How to Manage your BlackBerry Contacts using Outlook 2003

This article discusses how to manage your BlackBerry contacts using Outlook 2003, you will need to start by configuring your BlackBerry to your Outlook profile. This process can be completed in a few steps. You will need to be given a password to activate this feature from your Enterprise Server Admninstrator.

This article is based on Outlook 2003 and the BlackBerry Storm. The backup format used for the contacts file is Excel.

Once you have received your activation password from your Exchange Administrator:

1. Open the main menu on your BlackBerry by clicking on the Options button.
2. Select Options from the menu.
3. Click on Advanced Options.
4. Select Enterprise Activation.
5. You will need to enter your email address followed by your password given by your Exchange Administrator.
6. Click on the Options button.
7. Select Activate.

The activation process will begin and can take from five minutes upwards, a message will appear Activation Complete when the process is finished.

You can exit out of the activation window and if you are curious to see what stage the activation is at, go back to advanced options then enterprise activation which will show you each complete or pending process and will indicate what percentage of the activation is complete.

The next stage is how to manage your BlackBerry contacts using Outlook 2003.

Now that your BlackBerry is fully activated, you can populate your Outlook 2003 contacts folder which will be reflected on the BlackBerry. The activation process links your BlackBerry to your Outlook 2003 email, contacts and calendar.

There are a number of benefits to synchronising your BlackBerry with Outlook:

1. It is good practice to have a backup of your contacts as your SIM card may be misplaced or damaged. While SIM storage is useful, it requires more work to move data to and from the SIM card. The connection to Outlook 2003 overwrites this by doing the synchronisation for you between your Outlook contacts and the contacts folder on the BlackBerry.
2. It can also be easier and quicker to use a PC program, such as Excel or Outlook, to edit your contacts lists and fully populate the data.
3. Having a file copy of your contacts information from Outlook can prove useful if you want to set up the same information on a compatible phone or another handheld.
4. Once your BlackBerry is setup via BES to synchronise with your Outlook 2003 profile, you can edit contacts either on the handheld itself, or on the Outlook Contacts area .

Having a backup of your Outlook contacts is beneficial for keeping your contacts safe.

1. Launch Outlook 2003, select the contacts folder:
2. Go to File.
3. Select Import and Export from the menu.
4. Select Export to a File and click Next.
5. Select which output format serves you best, in this example we use MS Excel and click on Next.
6. On the next window, Select Folder to Export From, select Contacts and click Next.
7. The next window, Save Exported file as, select a name for your contacts file and a location to back it up.
8. Click on Next.

You now have a backup of your contacts available to use on other compatible handhelds or phones.