Here's the transcript of my "conversation" with MM support tonight. I'm so sick and tired of MM!!!!
Hi, my name is MichaelMill. Welcome to Apple!
MichaelMill: Hi JB. Thanks for contacting MobileMe chat support. I see that you are having trouble with Outlook mail syncing. Is that correct?
JB: Hi Michael, not exactly. Mail send/receive syncs ok. The problems are with deleteing and deleted mail.
MichaelMill: OK. So when you delete an e-mail in Outlook, you get a line across the e-mail in Outlook. But the message does not delete in MobileMe. Is that correct?
JB: I get the line across in outlook and when it syncs, the e-mail gets deleted in MobileMe, but it does not get moved to the trash folder. Let me go and do a test and make sure what I'm saying is correct... be right back!
MichaelMill: OK.
JB: Before I do the test, do you have access to my mailbox so we can see it together?
MichaelMill: Only if I log in here. No worries. I will check my resources while you are away.
JB: ok
MichaelMill: Thanks.
JB: OK. I looked in MM, the last e-mail was from "D Scurr" and started with "She alerts us to possible..." -- I deleted the e-mail in Outlook. All it happened was a line was put across the sender's name. The e-mail is still there. Then, I went to MM (which I have open in the browser). The e-mail was there, so I went to the drafts folder and back to the inbox to force a refresh. The e-mail was then gone. But, I checked the trash folder and the mail is not there.
MichaelMill: OK. One moment please.
JB: sure
MichaelMill: Thank you.
MichaelMill: JB are you using a Mac at this time?
JB: No, I am using Windows XP with Outlook 2007. If I access MM on the web I use Safari 3.0 for Windows
MichaelMill: OK. I am still checking my resources.
JB: ok
MichaelMill: Sorry for the delay.
JB: no problem. I'm here.
MichaelMill: Thank you Sir.
MichaelMill: OK JB. Thanks for your patience. I apologize for the inconvenience, but I cannot properly support Outlook to troubleshoot this issue fully. There are certain configuration issues when using Outlook with Mobile. The issue is likely due to some advanced setting in Outlook. I would suggest contacting Microsoft Support for help with this.
MichaelMill: Important: Mention of third-party websites and products is for informational purposes only and constitutes neither an endorsement nor a recommendation. Apple assumes no responsibility with regard to the selection, performance or use of information or products found at third-party websites. Apple provides this only as a convenience to our users. Apple has not tested the information found on these sites and makes no representations regarding its accuracy or reliability. There are risks inherent in the use of any information or products found on the Internet, and Apple assumes no responsibility in this regard. Please understand that a third-party site is independent from Apple and that Apple has no control over the content on that website.
JB: This is not a "third party website" -- Outlook is FULLY SUPPORTED by MM. It's all over MM's support documents. In addition, all Windows machines have the "mobile me control panel" which automatically connects to Outlook. I am sorry to disagree with you, but you are incorrect.
JB: The problem is not with Outlook. Outlook works fine, the problem is with MobileMe
JB: The problem is how MM is handling deleteing e-mails.
MichaelMill: I apologize. Outlook is not in my support bounderies. I know it's been an inconvenience and I'm sorry.
JB: How do I get a transcript of this conversation?
MichaelMill: What you can try to isolate the issue is deleting a message from the MobileMe inbox to see if you get the same action.
MichaelMill: To copy your chat, click before the first word in the chat and drag your cursor to the bottom of the chat. Then copy and paste the text into a TextEdit, Pages, or Word document.
JB: Go see this link: http://www.apple.com/mobileme/setup/pc/outlook2007.html
JB: If Outlook was not supported, this link would not exist!!!!
JB: Can you connect me with a supervisor?
MichaelMill: JB, what I am saying is although the use of Outlook is available with MobileMe, I cannot provide support for Outlook itself.
MichaelMill: Please try to delete a message from the MobileMe site to try and duplicate the issue.
JB: Can you connect me to a supervisor?
MichaelMill: Sure, I can do that. But were you able to delete a message in the MobileMe inbox?
JB: Please connect me with a supervisor.
MichaelMill: JB, please try to delete a message from MobileMe itself. I will contact a Specialist while you do so.
JB: I am not discussing this matter with you any longer. I will wait until you connect me.
MichaelMill: I'll be right with you.
MichaelMill: Thank you for waiting. I'll be with you in just a moment.
MichaelMill: One moment please. I am reviewing your issue now.
MichaelMill: OK. One moment please.
Please wait while I transfer the chat to Jessie.
Hi, my name is Jessie. Welcome to Apple!
Jessie: Hello JB, I see you've been discussing some trouble in Outlook with Michael. Give me one moment to get up to speed with the chat and we'll see what is going on here.
JB: sure
Jessie: I'm sorry for the delay. I'll be right with you.
Jessie: Ok, when Michael let you know that he couldn't support Outlook fully, it seems that there really just was a misunderstanding. You can of course use Outlook with MobileMe, however, the feature of Outlook you are having difficulty with is inherent to the handling procedures for deleted IMAP messages in Outlook, rather than a MobileMe specific setting. Here at MobileMe support, we do assist with MobileMe related issues in Outlook, but you are seeing the strike through rather than your message moving straight to the trash folder in Outlook because Outlook was designed to handle IMAP messages that way, because of server synchronization issues with IMAP accounts. You can go to the Edit menu and select "Purge deleted messages" to clear those messages out of Outlook.
Jessie: This Microsoft KBase article may assist you further with this issue if you are using Outlook 2007:
Jessie: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/HP100804201033.aspx?pid=CH100622151033
Jessie: There are instructions down at the bottom there for automatically purging messages.
JB: The problem is not with purging the messages. When I delete an e-mail, naturally, I want that e-mail to go into the deleted messages folder so I may access it in the next 30 days should I need to. Rigth now, when I delete the e-mail, it just dissapears. It does not get moved to the deleted messages folder
Jessie: Ok, so the messages show with the strike-through when you delete, them, then when they are purged, they are not moved to the deleted folder, correct? The settings at me.com/mail for deleted messages aren't going to affect the handling of deleted messages in Outlook, so this is going to be caused by a setting in the application itself, give me just one moment to see if I can locate the appropriate setting for you.
JB: The MS KB article talks about purging messages (which I am familiar with). Again, that is not the problem. The problem is synchronization with the cloud. If i do something on my local machine, it should sync properly with the cloud. It is not.
JB: To answer your question, yes, correct. The messages are not moved to the deleted folder.
Jessie: Are messages you delete at me.com/mail being stored in the deleted folder properly?
JB: yes
JB: but i don't manage mm from me.com. i manage it from outlook
Jessie: Then its an Outlook setting which needs to be adjusted.
Jessie: just one moment please.
Jessie: When you purge your messages, are they moving to a deleted messages folder at all in Outlook?
JB: No, they just get the strike through. Let me close outlook and restart it and see what happens.
Jessie: Ok, they will get the strike through, I mean after the messages are purged, do they move to a deleted messages folder at all?
JB: The strike through e-mail is still there. Let me purge the message and see what happens. Now, the e-mail is showing with the strike through in outlook, but it's already gone from me.com. And, there is no record of it in me.com (not in the inbox neither the trash folder)
Jessie: Outlook is removing these deleted items from the server, and either saving them in a local deleted folder, or removing them entriely, that is why they are no longer on the server to display at me.com. To be quite honest, this is one department where Microsoft support is much more qualified than MobileMe support to assist you with configuring Outlook correctly. While you can use your MobileMe account in Outlook, and we do our best to assist customers with issues with Outlook, issues not specific to the MobileMe account itself, but rather to Outlook's protocols for handling IMAP accounts, are best directed to Microsoft support.
JB: The purged messages get "permanently deleted" they no longer appear anywhere. Niether in the deleted messages in the me.com folder in outlook or in the deleted messages in the personal folder in outlook
JB: So, here's an IMAP question. Why does the deleted messages folder appears as "Trash" in me.com and as "Deleted Messages" in outlook. If it's a real IMAP folder being downloaded/synced from the cloud/server, it should be called exactly the same, shouldn't it?
Jessie: Outlook handles those folders based on its protocols for handling IMAP messages. IMAP is not Outlook's default protocol, and I am unable to locate any advanced settings for IMAP folders in the Outlook account settings pane. In this case, when the issue you are experiencing appears to be due to a lack of IMAP functionality in Outlook, rather than MobileMe, and you need further assistance configuring Outlook, Microsoft support really will be best able to assist you.
JB: ok thank you
Hi, my name is MichaelMill. Welcome to Apple!
MichaelMill: Hi JB. Thanks for contacting MobileMe chat support. I see that you are having trouble with Outlook mail syncing. Is that correct?
JB: Hi Michael, not exactly. Mail send/receive syncs ok. The problems are with deleteing and deleted mail.
MichaelMill: OK. So when you delete an e-mail in Outlook, you get a line across the e-mail in Outlook. But the message does not delete in MobileMe. Is that correct?
JB: I get the line across in outlook and when it syncs, the e-mail gets deleted in MobileMe, but it does not get moved to the trash folder. Let me go and do a test and make sure what I'm saying is correct... be right back!
MichaelMill: OK.
JB: Before I do the test, do you have access to my mailbox so we can see it together?
MichaelMill: Only if I log in here. No worries. I will check my resources while you are away.
JB: ok
MichaelMill: Thanks.
JB: OK. I looked in MM, the last e-mail was from "D Scurr" and started with "She alerts us to possible..." -- I deleted the e-mail in Outlook. All it happened was a line was put across the sender's name. The e-mail is still there. Then, I went to MM (which I have open in the browser). The e-mail was there, so I went to the drafts folder and back to the inbox to force a refresh. The e-mail was then gone. But, I checked the trash folder and the mail is not there.
MichaelMill: OK. One moment please.
JB: sure
MichaelMill: Thank you.
MichaelMill: JB are you using a Mac at this time?
JB: No, I am using Windows XP with Outlook 2007. If I access MM on the web I use Safari 3.0 for Windows
MichaelMill: OK. I am still checking my resources.
JB: ok
MichaelMill: Sorry for the delay.
JB: no problem. I'm here.
MichaelMill: Thank you Sir.
MichaelMill: OK JB. Thanks for your patience. I apologize for the inconvenience, but I cannot properly support Outlook to troubleshoot this issue fully. There are certain configuration issues when using Outlook with Mobile. The issue is likely due to some advanced setting in Outlook. I would suggest contacting Microsoft Support for help with this.
MichaelMill: Important: Mention of third-party websites and products is for informational purposes only and constitutes neither an endorsement nor a recommendation. Apple assumes no responsibility with regard to the selection, performance or use of information or products found at third-party websites. Apple provides this only as a convenience to our users. Apple has not tested the information found on these sites and makes no representations regarding its accuracy or reliability. There are risks inherent in the use of any information or products found on the Internet, and Apple assumes no responsibility in this regard. Please understand that a third-party site is independent from Apple and that Apple has no control over the content on that website.
JB: This is not a "third party website" -- Outlook is FULLY SUPPORTED by MM. It's all over MM's support documents. In addition, all Windows machines have the "mobile me control panel" which automatically connects to Outlook. I am sorry to disagree with you, but you are incorrect.
JB: The problem is not with Outlook. Outlook works fine, the problem is with MobileMe
JB: The problem is how MM is handling deleteing e-mails.
MichaelMill: I apologize. Outlook is not in my support bounderies. I know it's been an inconvenience and I'm sorry.
JB: How do I get a transcript of this conversation?
MichaelMill: What you can try to isolate the issue is deleting a message from the MobileMe inbox to see if you get the same action.
MichaelMill: To copy your chat, click before the first word in the chat and drag your cursor to the bottom of the chat. Then copy and paste the text into a TextEdit, Pages, or Word document.
JB: Go see this link: http://www.apple.com/mobileme/setup/pc/outlook2007.html
JB: If Outlook was not supported, this link would not exist!!!!
JB: Can you connect me with a supervisor?
MichaelMill: JB, what I am saying is although the use of Outlook is available with MobileMe, I cannot provide support for Outlook itself.
MichaelMill: Please try to delete a message from the MobileMe site to try and duplicate the issue.
JB: Can you connect me to a supervisor?
MichaelMill: Sure, I can do that. But were you able to delete a message in the MobileMe inbox?
JB: Please connect me with a supervisor.
MichaelMill: JB, please try to delete a message from MobileMe itself. I will contact a Specialist while you do so.
JB: I am not discussing this matter with you any longer. I will wait until you connect me.
MichaelMill: I'll be right with you.
MichaelMill: Thank you for waiting. I'll be with you in just a moment.
MichaelMill: One moment please. I am reviewing your issue now.
MichaelMill: OK. One moment please.
Please wait while I transfer the chat to Jessie.
Hi, my name is Jessie. Welcome to Apple!
Jessie: Hello JB, I see you've been discussing some trouble in Outlook with Michael. Give me one moment to get up to speed with the chat and we'll see what is going on here.
JB: sure
Jessie: I'm sorry for the delay. I'll be right with you.
Jessie: Ok, when Michael let you know that he couldn't support Outlook fully, it seems that there really just was a misunderstanding. You can of course use Outlook with MobileMe, however, the feature of Outlook you are having difficulty with is inherent to the handling procedures for deleted IMAP messages in Outlook, rather than a MobileMe specific setting. Here at MobileMe support, we do assist with MobileMe related issues in Outlook, but you are seeing the strike through rather than your message moving straight to the trash folder in Outlook because Outlook was designed to handle IMAP messages that way, because of server synchronization issues with IMAP accounts. You can go to the Edit menu and select "Purge deleted messages" to clear those messages out of Outlook.
Jessie: This Microsoft KBase article may assist you further with this issue if you are using Outlook 2007:
Jessie: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/HP100804201033.aspx?pid=CH100622151033
Jessie: There are instructions down at the bottom there for automatically purging messages.
JB: The problem is not with purging the messages. When I delete an e-mail, naturally, I want that e-mail to go into the deleted messages folder so I may access it in the next 30 days should I need to. Rigth now, when I delete the e-mail, it just dissapears. It does not get moved to the deleted messages folder
Jessie: Ok, so the messages show with the strike-through when you delete, them, then when they are purged, they are not moved to the deleted folder, correct? The settings at me.com/mail for deleted messages aren't going to affect the handling of deleted messages in Outlook, so this is going to be caused by a setting in the application itself, give me just one moment to see if I can locate the appropriate setting for you.
JB: The MS KB article talks about purging messages (which I am familiar with). Again, that is not the problem. The problem is synchronization with the cloud. If i do something on my local machine, it should sync properly with the cloud. It is not.
JB: To answer your question, yes, correct. The messages are not moved to the deleted folder.
Jessie: Are messages you delete at me.com/mail being stored in the deleted folder properly?
JB: yes
JB: but i don't manage mm from me.com. i manage it from outlook
Jessie: Then its an Outlook setting which needs to be adjusted.
Jessie: just one moment please.
Jessie: When you purge your messages, are they moving to a deleted messages folder at all in Outlook?
JB: No, they just get the strike through. Let me close outlook and restart it and see what happens.
Jessie: Ok, they will get the strike through, I mean after the messages are purged, do they move to a deleted messages folder at all?
JB: The strike through e-mail is still there. Let me purge the message and see what happens. Now, the e-mail is showing with the strike through in outlook, but it's already gone from me.com. And, there is no record of it in me.com (not in the inbox neither the trash folder)
Jessie: Outlook is removing these deleted items from the server, and either saving them in a local deleted folder, or removing them entriely, that is why they are no longer on the server to display at me.com. To be quite honest, this is one department where Microsoft support is much more qualified than MobileMe support to assist you with configuring Outlook correctly. While you can use your MobileMe account in Outlook, and we do our best to assist customers with issues with Outlook, issues not specific to the MobileMe account itself, but rather to Outlook's protocols for handling IMAP accounts, are best directed to Microsoft support.
JB: The purged messages get "permanently deleted" they no longer appear anywhere. Niether in the deleted messages in the me.com folder in outlook or in the deleted messages in the personal folder in outlook
JB: So, here's an IMAP question. Why does the deleted messages folder appears as "Trash" in me.com and as "Deleted Messages" in outlook. If it's a real IMAP folder being downloaded/synced from the cloud/server, it should be called exactly the same, shouldn't it?
Jessie: Outlook handles those folders based on its protocols for handling IMAP messages. IMAP is not Outlook's default protocol, and I am unable to locate any advanced settings for IMAP folders in the Outlook account settings pane. In this case, when the issue you are experiencing appears to be due to a lack of IMAP functionality in Outlook, rather than MobileMe, and you need further assistance configuring Outlook, Microsoft support really will be best able to assist you.
JB: ok thank you