duplicate contacts hell

[Guest caidonline]

Hi all, been re reading all posts on contact duplication since 2004 to try and find a solution to my prob. Have a T Mobile MDA Compact and newly aquired Vario. Before I synch the (empty) Vario to Outlook, I wanted to ensure that all was up to date. However, over time the MDA has aquired duplicates and sometimes triplicates in one of the Contacts catagories....unfotunately the largest with over 1500 original entries.

I've downloaded and run Pauls (MPV) excellent DCR program (thanks again Paul!!) :) to clear Outlook, but as soon as I synch, all the duplicates are transferred back across from the MDA. I don't really want to perform a hard reset of the MDA as there is a lot of other data/software that would take time to reinstall.

Am I missing a setting in Active Sync (latest version) that will see the duplicates and skip them. I noticed one post mentioned Conflict Resolution, but I'm not sure this would work. Or is there a way of deleting all the Contacts on the MDA so I can synch back the cleaned up Outlook?

Any help would be hugely appreciated.

Cheers

Bob

[Guest AlanJC]

Or is there a way of deleting all the Contacts on the MDA so I can synch back the cleaned up Outlook?

Any help would be hugely appreciated.

Cheers

Bob

If you delete your ActiveSync partnership on your PC, and then reconnect your PPC, it will guide you through creating a new one.

When it comes to sync the calendar, contacts, and so on, it will ask you if you want to merge them, or overwrite with the information on your PC.

[Guest chucky.egg]

If you're using a hosted Exchange server, and sync'ing directly with it over GPRS/3G, you don't get that option, so what you can do is:

1. Stop your devices from syncing

2. Remove the duplicates from Outlook

3. Create a new Contacts folder and MOVE all your Contacts to it

4. Sync your devices with the (now empty) Contacts folder to empty the devices

5. Move or Copy the contacts back to the main Contacts folder

6. Sync your devices again to re-populate them

It's not quite as hard work as it sounds, and much easier than doing it manually.

The same works on Calendar BTW

[Guest caidonline]

Thanks for the replies and various methods. It all makes sense when it's spelt out like that. I'll come back with a report when I get around to doing it!!

Thanks again :)

Edited January 17, 2007 by caidonline