Using Outlook on multiple machines

A variety of options let you use your Outlook 2007 data messages, calendar items, contacts, tasks, and so on in multiple locations. These include synchronization tools such as TrueSync, which is available on your Yahoo! account. But Outlook itself will do the trick, demanding only a little ingenuity to make it happen. Here'slow you can make Outlook receive your POP mail on several different machines, and keep all your records—sent mail, mail sub folders, everything—current on multiple machines.

LEAVE MESSAGES ON SERVER
POP3-email accounts work by accessing messages stored on a mail server (see graphic below). Typically when you download the messages, you simultaneously delete them from the server. But you don't have to; you may instead leave them on the server for subsequent downloading to other locations. Auto-deletion is part of the default setup of a POPS account and to change this behavior you must change the setting.

Choose Account Settings from Outlook's Tools menu and double click the account you want to change. On the resulting Change Email Account dialog, click More Settings, and then the Advanced tab of the Internet E-Mail Settings dialog. In the Delivery section check Leave a copy of messages on the server Then simply configure the samePOP3 account on your other PCs and you'll get the same messages on every PC.

Bear in mind, however, that this setting will result in your mail sitting indefinitely on your ISP's or organization's server clogging it after a while. So use the other options to help clean up, Remove from server after x days and/or Remove from server when deleted from Deleted Items.

DUPLICATE THE ENTIRE PST FILE
This is the brute-force method, and it works. Whenever you finish your stint at one machine, copy your entire PST file (Outlook's personal folders file) from that PC's hard drive to removable media or online storage. (The size of the PST file may encourage you to pare down your saved messages occasionally.) At the "target" PC copy the PST file into the appropriate folder on that machine. You can determine the location of your PST file by choosing Account Settings from the Tools menu in Outlook and then clicking the Data Files tab. The Filename column shows the full path for the file. The default path is a hidden folder; to see it in Windows Explorer use Folder Options in the Control Panel (or Tools I FolderOptions I View in Windows Explorer) to unhide hidden files and folders.

SETTING A PST PASSWORD
While you have the Data Files tab of the Account Settings dialog on screen, why not give your PST file a password to restrict access? Double click the Personal Folders line and click the Change Password button. Type the old password (leave blank if you haven't set one) and type the new password and its verification. Click OK. From this point on, when you open Outlook—or anyone else does Outlook will require the password to use the data file.

WHY LEAVE YOUR MESSAGES ON THE SERVER?
One option within Outlook lets you "Leave messages on server." This lets you download messages on a secondary PC—say, your office computer while ensuring that they're still available for downloading to your main PC.

*.* Source of Information : April 2008 PC Magazine