Entourage product to successfully sync Entourage categories to the iPhone. Much safer I feel than Apple's solution.
http://www.e2sync.com
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Barbara said 2:08PM on 8-02-2007
I was using Entourage until last night when it crashed and have not been able to get it back yet. My real problem was trying to get my Palm information onto my iphone. Impossible to do. Has anyone figured it out yet.
Barbara
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Steve said 7:54PM on 8-20-2007
I have a problem. My Blackberry syncs with my PC at work and that is where it gets populated with my office calendar. I then sync my Blackberry wth my MacBook Pro via PocketMac SyncManager. iCal and Entourage can be made to communicate and become one using sync on my Mac. However, I cannot make my iPhone sync with either the iCal or Entourage calendars. Weird. I have called Apple help and they don't have a clue. Help!
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