[ifonline]

I am having a heck of a time during my trial period with Mailstreet. I am attempting to have Mac Address Book (on Leopard 10.5.4) sync with Exchange hosted by Mailstreet. Address Book is looking for the following information:

User Name
Password
Outlook Web Access Server

Well... I know my password, but my User Name is different depending on what I am trying to connect to. Sometimes I need the domain in front of the User Name, sometimes I don't. Outlook Web Access Server? I have no idea what the address for that is.

I have chatted with Mailstreet support, but they can't help me as they only support Outlook on the PC and Entourage on the Mac. I am hoping someone out there has the info that I need... obviously not my specific info, but the proper format for the User Name and the Outlook Web Access Server address.

I have tried so many different combinations of User Name and Outlook Web Access Server address that I have lost track. The only two responses I get are either "Could not reach the server specified." or absolutely nothing at all... no error message, no sync.

Help!

[WFLDEng611]

The address book app is not exchange friendly, neither is iCal. You have to use Entourage with a hosted BES for stuff to sync

[ifonline]

If it is not Exchange friendly, then why the option to sync with Exchange? Are you saying it's broken (certainly possible)?

[weath]

Address Book under Leopard (10.5.4 as per OP), _will_ sync with Exchange. There are some idiosyncracies though, generally variations with the User Name as you have found. Since you are using OWA (Outlook Web Access) I don't think you would need to put the domain name in the username. The UserName may be just your name (email address before the @) or may need to be your entire email address.

I have found MailStreet to be pretty good with their Tech Support. Hit them up again, and ask specifically for the OWA (Outlook Web Access) web address. This is what you will need. Their FAQs/Entourage set up instructions should have this too (yes, I know you aren't setting up Entourage), just to get the info. Alternatively, log in to your MS webmail, and copy the web address for the log-in page (that's the OWA site). Then it's a matter of getting the web address (and username) in AddressBook.

Sorry I can't be of more help. I have used MS in the past and had no issues at all. Currently using Mail2Web, and it still depends on who you get in Support as to the level of knowledge you get on the Mac side. They all have training with Entourage, but may not have the full depth of knowledge to completely support Leopard.

[ifonline]

True. I have no particular complaints with MailStreet, as I know that what I am asking for is a bit unorthodox. My line of thinking is that all I need at home is for my Address Book to be in sync. That way, when I use Mail.app, my contacts' e-mail addresses are available to auto-fill when creating a new message. I don't want Entourage because it is too unwieldy for the simple bit that I want at home, if that makes sense, and as much as Microsoft has tried to make it more Mac friendly, it still doesn't work or act like a native app.

I took a look at a program called Plaxo that might do what I want as a work-around. I'm still going to try and get the Address Book to sync with Exchange, though, as that would be the best solution.

On a side note, I guess I do have one complaint with MailStreet... the Control Panel doesn't work within Safari or Firefox. Only Netscape or IE. Bah... I've been looking at IT Solutions Exchange service, and they seem to be a bit more Mac friendly, including allowing the CP in Safari. They even indicated that the Address Book should work without a problem, but suggested I would need to speak with a higher tier support tech for help.

Originally Posted by weath

Currently using Mail2Web, and it still depends on who you get in Support as to the level of knowledge you get on the Mac side. They all have training with Entourage, but may not have the full depth of knowledge to completely support Leopard.

Weath, are you syncing Address Book with Exchange through Mail2Web? If so, I might need to bend your ear if I decide to use them for hosting.

[weath]

Ian,

I don't use MailStreet any longer, so unfortunately I can't provide much more assistance then what I have already passed on. I currently use and can highly recommend Mail2Web (with BES). I use Entourage 2008, so I haven't had to mess with Address Book and Exchange sync extensively. I HAVE done it with M2W, but I did have to play around with the username to sync the Address Book, but I did get it to work. Also, Mail2Web uses a webpage for configuration (no Control Panel), so no browser issues there. All new users are set up on Exchange 2007.

Another option is to configure Entourage to use Sync Services, then configure Entourage, let it download/sync your Exchange info, which will then go into Address Book using Sync Services. Not as elegant, but workable.

Steve

[ifonline]

Thanks for the info. If I figure out MailStreet, I'll post here what the setting were that worked for me. If I move to IT Solutions, I'll post what worked with them. That way, anyone in my position in the future will have something to refer to.

[ifonline]

As a follow-up, I have been speaking with IT Solutions (Exchange Hosting by IT Solutions Now), and was lucky enough to speak with a very helpful Senior Systems Engineer. She took the time to stay in touch via e-mail after a dropped call, and indicated that she would test out the Mac Address Book with their service to see if they could get it to sync. Bear in mind that this is unsupported by everyone (it appears), even though it should work, so she didn't even have to take the time to try it out.

Nevertheless, I received an e-mail this morning indicating that it works. That, coupled with their service/price ratio and their outstanding willingness to work with me on unsupported features, won me over. I'll be signing up with them next week.

I don't have the settings just yet, but once I have an account and have everything working, I'll post the settings for others in the same situation.

[WFLDEng611]

Originally Posted by ifonline

If it is not Exchange friendly, then why the option to sync with Exchange? Are you saying it's broken (certainly possible)?

My bad, I got my OS's mixed up. I forgot that the apps are exchange friendly with the new .me.

[ifonline]

Originally Posted by WFLDEng611

My bad, I got my OS's mixed up. I forgot that the apps are exchange friendly with the new .me.

Actually, Mac Address Book has been Exchange friendly since OS X 10.3, I believe. It has nothing to do with MobileMe.