Sync Outlook for Mac calendars and contacts to iPhone

Note: After answering a question for a friend of a friend I realized that we’ve been remiss in writing a good tutorial for syncing Outlook for Mac to iPhone. Nothing beats a step-by-step with pictures. I hope folks find this useful!

Getting calendars and contacts from Outlook for Mac to your iPhone doesn’t require Exchange, iCloud/MobileMe or any third party service. Everything is built into Mac OS X and Outlook.

The conduit between Outlook and iPhone is iTunes. The magic that happens underneath is called Sync Services. Verify all of these items are up-to-date before starting to ensure you have the latest fixes for known bugs and issues:

• Update Mac OS X and iTunes by selecting Software Update… from the Apple menu.
• Update Outlook for Mac by selecting Check for Updates from the Help menu.
• Update iPhone by selecting Settings –> General –> Software Update (iOS 5 only) or by plugging it into your computer, selecting it under the DEVICESheader in iTunes and clicking the Check for Update button under the Summary tab.

As of this date, screenshots and instructions are shown using Mac OS X 10.7.2 (Lion), Microsoft Office 2011 (14.1.3) iTunes 10.5 and iOS 5.0.1. Instructions should be the same or similar for earlier versions of software.

Should Exchange users sync through iTunes?

Exchange users have the luxury of being able to synchronize their information across multiple computers and devices wirelessly and I’d advise they stick with that. No matter what I advise they never sync Exchange data directly from computer to iPhone or else they risk duplicate data appearing as a result of the two methods of syncing.

However, some Exchange users prefer to keep personal information separate from work information. It is possible for them to sync non-Exchange information from Outlook to their iPhones via iTunes while syncing Exchange information over the air.

Sync Calendars

Let’s start with syncing calendars from Outlook for Mac to iPhone. This is a simple four-step process:

1. Create a calendar and categories

The default calendar name in Outlook is “Calendar”. It’s located under On My Computer while in Calendar view. Below it are a few categories.

For most folks this is the only calendar they’ll ever use. However, for those who are detail-oriented and wish to keep synchronized items on a separate calendar they can create a new calendar by selecting File menu –> New –> Folder. In this case I’ll create a separate calendar called “Family Schedule” to keep track of everyone’s events.

Note that both the default “Calendar” and “Family Schedule” calendar share the same categories. This is important because the sync from Outlook to iPhone will not carry over the calendar name but rather the category name. Let’s illustrate this a bit better so that we can see what happens down the road.

While in Calendar view, select Meeting menu –> Categorize –> Edit Categories… Click the + (plus) button to add a new category for each family member (Mom, Dad, Zach and Brittany). Each new category will translate into a calendar on the iPhone later.

Now that the calendar is ready, let’s populate it with some schedules. For each event on the calendar we’ll assign it to one or more of the family member categories.

2. Share the calendar in Outlook for Mac

Next, we’re ready to share the calendar from Outlook.

Select Outlook menu –> Preferences… –> Sync Services. On the left select Calendar to start calendar syncing. (Note that the Tasks item is also selected. These two items cannot be shared separately.)

Under Select the accounts to sync select On My Computer.

Under Outlook folder to add new items to select the Family Schedule calendar.

How can we check that this is working correctly? Open the iCal application from the Applications folder. Within a couple of minutes events from the shared Family Schedule calendar should appear there as well.

This is where the translation between Outlook categories and iCal calendars occurs. Note later that we’ll no longer refer to the Outlook calendar “Family Schedules” but instead refer to “Dad”, “Mom”, “Zach” and “Brittany”.

If events don’t appear then Sync Services may need to be reset. To reset Sync Services, first stop Outlook for Mac syncing by unchecking Calendar in its Sync Services preferences and then refer to Apple’s knowledge base article Sync Services: Advanced troubleshooting for contact and calendar syncing(http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2481).

Note: We cannot offer support for Apple’s Sync Services on our website. If you are unable to resolve syncing issues please click the Support tab at the top of this page and ask for assistance in Apple Support Communities.

3. Select the calendars in iTunes and sync

Now, we’re ready to enable calendar syncing in iTunes and sync to iPhone.

Connect the iPhone to your computer and open iTunes. When connected the iPhone should appear in the navigation pane to the left. Select the iPhone on the left and then select the Info tab at the top. Scroll down to Sync iCal Calendars and enable it. Click the Apply button when done.

4. View the calendars on iPhone

After syncing the “Dad”, “Mom”, “Zach” and “Brittany” calendars will be viewable on the iPhone.

Open the Calendar app on the iPhone and tap the Calendars button in the upper left corner. Ensure that the four new calendars (one for each family member) are enabled by tapping each one. A checkmark will appear next to an enabled calendar.

Click the Done button in the upper right corner when finished and each family member’s schedule will appear with a different colored marker for each calendar.

Sync Contacts

Syncing contacts from Outlook for Mac to iPhone is a similar simple four-step process:

1. Create an address book and categories

The default contacts list name in Outlook is “Address Book”. It’s located under On My Computer while in Contacts view.

For most folks this is the only address book they’ll ever use. However, for those detail-oriented folks who wish to keep synchronized items in separate address books they can create a new address book by selecting File menu –> New –> Folder. In this case I’ll create a separate address book called “Family Address Book” to store family contact information.

Again, note that both the default “Address Book” and “Family Address Book” lists share the same categories. However, categories and address book names are relatively unimportant outside of Outlook. Why? Because they don’t sync to the iPhone. In this case the entire On My Computer address book will sync to the iPhone as a whole. Address Book names and categories will be ignored.

Now that the new address book is ready, let’s populate it with some contacts.

2. Share contacts in Outlook for Mac

Next, let’s share the address book from Outlook.

Select Outlook menu –> Preferences… –> Sync Services. On the left select Contacts to start address book syncing.

Under Select the accounts to sync select On My Computer.

Optionally, under Outlook folder to add new items to select Family Address Book. Keep in mind that selecting anything here will make no difference. All contacts under On My Computer will sync regardless of the list selected.

How can we check that this is working correctly? Open Apple’s Address Book application from the Applications folder. Within a couple of minutes contacts from Outlook should appear there as well.

If contacts don’t appear then Sync Services may need to be reset. To reset Sync Services, first stop Outlook for Mac syncing by unchecking Contacts in its Sync Services preferences and then refer to Apple’s knowledge base article Sync Services: Advanced troubleshooting for contact and calendar syncing(http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2481).

Note: We cannot offer support for Apple’s Sync Services on our website. If you are unable to resolve syncing issues please click the Support tab at the top of this page and ask for assistance in Apple Support Communities.

3. Select the address book in iTunes and sync

Now, we’re ready to enable address book syncing in iTunes and sync to iPhone.

Connect the iPhone to your computer and open iTunes. When connected the iPhone should appear in the navigation pane to the left. Select the iPhone on the left and then select the Info tab at the top. Locate Sync Address Book Contacts and enable it.

Once enabled, choose All Contacts to sync with the iPhone. Click the Apply button when done.

4. View the contacts on iPhone

After syncing new contacts will be viewable on the iPhone.

Open the Contacts app on the iPhone and tap the Groups button in the upper left corner.

Tap the All from My Mac list to view the newly synchronized contacts.

Syncing to other services?

Right now, Outlook for Mac only syncs with Exchange over the air and to iPhone via iTunes. It does not support calendar syncing with online services such as iCloud/MobileMe, Google Calendar or Hotmail. These services require a protocol called CalDAV, which Outlook for Mac doesn’t support. If you’d like to see CalDAV added to Outlook for Mac then please let Microsoft know.

None of these services support syncing contacts except for iCloud/MobileMe, which does have an iCloud Control Panel for Windows that syncs to Outlook for Windows. Because of architectural differences, however, this is not available for Outlook for Mac.

http://www.officeformachelp.com/2011/11/sync-outlook-for-mac-calendars-and-contacts-to-iphone/