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Writable Contact Lists With Outlook and LDAP?

Posted by Cliff on from the hacking-in-the-write-perms dept.

Snafoo asks: "Ximian Evolution allows users to set up LDAP-based shared contact lists, to which multiple users can read and write. However, my company uses MS Outlook 2002, which doesn't support writing to LDAP directories. Currently, we use a kludgy PHP front-end to the LDAP directory for entering new addresses. Short of buying Exchange, is there anything we can do to share write-enabled contact lists with LDAP and Outlook?"

3 of 39 comments (clear)

  1. Write a plugin for Outlook by Kj0n · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Can't you write a plugin for Outlook that synchronizes the local address book (or a subfolder of it) with the LDAP directory?

    Disadvantage: the contacts are also present in the address book of Outlook.

    Advantage: the contacts are always available, even when the LDAP directory is not accessible (interesting for travelling users).

  2. Hard lessons by walt-sjc · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Yeah, I admit that this is somewhat of a flamebait, (but so was the original /. question) but that's the problem with closed source and a abusive monopoly. If MS had been forced to open all API's and file formats like some of us were hoping, you wouldn't be having this problem.

    For some strange reason, people think that Outlook is a stand-alone product. This is somewhat true, but you (like the poster found out) lose most of the compelling features if you fail to use Exchange. Look mom! I have a shirt with no pants!

    Some people will probably point out that you may be able to use OpenMail or Insight Server (Insight Connector?), but these are also expensive products that don't fully integrate with Outlook either. If you are going to go high-end commercial, you might as well go with exchange (but put the damn thing behind a firewall / UNIX mail relay server fer christs sakes.)

    Of course typing "shared outlook contact lists" in google comes up with a page with lots of info on the subject, but I didn't see anything that exactly matched the poster's requirements. Lot's of kludgy stuff, mostly commercial, all trying to make the closed source pile of crap a little more usable.

  3. Re:seems obvious, but... by TubeSteak · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Snafoo didn't specify how large his company is. do you really want to rollout a new app to 30-50-100+ people? If its possible to find a short term solution, then Snafoo could slowly change everybody over to Evolution. Arbitrarily changing to a new mail client (even with compatibility tests) is going to make waves and reduce efficiency. There are very few sacred things in the corporate world, and e-mail has become one of them.

    People use MS products because they're already there and they mostly work. if is this is Good/Bad... that's up to you

    --
    [Fuck Beta]
    o0t!