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With a BlackBerry, how do I reconcile my email, calendar, and other data?

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With a BlackBerry, reconciling keeps the location and status of items like messages or calendar appointments consistent between your BlackBerry and Exchange mailbox (i.e., your Outlook Inbox). For example, if you read a message with your BlackBerry device, and later open Outlook, you will see that the message won't be marked as read until you reconcile your email. In this document, "reconcile" and "synchronize" are used interchangeably, though Research In Motion (RIM), BlackBerry's developer, generally uses the word "reconcile" for email and "synchronize" for all other types of data.

Note: If you run the BlackBerry Desktop software on a computer connected to the Internet via an outside ISP, you need to establish a VPN connection for the software to connect to the BlackBerry Enterprise Server. (This applies only to the Desktop Manager and not the Blackberry Web Desktop Manager. No VPN connection is needed for the Web Desktop Manager.) Since the default software installation option places a shortcut in your Startup folder, you may wish to remove that shortcut to keep Desktop Manager from trying to launch before you can establish a VPN connection (for instructions, see In Windows, how can I prevent a program from starting automatically?). Once you have a VPN connection, you can launch the BlackBerry Desktop software from the Start menu.

Cradle vs wireless reconciliation

The table below shows how each kind of BlackBerry data can be reconciled.

Type of data Cradle Wireless
Calendar X X
Email moves, deletes, and read states X X
New email delivery X
Address Book, Tasks, MemoPad X X

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Wireless calendar reconciliation

Setup

  • To enable wireless calendar synchronization, you need the following:

    • Administrative rights for the computer on which you have installed BlackBerry Desktop Manager (If not, you will get the error "path does not exist".)
    • An account on the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES)
    • At least version 2.1.2 of the BlackBerry Desktop Manager software

  • UITS recommends you do a cradle synchronization of your BlackBerry device before you enable wireless calendar synchronization, because your desktop calendar overwrites your device calendar upon initial wireless synchronization.

  • Back up your device calendar before proceeding; for BlackBerry Desktop Manager software 4.0 and later, see With a BlackBerry, how do I back up and restore data?

  • When you update your handheld with new applications, you may need to re-enable wireless calendar synchronization.

Synchronization (Desktop Manager 4.2.2 and later)

  1. Cradle your device. If you have a password enabled, enter it so your device will connect to the desktop.

  2. You should back up your messages before proceeding; see With a BlackBerry, how do I back up and restore data?

  3. Open BlackBerry Desktop Manager. Click Synchronize.

  4. In the left pane, click Configuration > Synchronization. Click Synchronization.

  5. Select the checkbox next to an organizer application (e.g., Calendar). Click Setup.

  6. In the available applications list, click the organizer application (e.g., Outlook) on your computer, and click Next.

  7. Select the synchronization options. Click Next, and then Finish.

    To set up organizer data synchronization for another application, repeat steps 4 to 7 above.

Synchronization (Desktop Manager 4.2.1 and earlier)

  1. Cradle your device. If you have a password enabled, enter it so your device will connect to the desktop.

  2. You should back up your messages before proceeding; see With a BlackBerry, how do I back up and restore data?

  3. Open BlackBerry Desktop Manager and double-click Intellisync. Click Configure PIM....

  4. In the Handheld Configuration dialog box, select Calendar, and then click Choose....

  5. In the Choose Translator dialog box, select BlackBerry Wireless Sync.

  6. In the "Operation" section, you can choose one of three operations:

    • Synchronize is selected as the default operation. This operation keeps your handheld and desktop calendars synchronized over the wireless network, so each can make changes to the other.
    • If you change the operation to Import, only changes that you make on your desktop calendar are imported to your handheld calendar over the wireless network.
    • If you change the operation to Export, only changes that you make on your handheld calendar are exported to your desktop calendar over the wireless network.

  7. Click OK twice to close the dialog boxes.

  8. In the "Synchronize Now" section of the Intellisync dialog box, make sure the Synchronize PIM checkbox is selected. (To reduce the time required for synchronization, you can deselect both the Reconcile email and the Update handheld's date and time checkboxes, if you don't require those features.)

  9. Click Synchronize now. You will be prompted to erase all items on your device calendar. Click OK.

Your device and desktop calendars will now synchronize wirelessly. As long as the Calendar checkbox is selected in the Handheld Configuration window, wireless calendar synchronization is enabled. If you deselect the checkbox or select a different translator, wireless calendar synchronization will be disabled. If you change an existing appointment or add a new appointment in your desktop calendar, and you have wireless calendar synchronization enabled, you will not receive notification of the update on your handheld. Check your handheld's calendar regularly to see any updates.

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Cradle calendar synchronization

Desktop Manager 4.2.2 and later

  1. Cradle your device. If you have a password enabled, enter it so your device will connect to the desktop.

  2. You should back up your data before proceeding; see With a BlackBerry, how do I back up and restore data?

  3. Open BlackBerry Desktop Manager. Click Synchronize.

  4. Select the checkbox next to Synchronize organizer data, and then click Synchronize.

Desktop Manager 4.2.1 and earlier

The calendar synchronizes through the cradle by default. To view or change these settings:

  1. Cradle your device. If you have a password enabled, enter it so your device will connect to the desktop.

  2. You should back up your messages before proceeding; see With a BlackBerry, how do I back up and restore data?

  3. In the BlackBerry Desktop Manager, double-click Intellisync.

  4. Click Configure PIM....

  5. Ensure that the Calendar selection is checked. Click that item to select it, and then click the Choose... button on the right.

  6. In the "Available Translators:" list, select MS Outlook. Under "Operation" near the bottom, ensure that Synchronize is selected.

  7. Click OK, then OK again.

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Email reconciliation

  • Because the delivery of mail to your BlackBerry occurs only over the wireless network, cradle synchronization might be different from what you would expect, if you are used to synchronizing a Palm or Pocket PC device. During the cradle synchronization, if Reconcile email is selected, BlackBerry reconciles only message moves, deletions, and read states; new messages are never delivered via the cradle.

  • By default, BlackBerry Desktop Manager is configured to not deliver messages over the wireless network while the device is cradled. To change this behavior, in the BlackBerry Desktop Manager, open Redirector Settings and deselect Disable email redirection to handheld while in cradle.

  • BlackBerry Desktop Manager will never attempt to reconcile messages that were in your Exchange Inbox before you got your BES account. If you want to have these messages on your device, you will have to forward them to yourself.

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Wireless email reconciliation

Newer devices

To change the settings for wireless message synchronization:

  1. On your device, open the Messages screen.

  2. From the menu, choose Options, and then select Email Reconciliation.

  3. Select Wireless Reconcile. Click the trackwheel and select On to activate wireless reconciliation, or Off to deactivate.

  4. To customize deletion behavior:

    • Scroll up one line to "Delete On:" and click to open a menu. Select Change Option, and:

      • To have deletions in your Exchange mailbox affect your handheld and vice versa, select Mailbox & Handheld.
      • To have deletions in your Exchange mailbox affect your handheld but not vice versa, select Handheld.
      • To have your device ask if you want to delete an item from your Exchange mailbox whenever you delete that item from your BlackBerry, select Prompt.

    • Scroll down to "On Conflicts" and click to open a menu. Select Change Option, and:

      • If you want the BlackBerry to delete or add items to match what you see in Outlook if a conflict occurs between the two, select Mailbox Wins.
      • If you want Outlook to delete or add items to match what you see on the BlackBerry if a conflict occurs between the two, select Handheld Wins.

Older devices

To set up your device to reconcile email wirelessly:

  1. You should back up your messages before proceeding; see With a BlackBerry, how do I back up and restore data?

  2. On your device, on the Home screen, select Messages.

  3. On the Messages screen, click the trackwheel and, from the menu, select Options.

  4. If you see the option, choose Email Reconciliation (that should appear on BlackBerry models 6750 and 7100). Otherwise, at the bottom of the Message List Options screen (the Email Reconciliation screen on 7100 models), on the "Wireless Reconcile" line, click Off to open a menu. If On appears instead of Off, skip the next step. Wireless reconciliation is already enabled.

  5. From the menu, select Change Option, and then scroll and select On.

  6. Now you can customize the deletion behavior:

    1. Scroll up one line to "Delete On:" and click to open a menu. Select Change Option, and:

      • To have deletions in your Exchange mailbox affect your handheld and vice versa, select Mailbox & Handheld.
      • To have deletions in your Exchange mailbox affect your handheld but not vice versa, select Handheld.
      • To have your device ask if you want to delete an item from your Exchange mailbox whenever you delete that item from your BlackBerry, select Prompt.

    2. Scroll down to "Conflicts" and click to open a menu. Select Change Option, and:

      • If you want the BlackBerry to delete or add items to match what you see in Outlook if a conflict occurs between the two, select Mailbox Wins.
      • If you want Outlook to delete or add items to match what you see on the BlackBerry if a conflict occurs between the two, select Handheld Wins.

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Cradle email reconciliation

To set up your BlackBerry to reconcile email moves, deletes, and read states when cradled:

Desktop Manager 4.2.2 and later

  1. Cradle your device. If you have a password enabled, enter it so your device will connect to the desktop.

  2. Open BlackBerry Desktop Manager. Click Synchronize.

  3. Select the checkbox next to Reconcile messages. Click Synchronize.

  4. In the Synchronize dialog box, click Configuration > Reconciliation.

  5. In the Folder data synchronization section, select a conflict resolution option:

    • To have the state of your Exchange mailbox copied to your handheld, without the handheld affecting the Exchange mailbox, select Import moves and deletes to handheld only.
    • To have the Exchange mailbox and handheld versions affect each other, select Synchronize moved and deleted. Select which version should overwrite the other if you have made changes to both versions. Choose Computer wins if you want the Exchange mailbox to overwrite the BlackBerry, or Device wins if you want the BlackBerry to overwrite the Exchange mailbox.

Desktop Manager 4.2.1 and earlier

To set up your BlackBerry to reconcile email moves, deletes, and read states when cradled:

  1. Cradle your device. If you have a password enabled, enter it so your device will connect to the desktop.

  2. You should back up your data before proceeding; see With a BlackBerry, how do I back up and restore data?

  3. In the BlackBerry Desktop Manager, double-click Intellisync.

  4. In the "Synchronize now" section of the Intellisync window, click to select the Reconcile email checkbox.

  5. Click Configure email....

  6. In the Email Configuration dialog box, you can configure how the handheld and Exchange mailbox will affect each other when reconciling:

    • To have the state of your Exchange mailbox copied to your handheld, without the handheld affecting the Exchange mailbox, select Import moves and deletes to handheld only.
    • To have the Exchange mailbox and handheld versions affect each other, select Synchronize moves and deletes. Select which version should overwrite the other if you have made changes to both versions. Choose Desktop wins if you want the Exchange mailbox to overwrite the BlackBerry, or Handheld wins if you want the BlackBerry to overwrite the Exchange mailbox.

  7. Click OK, and then click Synchronize now.

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Wireless Address Book synchronization

With the implementation of BES 4.0, the ability to synchronize your Address Book is automatically activated. You should upgrade the BlackBerry handheld software to the latest version supported. BES 4.0 will automatically copy the new saved contact from your BlackBerry to your Outlook Contacts and vice versa.

To change the settings for wireless Address Book synchronization:

  1. On the BlackBerry handheld, open the Address Book screen.

  2. From the menu, choose Options, and then select Wireless Synchronization.

  3. Click the trackwheel and choose Change Option. Use the trackwheel to select Yes (to activate wireless reconciliation) or No (to deactivate).

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Wireless task synchronization

With the implementation of BES 4.0, the ability to synchronize your Tasks wirelessly is automatically activated.

To change the settings for wireless Task synchronization:

  1. On the BlackBerry handheld, open the Tasks screen.

  2. From the menu, choose Options, and then select Wireless Synchronization.

  3. Click the trackwheel and choose Change Option. Use the trackwheel to select Yes (to activate wireless reconciliation) or No (to deactivate).

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Wireless MemoPad synchronization

With the implementation of BES 4.0, the ability to synchronize your MemoPad wirelessly is automatically activated.

To change the settings for wireless MemoPad synchronization:

  1. On the BlackBerry handheld, open the MemoPad screen.

  2. From the menu, choose Options, and then select Wireless Synchronization.

  3. Click the trackwheel and choose Change Option. Use the trackwheel to select Yes (to activate wireless reconciliation) or No (to deactivate).

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