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Eliminate Duplicate Task Annoyance in Outlook with Gmail IMAP
Posted by Kevin Purdy at 10:40 PM on May 29, 2008
If you've set up IMAP access to Gmail in Outlook, you may have noticed that using flags in Outlook and stars in Gmail creates a duplicate set of tasks in your sidebar. The How-To Geek shows you how to fix that distraction, using a little creative filtering. The trick can be extended to multiple email accounts, and whether you bring Gmail into your All Mail folder or not. Hit the link for the Geek's helpful run-through.
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The first message one could consider email was sent more than 30 years ago, and that's probably when people began associating angst and uncertainty with the words "Inbox" and "unread messages." The tools available to read and send emails have advanced considerably since then, but what you actually do with all that chatter, without eating up entire days of work time, is up to you. Luckily, we've covered a wealth of filtering and processing methods and software tweaks that make email less stressful and time-consuming over the years, and a list of our top 10 productive email boosters is after the jump.
FuseCal is a web app that does something so useful, yet so seemingly rare, that it's hard to believe it's both free and easy to use. The app, currently in alpha, lets you add iCal-based calendars (and a few other formats) to a master calendar, then choose whether all those events, just the ones you pick, or events filtered by keyword will be synced to Outlook, Apple iCal, Google Calendar, or another program. I've only had time to test the Google Calendar->FuseCal->Outlook setup, and it seems to work. Those with web sites can also publish their combined FuseCals on their site. FuseCal is free to use; a sign-up lets you keep your calendars in sync.
Windows only: OutSync, a free app that requires Microsoft Outlook 2003 or 2007, harnesses profile photos of your Facebook friends to add them to your Outlook contacts, saving you the trouble of manually adding them yourself. It's important to note that OutSync, like any Facebook-scraping app, doesn't grab phone numbers or emails from your contacts, since that could result in a profile take-down. But Windows Mobile users can especially benefit from OutSync's utility, as syncing your device means pictures of your friends show up when you make or receive a call—helpful for those "Should I take this call?" moments. OutSync is a free download for Windows XP or Vista, and requires Microsoft Outlook 2003 or 2007.
