Other Network SitesAdobe PressAddison-Wesley ProfessionalBradyGamesCisco PressExam Cram 2Fair Shake PressIBM PressInformitPeachpit PressPearson Corporate StorePrentice Hall PTRQue PublishingSams PublishingWharton School Publishing Login | My Account HomeBookstoreSafari Tech Books OnlineArticlesReference GuidesOnline TrainingReference LibraryView CartSite Help TitleAuthorKeywordsISBN Advanced Search | Help Home > Articles > Digital Lifestyles > Hacking Your iPod To Snag Your Outlook Data Hacking Your iPod To Snag Your Outlook Data By Matthew David. Date: Dec 30, 2004. SaveDiscussPrintE-mail Article Information Contents Finding the Best Hacks Hacking Your Way Out of Outlook Extending the Outlook Hack Refining the Code for Even Better Results Wrapping Up Article Description Your Microsoft Outlook Address Book is brimming with data. How can you yank that Outlook data over to your iPod for maximum portability? Matthew David shows an easy hack. Related Book iPod & iTunes Garage $22.49 (Save 10%) Hacking Your Way Out of Outlook Contrary to popular belief, most iPod owners use Windows computers, not Macs. This is important to remember, as we'll be messing around with Outlook. In an earlier InformIT article, I explained that you can read contact information on your iPod if the info is stored as a vCard. The structure of a vCard is not easy to write: BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:2.1 N:Flash;Extending;; FN:Extending Flash EMAIL;PREF;INTERNET:Extendflash@flashguru.co.uk REV:20040530T174351 UID:00000000190645CBE234E84DBBB4D5CBC448D3CC24F76800 END:VCARDNot very pretty. The problem arises when you have a lot of vCards. How can you possibly write the correct code for all those vCards? If you're running Outlook 2000, XP, or 2003, the answer comes from a built-in feature. Most Microsoft Office users don't know that you can program Office applications with Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). We'll create a simple application to export all your contacts from Outlook to your iPod. TIP This is a great introduction to the world of VB programming, as you don't need to add a lot of code to get something that you can really use. Follow these steps: Connect your iPod to your PC. In My Computer, find your iPod (it should appear as an additional hard drive). Double-click the iPod icon and find the folder called Contacts. The path will be something like H:\Contacts. This is where you'll place your contact information. Open Microsoft Outlook. To access the Visual Basic Development environment, press Alt+F11. This action opens the VBA editor. Choose, Insert, Module from the menu. Then add the following code: Const XPortPath As String = "H:\Contacts\" 'target location on your iPod Const ext As String = ".vcf" 'file extension needed for iPod to read the vCard Sub ExportToVCard() Dim ns As NameSpace Dim fld As MAPIFolder Dim itm Dim itms As Items Set ns = Application.GetNamespace("MAPI") Set fld = ns.GetDefaultFolder(olFolderContacts) 'Outlook Contacts folder Set itms = fld.Items itms.Sort "[LastName]", False ' The following code is the loop that builds your code For Each itm In itms If TypeName(itm) = "ContactItem" Then itm.SaveAs XPortPath & itm.LastNameAndFirstName & ext, olVCard End If Next itm End SubPress F5 to run the script, which places a list of all your contacts—in vCard format—in the Contacts folder on your iPod. And just that easy, you can read all of your Outlook contacts on your iPod. 3. Extending the Outlook Hack | Next SectionPrevious Section Most Active CommentsMissing something Posted Dec 30, 2004 01:25 PM by bucarion 0 Replies Make a New CommentYou must login in order to post a comment. You May Also Like Packaging MP3s for Flash Players By Ed Tittel Apr 30, 2004 Taking Your iPod Beyond Music By Matthew David May 13, 2004 Using an iPod By Brad Miser Jul 23, 2004 See All Related Articles Search Related Safari Books Search electronic versions of over 1500 technical books: Promotions Informit Staff Recommendations Expires: Never Got a Few Less-Than-Thoughtful Gifts Hanging Around? Sell Them on eBay! Expires: Never Knock Out Graphics Glitches, Smash Photo Troubles, Use Masks Like a Superhero, and More! Expires: Never See All Promotions Most Popular Articles PSP Emulators and ISOs: Playing Games from Other Consoles and Backing up Your UMDs By Seth Fogie Sep 9, 2005 PSP Exposed: Taking Apart the PlayStation Portable By Seth Fogie Mar 29, 2005 Web Browsing on the PSP By Seth Fogie Mar 30, 2005 About | Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Press | Jobs | Write For Us | Contact Us | Advertise | Site Map © 2006 Pearson Education, Informit. All rights reserved. 800 East 96th Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46240Name
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