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Outlook Replacement Suggestions

M

mrogersscf

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 22, 2012
31
0
I am going to make the transition from PC to Mac with the new Air/Pro's in a few months. In preparation...I could use some e-mail advice. We're looking for an e-mail client which could replace Outlook. Paying an extra $80 or so for Outlook seems a bit ambitious. Here are the parameters:

1. All e-mail accounts use POP clients.
2. I have three PST files (main file and two back ups). I need to be able to access the contents of these three PST files without hassle. Currently I have each file set up as a separate "Personal Folder" which is accessible at all times.
3. I don't need extensive folders within the Personal Folders (except to separate e-mail accounts), however the new e-mail client must have at least as strong search functions as Outlook.
4. Obviously the new client will need some sort of import function which will allow seamless importing of my current PST files.
5. New E-mail client doesn't have to be free, but I wouldn't mind it being cheaper and also integration with OSX is a plus.

Anyone have any suggestions? Should I go with Outlook instead of trying to find something on the cheap?
 
I don't see any reason you couldn't use Apple Mail. Maybe someone else will chime in.

However...I would get with the times and start using an exchange account or IMAP account for email. It will make your life much, much easier when accessing your email with all devices. It can sync every single folder, so moving from PC to PC to Phone etc. is seamless.
 
RE: POP Account

Unfortunately, I don't have much choice in the matter. Our provider only offers POP at this time and we aren't changing due to the difficulty of changing providers when you have offices all over the world.

Is the search function in Apple's mail as strong as Outlook?
 
If you want to use Apple OSX Mail but also want to connect to an (older) Exchange server you can use DavMail, works superb!

BTW DavMail is also handling all other Exchange functions like calendar (converting to iCal) and address book to the OSX Address Book...

The OSX Mail search function is way faster....
 
Last edited:
mrogersscf said:
Unfortunately, I don't have much choice in the matter. Our provider only offers POP at this time and we aren't changing due to the difficulty of changing providers when you have offices all over the world.

Is the search function in Apple's mail as strong as Outlook?
Click to expand...

Outlook for Mac is best avoided...I paid a premium but it's so full of bugs that fiddling with it drove me nuts in the end. I'm not a big fan of Applemail either so choose Thunderbird as my email client. Bolt ons as you wish include calendar etc. It's free, regularly updated, and works well.


http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/

Other solutions exist, but FWIW, T/Bird works well for me.
 
Seems like a good opportunity to switch to the best e-mail server + client: Gmail.

To import all e-mails from your POP accounts :
  1. Create a Gmail account.
  2. On your current PC, connect to your Gmail account via Outlook, on Google's IMAP server.
  3. Create folders* as needed, and copy your old e-mails into them.
That's it. From then on, you will never have to worry about switching OSes or e-mail clients. You can access your e-mails anywhere on gmail.com.

They even have an Exchange-compatible server (m.google.com) that pushes e-mails, contacts and calendars. On iPhones or iPads, I recommend you use the Exchange-compatible server as it supports push updates for e-mails.

EDIT: I forgot to mention: you can keep receiving e-mails on your old e-mail addresses (those POP accounts), and they will land in your Gmail account. See Gmail's Mail Fetcher.

* folders = IMAP folders. They appear as labels in the web-based Gmail client.
 
Last edited:
Snoeiman said:
If you want to use Apple OSX Mail but also want to connect to an (older) Exchange server you can use DavMail, works superb!

BTW DavMail is also handling all other Exchange functions like calendar (converting to iCal) and address book to the OSX Address Book...

The OSX Mail search function is way faster....
Click to expand...

This ! Davmail does miracles in every platform when it comes to exchange integration. And it is amazing that it does all these things with almost zero configuration. I'm using it in my work under Mac and Linux for corporate mail exchange server, that will not even let any other clients (it doesn't provide POP functionality) connect.
 
mrogersscf said:
1. All e-mail accounts use POP clients.
Click to expand...

There are a number of solutions that use POP - many offer trials so you can see what works best for you. I like Mail and use it for my GMail and Hotmail based mail; I also use Outlook for Exchange server mail simply because it's the most hassle free way I have to reliably get that mail.

2. I have three PST files (main file and two back ups). I need to be able to access the contents of these three PST files without hassle. Currently I have each file set up as a separate "Personal Folder" which is accessible at all times.
Click to expand...

PST files, as far as I know, are MS Outlook specific - so while you can convert them you won't keep them synched with an Exchange server.

3. I don't need extensive folders within the Personal Folders (except to separate e-mail accounts), however the new e-mail client must have at least as strong search functions as Outlook.
Click to expand...

Actually, OSX's search function is as good or better than outlooks - but I use a program called EasyFind because it allows rules based searches.

Mail does the usual find anything with the following and allows to search by address s well. Pretty basic.

4. Obviously the new client will need some sort of import function which will allow seamless importing of my current PST files.
Click to expand...

Good luck. there are programs that do that, I gave up because of the problems with lost attachments, busted addresses,etc.

5. New E-mail client doesn't have to be free, but I wouldn't mind it being cheaper and also integration with OSX is a plus.

Anyone have any suggestions? Should I go with Outlook instead of trying to find something on the cheap?
Click to expand...

Despite it's flaws, I've found Outlook to be the most robust client for Exchange server - and haven't really had any problems except it periodically decides to disconnect from the server with a bad password message - I reenter the (same) pw and it works fine again.
 
Thanks for the responses. I want to note - I am not using an Exchange server. I have three PST's:
1. Main PST
2. Recent Archive PST (last 12-24 months)
3. Older Archive PST (24 months+)

I have two e-mail accounts which download to two folders (using a simple rule in Outlook): A G-Mail personal account and my business account which is a POP client. Transitioning my business account to an IMAP solution (such as business Gmail) isn't an option for many reasons I'd rather not address here.

If I am moving away from Outlook, then my new option must involve some sort of export/import function where I can migrate all mail from the three PST files to my new solution.

Thanks for the help.
 
In Lion, the search in Apple Mail is fantastic and much, much better than what is available in Outlook on either Windows or Mac. I exported all my mail out of my pst folders on the windows machine into Thunderbird, I think, and then imported all those messages into Apple Mail. The structure of the PSTs remained and everything is accessible in Mail.

I really think Apple Mail is the best solution for what you have described after you export all the content from your PST files into a more standard email format. Unfortunately, I can't remember exactly what I used or how I exported the messages from the PST files.
 
jahala said:
In Lion, the search in Apple Mail is fantastic and much, much better than what is available in Outlook on either Windows or Mac. I exported all my mail out of my pst folders on the windows machine into Thunderbird, I think, and then imported all those messages into Apple Mail. The structure of the PSTs remained and everything is accessible in Mail.

I really think Apple Mail is the best solution for what you have described after you export all the content from your PST files into a more standard email format. Unfortunately, I can't remember exactly what I used or how I exported the messages from the PST files.
Click to expand...

What exactly is a "more standard email format" - ? I can search for the file extension conversion, but what extension does Apple Mail and something like Thunderbird use?
 
mrogersscf said:
What exactly is a "more standard email format" - ?
Click to expand...

A PST is a Microsoft Outlook proprietary format, so not standard as in being as universally acceptable (kind of like .docx versus .txt), the .docx has proprietary information imbedded within and needs the correct codecs to utilize fully where as .txt is easily transportable.
 
squeakr said:
A PST is a Microsoft Outlook proprietary format, so not standard as in being as universally acceptable (kind of like .docx versus .txt), the .docx has proprietary information imbedded within and needs the correct codecs to utilize fully where as .txt is easily transportable.
Click to expand...

I understand this...I mean specifically, what format is a more standard e-mail account format? What format can I convert my PST which is readable by Apple Mail or Thunderbird?
 
MBOX files are the open standard for email storage. If you can convert your PST to that, it'll open in pretty much any email program (and Quicklook can even give you some information about it).

jW
 
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