How to Sync Google Contacts with Outlook
Why Synchronize Your E-mail Contacts?
Have you ever lost hours of time looking for contacts that aren’t listed in Microsoft Outlook, even though you could swear you have the contact details somewhere? Did you then find the phone number or e-mail address you were looking for on a different computer, or listed in your Google Mail account?
Having several different address books can be pretty frustrating, with both Google and Outlook address books contributing to the issue: it’s pretty impossible to merge or sync contacts with these services.
In fact, there are countless utilities that claim to do this, with some of them falling way short of the mark, being unable to even run in Microsoft XP, never mind Vista or 7. Others still require access to Google business services, such as Google Apps Sync. This is a competent application but sadly doesn’t allow access for standard users.
Being able to sync your Google contacts with Outlook would be pretty useful in this situation, and thanks to Gcontactsynch, the Google Contacts Outlook Synchronizer, this is now possible!
Sync Google Contacts with Outlook with Gcontactsynch
It shouldn’t take too long for you to install Gcontactsynch – the file is just 377 Kb and features a fast installation.
Visit code.google.com/p/gcontactsynch/downloads/list to download the small Gcontactsynch installer file, and double-click to run. Windows Vista and Windows 7 users will need to agree to the User Access Control notification to proceed.
Once installed, the application will auto-run. With the software running you will now be able to sync your Outlook contacts with your Google contacts, a process that is easy to set up and can even be scheduled to occur after a user-defined interval.
Configuring Gcontactsynch
With the software running all you need to do to sync your contacts is enter your Google Mail username and password on the Configuration tab.
Different Synchronization Intervals can be selected, with the default setting of 5 minutes probably best amended to 60 minutes or perhaps longer unless you have lots of manual contacts to add.
The most important element of this software is the Update Direction – you need to make a choice here to decide which application has preference. For instance, if you are more likely to add and use contacts in Outlook, then select Outlook overwrites Google; otherwise select Google overwrites Outlook.
Note that when contacts are created it doesn’t matter which Update Direction you have chosen.
Click OK to continue – synchronization will commence, creating a mirror image of your contacts!
Managing Your Synced Contacts
With your contacts successfully synced you will be able to enjoy the convenience of having access to them from anywhere. For instance, if you have a Google Android phone, your Outlook contacts will have been synced to your Google Mail account, which you should be able to access with ease on an Android device.
Similarly, if you use a phone that doesn’t have Google Mail but does sync with Microsoft Exchange, your contacts will now be synced from your Gmail account through your Outlook client and onto your phone!
References
Author’s own experience
Gcontactsync, https://code.google.com/p/gcontactsynch/downloads/list
