I’ve used Outlook for many years, starting with Outlook 98, I think. Usually I copy the old Outlook files to a new machine, or upgrade over an existing version, but this time I was starting fresh.

In the past, I’ve had one or more folders for each client, plus dozens of other folders for website related emails, personal correspondence, newsgroup follow-up, and anything else I could think of.

The Simple System

This time, I’m keeping it simple. In addition to the built in folders that Outlook has, I’ve only created 3 folders for my mail:

1. _ Followup
2. _Business
3. _Personal

The underscores keep my folders above the other Outlook folders, so they’re easy to find. So far, it’s working well. I don’t have to think about filing, or wonder which subfolder I stored an email in. To find something in the Business folder, I can sort by name, or date, or use the filter or search tools.

Your Outlook System

How about you? Is your Outlook folder system simple, or complex?

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I closed it, and tried to open it again, making sure that I hadn’t accidentally selected the Read Only option.

A Google search turned up some dire warnings that this could be a sign of corruption, so I created a new database, imported everything, and all seemed well.

So, I renamed the old version, and gave the the new version the same name as the previous one, so my shortcuts and connections would work. And the problem was back.

I looked for errant ldb files, that were mistakenly telling the database someone else had it open. There was nothing.

Then it dawned on me — connections. I had an Excel file open that queried the database, so maybe that was the problem. I closed it, re-opened the database, and it worked fine. If I tried to open the database when the Excel file was open, the database was read only.

Fix the Connection

Well, I don’t have the two files open simultaneously too often, but I wanted to have that option available. So, I checked the connection strings for the queries and found that they included this setting:

Mode=Share Deny Write

I changed the setting to

Mode=Read

and the files now live in harmony (so far).

Where Are the Connection Strings?

To find the connection strings in Excel 2007:

1. Click the Data tab on the Ribbon, and then click Connections.
2. On the Workbook Connections dialog box, click a connection name in the list
3. Click the Properties button, to open the Connection Properties dialog box.
4. Click the Definition tab, and edit the Connection String. The strings that I edited were for Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0 — the Mode setting might not appear in other types of connections.

Why Share This?

This information is probably of no interest to you, unless you landed here in a Google search for “You won’t be able to save changes made to data or object definitions in this database”. But, one day in the future, I might encounter this error again, and maybe I’ll find my own solution when I do a Google search.

Don’t laugh — it’s happened to me before!

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• complains about things not being closed properly
• usually crashes the first time I try to print a message
• crashed when I tried to select a couple of messages (it’s challenging to delete a message when you can’t click on it!)
• very slow opening and closing

Probably the Outlook file was getting pretty big, so I deleted a bunch of messages, and compacted the Personal Folder. The Outlook.pst file was reduced to about half its previous size, but some of the problems persist.

How To Delete an Outlook Subfolder

Today I wanted to delete a subfolder that I don’t need, and even though the folder is empty, an Outlook showed a message said the folder was full, and couldn’t be deleted. Or maybe I didn’t have the correct permissions, and should check with the Administrator. Well, I’m the Administrator, and have permission to do whatever I want!

Google showed me how to get rid of that folder though.

• Press the Ctrl key while opening Outlook, and confirm that you want to open in Safe mode.
• Then, while you’re in Safe mode, select the folder and delete it.

If you’ve run into a similar problem, I hope this works for you too.

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The only solution to the stuck email seemed to be copying its contents to another message, deleting the original, and sending the new message. Who has time for all that, especially when a client is waiting?

Stay Away From the Outbox

After unsent Outlook messages happened to me a few times, I finally figured out that the problem occurred if I clicked on the Outbox folder, before the message was sent.

So, I try to avoid clicking on the Outbox folder, but I accidentally click on it now and then.

Advice From the Experts

An Outlook message got stuck in the Outbox again today, so I Googled to see if anyone else had the same problem, and had posted a solution. The Google search turned up a page on the Slipstick site, owned by Outlook expert, Diane Poremsky – Email Won’t Send – Common Causes.

Her advice? Stop looking in the Outbox. Well, that’s the recommended quick fix. There’s also a longer article on the problem: After viewing the Outbox, the messages in it won’t send.

Apparently some add-ins mark the outbound messages as Read, if you peek in the Outbox, and that prevents them from being sent. Maybe I have one or more of the add-ins that are in that long list.

Okay, I’ll Stop

Anyway, it’s reassuring to know that other people have the unsent Outlook messages problem, and I can avoid it by staying out of the Outbox.

Next time I accidentally hit the Outbox (oh, I will), I’ll try marking the message as Unread, to see if that will fix the problem, and let me send it.

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