Export & Import an Outlook Profile from One Computer to Another

Greetings, MrMarty !

Most settings are stored in PST file. But not all.  Copy the PST file from old computer to new computer. PST file is located in C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook folder. It is hidden file, so you have to unhide hidden files.

Go to any folder and select Tools > Folders Options > View. Check "Show hidden files and folders". Click OK.


Best wishes!

Thank you; i'll try that.  I apologize, I should have added our current environment to the original post.

We are running in an Exchange 5.5, NT4.0 domain.  His original profile stored his e-mail in the exchange mailbox, but he has approximately  40 .pst files on our file server.  In Outlook 2003, he started using the "Shortcuts" and generated quite a few of them.  I'm primarily looking to, without having to do it all manually (really trying to avoid that), get the outlook profile file which holds the information about which .pst files are in use and which shortcuts he has, how is calendar view is set, etc... ported over to his new machine.  I'll try your suggestion though and let you know what comes of it! Thanks in advance, worky or no worky. :-)

- okay, i looked in that path and i see his .OST file (offline files file) and the .oab (offline address book files), but nothing really showing that i could copy these files and bring his Outlook Profile Settings over.  I'm not 100% sure that this CAN be done, actually;

Thank you!
~Stumped

MrMarty, since you are in exchange enviroment, the settings should be on the Exchange.  Which particular settings is the user missing?

Calendar layout, task view, preview pane settings, shortcuts within outlook2003, outlook favorites, etc...  Think of it in terms of copying the XP user profile from one system to the other so that the end user can keep all their windows settings; but this is the FIRST time i've ever had a user ask for his outlook profile to be exported and imported over;

~MrMarty

MrMarty,

If the user only is working POP3 account, all these settings would be in PST file. But in an exchange environment, the settings could be anywhere.

Yeah, that's what i thought.  There's a tool for Office 2003 (ork.exe) which has a "profile wizard" export and import feature; supposedly one can create a default template for their user base and import the profile with this tool; in addition to that, one OUGHT to be able to export the profile and import the profile.  When i did that, it refuses to import all the settings such as his 40+ shortcuts, calendar layout, etc... (have you ever used the shortcuts in outlook? personally i don't find much use for 'em but my userbase is starting to like 'em)

~MrMarty

MrMarty,

You may want to export the toolbar file, outcmd.dat.  It may contains toolbar shortcuts.  Outcmd.dat should be in .../<user>/Application Data/Microsoft/Outlook folder.

Yeah - i saw that too.  Not quite what he was looking for.  Basically, my end user wants something that i'm not sure actually exists out there.  He wants to get a new computer with 100% of all his old settings so that although there is a fresh installation of windows and office, he wants it all to "be the same".  Do you think that this is maybe one of those, "deal with it" issues? All research i've done tells me that i can "export and import office DATA" but not "settings". ie: "i have my calendar set with blue instead of yellow, and my tasks were viewable, and...blah blah blah..."  the only thing i found that i can supposedly use is ORK.EXE, and it didn't appear to work as advertised...

~Frustrated MrMarty

P.S.: thank you for all your input :-)