Manually Backing Up Locked-down Outlook 2003 SP3

Question

My work has a terrible implementation of NTLogins, Profiles and Outlook 2003 Service Pack 3.

Everyday I have to change move and chose all kinds of stuff. I did some digging and found where some of the settings in outlook are stored.

I have created a batch file that I run every day to open my default programs, associate a printer and load some of my Outlook settings. The ones I have found locations for are as follows.

• Toolbar Arrangement
• AutoComplete list
• Rules
• Signatures

What I need to find is some or all of the location to backup settings (or where they are stored) for the following.

• Default Selected Fonts
• Default Selected Signature (my script just loads them, it doesn't select)
• Window size/position
• Status Bar (visible or not)
• Default Reminder length in calendar
• Message compose options (Mail Format Tab in options)
• "Always spell check before sending"
• "Empty the deleted Items folder upon exiting"
• Options>Other>General>Advanced Options> Startup in this folder:
• Whether I want to participate in the user feedback thingy (prompts me everyday)

Any/All help appreciated

Answer 1

The article Outlook 2003 configurations and file locations contains an enormous list of places where Outlook 2003 settings are stored (except mail settings).

Mail settings are stored in the registry at:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Common\MailSettings
However, as some (but not all) settings are in binary, the most one can do is export and re-import these problematic settings. They don't seem to be encoded, so it might be possible to study their structure.

You can also use the Save My Settings Wizard to save and restore almost all Outlook settings. As it is a GUI program, to have it run automatically you might need to automate its startup with AutoHotkey or another macro program.

In any case, the above article also includes a complete list of the registry keys that are saved, which can point you in the right direction even if you decide not to use the wizard.