Connect to a shared Business Contact Manager database

You can connect to a Business Contact Manager database that has been shared if you have been granted access by the database owner. The shared database can be on the same computer (local) or on a different computer (remote).

If you have been granted access and you connect to the shared database, you can view and update records and communication history items, create new records, and move records to and from the Deleted Items folder.

This article describes how to connect to a shared Business Contact Manager for Outlook database that is on your local computer or a remote computer.

Connect to a shared local or remote database

To connect to a shared database that is on the same computer as the one you are using, you must be granted access to the database, and you must complete the Business Contact Manager Startup wizard for your Outlook profile.

If the shared database is on a different computer, you must be granted access to the database, you must have Business Contact Manager for Outlook installed on your computer, and you must complete the Business Contact Manager Startup wizard for your Outlook profile. See the following procedures for information about how to complete the Startup wizard or switch to using a shared database.

For more information about profiles, see Introduction to Outlook e-mail profiles.

To access a shared database, do one of the following:

Tip:  The database owner should give you the name of the database, and, if applicable, the name of the remote computer where the database is stored.

If you are using Business Contact Manager for Outlook for the first time, use the Startup wizard to connect to the shared database

1. In the Startup wizard, click Custom.

2. Do one of the following:

   • If the database is on the same computer:    

     1. Click Connect to a Local Database.

     2. In the list, select the database.

     3. Click Connect.

     4. Click Finish.

   • If the database is on a different computer:    

     1. Click Connect to a Remote Database.

     2. Under Type the name of another computer to connect to a database on that computer, type the name of the computer on which the shared database is located.
        

        Note:  If you do not know the computer name or the database name, contact the person who created the database for this information.

     3. Click Connect.

     4. In the list, select the database.

     5. Click Connect.
        

        Note:  If your computer is part of a workgroup, the database owner must give you a temporary password. You will be prompted to change it. The password cannot be blank.

     6. Click one of the following options:

        • If you want to create a local copy of the database to use in case the remote database is unavailable, click Yes, create an offline copy of the database.

        • If you want to use Business Contact Manager for Outlook only when the remote database is available, click No, thanks.

          Note: If you create a local (offline) copy of the shared database and you make changes to any information, the changes are synchronized when your copy is reconnected to the shared database. For more information about working offline and synchronizing your local database with the remote database, see Work offline in Business Contact Manager.

     7. Click Finish.

If you have already installed Business Contact Manager for Outlook, follow these instructions to connect to the shared database

1. Click the File tab.

2. Click the Business Contact Manager tab.

3. Click the Manage Databases button, and then click Create or Select a Database.

4. Do one of the following:

5. If the database is on the same computer:    

   1. Click Connect to a Local Database.

   2. In the list, select the database.

   3. Click Connect.

6. If the database is on a different computer:    

   1. Click Connect to a Remote Database.

   2. Under Type the name of another computer to connect to a database on that computer, type the name of the computer on which the shared database is located.
      

      Note:  If you do not know the computer name or the database name, contact the person who created the database for this information.

   3. Click Connect.

   4. In the list, select the database.

   5. Click Connect.
      

      Note:  If your computer is part of a workgroup, the database owner must give you a temporary password. You will be prompted to change it. The password cannot be blank.

   6. Click one of the following options:

      • If you want to create a local copy of the database to use in case the remote database is unavailable, click Yes, create an offline copy of the database.

      • If you want to use Business Contact Manager for Outlook only when the remote database is available, click No, thanks.

        Note:  If you create a local (offline) copy of the shared database and you make changes to any information, the changes are synchronized when your copy is reconnected to the shared database. For more information about working offline and synchronizing your local database with the remote database, see Work offline in Business Contact Manager.

Note:  More than one person can simultaneously edit the same record in a shared database, because it is not locked. If a record is simultaneously edited by more than one person, the latest-saved changes will overwrite earlier changes.

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