Synchronising eGroupWare and Microsoft Outlook

There are multiple products to archive synchronisation with Outlook.

Product	Protocol	Status				Notes
eGWOSync	XMLRPC					Free client
Sync4j	SyncML					Free clients
Synthesis	SyncML					Comercial client
cUnnector	XMLRPC					(outdated, may not be working)

 

eGWOsync

eGWOSync is a sync tool for syncronizing data between eGroupware and Microsoft Outlook. eGWOSync currently syncs. eGWOsync is a GPL free product written in VB.

• Calendar
• AddressBook (Contacts)
• Notes
• Todo

You can find current information on the project and download the software at Espen's eGWOSync page

It supports Outlook 2002 under Win XP.

Review

The interface of eGWOSync looks great and is well organized and easy to use. It does require the outdated Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 but seems to be fairly stable despite the developers warning that the program could destroy your outlook and egroupware install. Minor bugs have been reported which is to be expected given that the program works but is still in beta.

According to Esben "eGWOSync will not be included in the eGroupware package because its not for the server, but a client "plugin". It can be downloaded from the official sf.net site though."

He also adds "The status should probably be changed to beta as you say (it was a v0.1 and v0.2 disclaimer), I will do that in the next release and ease up the warning a little. :-)"

Installation

A manual is available here in word and pdf formats. It covers downloading, installing, using and debugging eGWOSync.

1. Download and install the Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1
2. Download and install the eGWOSync installer
3. Configure settings
4. Sync Away!

Common Problems

I'm unable to login!?

First verify that the path to your eGroupWare installation is correct and that you are using the correct username and password. If these are all correct check to make sure that the xmlrpc service is enabled in the Admin panel under Security. The default setting is No. As a final step check your firewall settings on your computer and your router.

Sync4j

Sync4j is a (java based?) client to sync eGroupWare and Microsoft Outlook. It is using SyncML protocol and currently supports the following:

• Calendar
• Contacts
• Tasks
• Notes (will not work properly - not yet implemented?)

This documentation is based on Sync4j version 3.0 beta4.