To Do synchronisation with Outlock

[AndrewPalmer]

I'm having trouble syncing To Dos with Tasks in Outlook via Chapura's Pocket Mirror. I appreciate from the outset that the problem may lie with Pocket Mirror but I'm just looking for some advice.

Normal, one-time To Dos sync fine with Outlook, but Pocket Mirror seems to get confused with repeating To Dos that have been created using Action Names. It's particulary a problem with daily repeating events.

Typically, the sync log reports,

There are more records in your Handheld than in Outlook. Please re-synchronize to attempt recovery.
Outlook = 40, Handheld = 42

Inevitably, further synchronisation solves the problem, but with the duplication of the repeating To Dos. I find the easiest method is to use the native To Do applicaton to tidy up and then re-synchronise.

The net effect is that it takes at least three and often four syncs to get everything back in step.

I suspect that the problem lies in the similarity of the individual To Dos that are created by Action Names to mimic repeating To Dos.

I feel that this must be a common problem, given the prevalence of Outlook but I don't see any similar posts. Maybe it's just me!

Andrew

[b_badger]

These are possible some steps that may fix the issue. If not, contacting Chapura might be the next step.

First, open ActionNames and then tap on the menu button (located at the bottom left of the graffiti area). Then, tap on Options>Default Settings and then tap on OK. Check to see if the problem is fixed. Also, try tapping on the magnifying glass at the bottom of your screen and then tapping on Show All.

If that still does not work, you may want to perform the following.

Please disable any hacks or 3rd party software applications you have running prior to starting this process.

1- Go into the "C:\Palm\<your username>\Backup" folder on your desktop and copy and paste the Icons-IAMBIC.prc file into another folder for safekeeping.
2- Delete Action Names Datebook from your handheld device.
3- Go back into the "C:\Palm\<your username>\Backup" folder and delete the ActNames.prc file.
4- Hotsync
5- Download the latest Action Names Datebook from: http://www.iambic.com/pilot/actionnames/downloadfile.htm
6- Place the new actnames.prc and the above mentioned Icons-IAMBIC.prc file into the palm install tool.
7- Hotsync to install Action Names Datebook and your icons onto the palm.

If you have any further problems, please feel free to contact support@iambic.com.

[AndrewPalmer]

I think I may have identified the cause of the problem myself, though I haven't exhaustively tested the solution.

The problem arises when using repeat To Dos and by having the "Record date upon completion" flag set.

Let's say you have a To Do to fill in your timesheet that repeats for Monday through Friday.

AND creates a To Do on Monday for completion on 1/1/01
If you complete this on Monday, AND creates a new To Do for Tues, 2/1/01. This is not a problem and there's no problem syncing.

However, let's say on Tuesday that I'm out of the office and I don't complete my timesheet. On Wednesday, AND shows the timesheet To Do for Tues as overdue. I complete my timesheet and because I have the "Record date upon completion" flag set, it changes the date on the underlying completed Tuesday To Do to Wed 3/1/01. Also, AND now creates a new timesheet To Do for Wednesday's timesheet.

If you are with me this far, the result is that when I sync on Wednesday, as far as Outlook is concerned,
i) Tuesday's timesheet To Do seems to have disappeared.
ii) There are two identical timesheet To Dos for Wednesday with the exception that one of them is complete.

At this point, the sync software complains and gives up.

As I said, I haven't tested this exhaustively, but since disabling the "Record date on completion" flag, things seem to have been better.

[timsims]

I have had the same problem. I have followed the first potential solution from "forumadmin" and will try to report back in a few days to let you know if it worked for me.

[luptonsg]

I have also had the same problem since upgrading from 4.53. Before that it was fine. I do not have the "Record date upon completion" flag set, so it must be something else. Guess I'll have to try the uninstall/install option.

Lawrence

[AndrewPalmer]

Yes, I think my previous post was over-optimistic and I still get the problem, especially on To Dos that are daily repeats.

I tried uninstalling / reinstalling and it didn't help.

There's nothing on Chapura's web site that seems relevant either.

Andrew

[luptonsg]

Re-installing 4.53 does fix the problem but then you lose the benefits of other bug fixes.

[AndrewPalmer]

That's interesting about v4.53 not having the problem. Thanks for trying it out, luptonsg.

Anyway, before I'd seen the post, I contacted Chapura and this was the reply. If Iambic and Chapura can get together, it should be sorted reasonably quickly.

Hello Andrew,

We are currently trying to work with Iambic to see where the problem can be addressed.

Have you updated to the most current version of the Iambic software?

Have you tried to perform the Outlook overwrites the handheld, when you get the record mismatch?

For more information about Chapura products, please visit our solution database at <http://www.chapura.com/support>.

Thank you,
Laurie
Chapura Support

[james]

Previous versions did not have the problem because they did not have repeating to dos :eek:

The way this was implemented in ActionNames is that when you mark a repeating to do complete it immediately schedules the next instance with the appropriate due date (and same alarm, icon, description, contact, notes if they exist).

You wouldn't think this would confuse the Chapura conduit but apparently it must. Unfortunately Chapura hasn't been responsive in any of our inquiries on this issue or others. Please post Lauie's email address at Chapura and I'll follow up with her on that.

[trevor]

I am a big fan of fixing this. once we get feedback from Chapura, I will look into solving this issue (since it effects me too!)

[luptonsg]

Delighted to have you on board Trevor. Does this mean the bug is still there in the new release AN5.0?

Lawrence

[AndrewPalmer]

Laurie's email address is....wait for it....support@chapura.com.

I've now had about three email's from Laurie asking me to try various things. The first email was as above. The others were:

i) Have you created a repeating To Do item? Can you locate that item on the handheld and delete it and do not Archive this item?

ii) I thought the problem of the record mismatch could be the repeating To Do item. Did you get an error message after deleting the item?

I think that there was another one, but I've deleted it.

I'd mentioned that I was going to upgrade to v5 and I was to report back if the problem still existed. I upgraded last night but I haven't had time to play.

[AndrewPalmer]

I've just upgraded to v5.0 and I can confirm that the problem persists.

[trevor]

I'm working with Chapura currently to solve this.

[AndrewPalmer]

Trevor, that's great news. Good hunting.

Andrew

[AndrewPalmer]

Has there been any progress on fixing our problem? If you need a tester, just let me know!

Best wishes for the New Year.

Andrew

[tbracci]

I’m would like to know if any progress has been made also.
I’m using a trial version (expires on the 18th)and not sure I wish to “buy in” with the repeating todo issue.
The temp fix I found is set Chapura conduit for Tasks to “Hand Held overwrites Desk top”
This will work fine until I creat a bunch of Outlook tasks to add to the palm and for get to set it to "Sync".

The program has a lot of great features and I would like sign on to keep using it

[luptonsg]

I've started running Plonk, available free from PalmGear, which automatically rolls over To Dos to the next day. This has dramatically reduced the number of times the problem occurs, but it does still happen.

I would definitely prefer a proper fix, and then I might even upgrade to v5.

Lawrence

[AndrewPalmer]

This problem has not been fixed in 5.1.

Given that several people have encountered this problem and it's been confirmed by an Iambic engineer, I'm very disappointed.

Andrew

[trevor]

As far as I know this is a bug on the conduit side, it is out of our hands right now. We implement repeating todo a certain way, but they are not being translated properly on the desktop side.
It really is out of my hands until Chapura addresses it.

[AndrewPalmer]

Thanks for the update, Trevor.

I'd been speaking to Laurie at Chapura support. Is this still the best person to contact about the problem to find out the latest progress?

Andrew

[ranbarton]

Andrew-

If you have contact information for Laurie (beyond support@chapura.com), I'd be glad to pester her (politely) too, as I would love to see this fixed, and maybe they need to know you are not an isolated case.

I hope between the users and Iambic and Chapura we can fix this. Tormod's solution of handheld overwriting desktop is too extreme for me.

-Ran

[AndrewPalmer]

Laurie from Chapura support just sent me this update.

"Just wanted to send you an update with the Iambic issue.

We have found the problem, it is related to the Iambic software using a specific bit associated with the handheld records. We have passed this information to Iambic. So basically the ball is in there court now. If I hear any responses or updates, I will let you know."

So Iambic, your turn....

[ranbarton]

I know I speak for a number of users when I say I do not use the repeat/redo functionality due to this bug. I rely on ReDo, which handles repeats well enough, but redos are out of the question.

PLEASE take the information Chapura passed on and try to make AN work with PocketMirror and Outlook - you'd have many grateful users.

-Ran Barton

[airwhale]

Originally posted by ranbarton
I know I speak for a number of users when I say I do not use the repeat/redo functionality due to this bug.
Yeah, only for me it's the other way round. I've set my Palm to overwrite Desktop so I can use the repetats and redos as intended. Not an optimal solution either...


PLEASE take the information Chapura passed on and try to make AN work with PocketMirror and Outlook - you'd have many grateful users.
I second that!

[adriano]

Hi,

we just received additional insights from Chapura on what the cause of this behaviour may be.

We are doing additional investigation and testing on AND in the effort to fix the issue.

- Adriano

[AndrewPalmer]

From Chapura -

We have looked into the record mismatch issue caused by using Redo or Repeat To Do's in Action Names 5.12 with PocketMirror.

Using the handheld program Insider, I have verified that the dirty bit is not being set correctly for the original record or the newly created record when checking "Complete" for a Redo or Repeat To Do in Action Names.

The dirty bit should be set for both records so PocketMirror can detect the change. Once this handheld problem is corrected, you will no longer receive record mismatches.

We hope your issue is resolved very soon.

I have sent a similar message to both Bob Beverly at iambic and
support@iambic.com.

Thank you,

Will Harrison
Software Quality Assurance Analyst
Chapura, Inc.

[AndrewPalmer]

I've been using AND 5.2a for the past couple of days and, as far as I can tell, the bug with repeating To Dos and Outlook has been fixed.

Hurrah!

A big thank you to everyone at Iambic (and Chapura) for fixing this. I know that I've pestered quite a few people since I first discovered the problem.

Thanks again.

Andrew

[ranbarton]

My efforts to break it so far, both with recurring and repating to dos, have so far passed muster with AN, Outlook, PocketMirror, and the native todoDB.

I've been afraid to say anything and jinx it, but sincere thanks to Chapura and Iambic for working together to fix this.

-Ran