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Cozi Outlook Toolbar (Beta) Self-Help Center

Common issues

Getting Started with the Cozi Outlook Toolbar

Installing the Cozi Outlook Toolbar

Syncing Cozi and Outlook

Additional information

 

Getting Started with the Cozi Outlook Toolbar 

Will the Cozi Outlook Toolbar work with my version of Outlook?

The Cozi Outlook Toolbar (Beta) works only with Microsoft Outlook 2010 (32-bit version only), Outlook 2007, or Outlook 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2). To confirm you have one of these versions of Outlook:

1. Open Microsoft Outlook.
2. Click Help, and then click About Microsoft Office Outlook.
3. Confirm that the first line of text refers to either Microsoft Office Outlook 2010 (32-bit version only), Microsoft Office Outlook 2007, or Microsoft Office Outlook 2003.

The Cozi Outlook Toolbar does not yet support the 64-bit version of Outlook 2010. We plan to add support for this version in the future, but we don't have a time line for when this would be added. You can use the Cozi Outlook Toolbar with the 64-bit version of Windows, provided you are using the 32-bit version of Outlook 2010.

 

Will the Cozi Outlook Toolbar work with my Outlook calendar?

The Cozi Outlook Toolbar currently works with Outlook calendars where the first day of the week is Sunday. The Cozi Outlook Toolbar is not supported with Outlook calendars where the first day of the week is a day other than Sunday (most calendars outside the U.S. and Canada). If your calendar starts on a day other than Sunday, the Cozi Outlook Toolbar will cause appointments to appear on the wrong day and/or to be deleted.

 

Will the Cozi Outlook Toolbar work on the Mac?

No, the Cozi Outlook Toolbar is not supported on the Mac.

 

Which Cozi appointments will show up in Outlook?

In general, the appointments from Cozi that should sync to your Outlook calendar are any that include you as an attendee. The exception is any data that was created outside of Cozi and imported via an iCal. That data won't sync to Outlook, even if it includes you as an attendee. Detailed information can be found in the help topic Cozi to Outlook Sync.

 

Which Outlook appointments will show up in Cozi?

Detailed information can be found in the help topic How Outlook appointments work in Cozi.

 

Can my husband and I both sync our Outlook calendars to our Cozi account?

Yes! You and your spouse or partner can each sync one Outlook calendar to your shared Cozi account. In order for one person's appointments to be synced to another person's Outlook calendar, that person must be added as an attendee.

Note: Using the Cozi Outlook Toolbar to sync more than two Outlook calendars to the same Cozi account is an untested configuration.

 

I use multiple Outlook calendars. Can I sync both to my Cozi account?

It is not possible to sync more than one Outlook calendar to the same family member in Cozi (e.g. a personal Outlook calendar and a business Outlook calendar for the same person). Doing so may cause data deletion as each Outlook calendar overwrites the data in the other.

 

I want to switch from tracking my family member’s appointments in Outlook to Cozi. What do I need to do?

When you sync your Outlook calendar to Cozi for the first time, it will associate all your Outlook appointments with the one Cozi attendee that you specify in the setup wizard. If you want Cozi to able to differentiate between appointments from different family members, you will want to add the other family members as attendees of the relevant appointments in Cozi. Important: don't remove the attendee being synced to Outlook from these appointments, or they will disappear from Outlook.

 

How can I see my kids' appointments?

Sometimes there are appointments you may not be attending but still want to know about. Any time you want to see an appointment in Outlook, you can add yourself as an attendee to it in Cozi:
1. Open Cozi, and on the home page, click anywhere on the Calendar.
2. Click the appointment to open it, and then click the checkbox next to your name.

The next time you sync, the appointment will show up in Outlook.

With the release of Beta 3 of the Cozi Outlook Toolbar, you can now sync appointments for other family members.

 

Installing the Cozi Outlook Toolbar 

What do I need to do before I install the Cozi Outlook Toolbar?

To use the Cozi Outlook Toolbar, you must first have a Cozi account and download the Cozi Outlook Toolbar. In addition, we recommend you back up your Outlook appointments before installing the Cozi Outlook Toolbar and syncing for the first time. Finally, you can review tips on installing the Cozi Outlook Toolbar before you install.

 

How do I back up my Outlook appointments before installing?

The Cozi Outlook Toolbar is in beta testing. If you haven't already, we recommend that you back up your Outlook appointments before installing the Cozi Outlook Toolbar and syncing for the first time.

 

How do I install the Cozi Outlook Toolbar?

Detailed information can be found in the help topic Cozi Outlook Toolbar download (Beta 3).

 

My toolbar won’t fully install. What do I do?

It is possible that there are conflicts that are causing the Cozi Outlook Toolbar not to install fully. If you've followed the steps to Cozi Outlook Toolbar download (Beta 3) install the Cozi Outlook Toolbar, and it won't fully install, you may have a configuration or environment conflict preventing installation. Unfortunately, it's not always possible to identify the causes of these installation problems.

 

I’ve installed the toolbar, but I am not seeing it

We know of a few reasons why this might happen.

  • It can sometimes be hard to see the Cozi Outlook Toolbar in the Outlook 2010 add-ins. Please follow these steps to get your toolbar to appear, or to re-enable it, in Outlook 2010.
  • The Cozi Outlook Toolbar depends on Microsoft components which are installed with the toolbar. Sometimes these components are uninstalled when cleaning up a computer. The components needed for the toolbar are called: VSTO (Visual Studio Tools for Outlook) and PIA (Primary Interop Assemblies). Please verify that the components are installed on your computer. Simply reinstalling the toolbar will not correct this issue. You will need to uninstall the toolbar and then install the Cozi Outlook toolbar and all components again. To do this:
    1. In Add/Remove programs, uninstall "Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office Second Edition Runtime".
    2. In Add/Remove programs, uninstall the program called "Microsoft Outlook Primary Interop Assemblies". (It might be called Microsoft Outlook 2003 Primary Interop Assemblies or Microsoft Outlook 2007 Primary Interop Assemblies, even if you are using Outlook 2010).
    3. Reinstall the Cozi Outlook Toolbar. This will cause the two other programs above to be reinstalled automatically.
  • If you have recently upgraded from Outlook 2003 to Outlook 2007, you will need to reinstall the toolbar. The toolbar is not compatible with Microsoft Active Sync used with Outlook 2003. Please uninstall Microsoft Active Sync or upgrade to Outlook 2007.

If none of these situations applies to you, please follow these steps. If these steps don't resolve the issue, it's possible that there are other conflicts that are causing the toolbar not to install fully. Unfortunately, it's not always possible to identify the causes of these installation problems.

 

How do I display the Cozi Outlook Toolbar in Outlook 2010?

In Outlook 2010, the Cozi Outlook Toolbar appears on a tab on the Outlook Ribbon called Add-Ins. If it does not appear on this tab, please try the following:

1. In Outlook, select the File menu, and then select Options in the left pane under Help.
2. Select Customize Ribbon in the left pane.
3. In the Customize the Ribbon area on the right side, select Main Tabs.
4. In the Main Tabs area, make sure the Add-Ins check box is selected.

The Cozi Outlook Toolbar should now appear in the Add-Ins section of the Outlook Ribbon. If the toolbar is still not appearing, please follow these steps.

 

I’ve added all my family members to my Cozi account, but am not seeing them in the Setup wizard

The Settings wizard in the Cozi Outlook Toolbar automatically includes the family members in your Cozi account that are listed at the time of the first sync. If you add family members to your Cozi account after that time, you will need to follow additional steps so the wizard recognizes these new family members.

If you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7:

1. Close Outlook.
2. Open the Start menu, and in the box type "C:\ProgramData\".
3. Browse to C:\ProgramData\Cozi\Cozi Central\Vault\Settings\ by opening the relevant folders by opening the relevant folders. 4. Delete the file in this directory, which should start with the word "Household".
5. Close this folder.
6. Open the Start menu, and in the box type "C:\Users\".
7. Browse to C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Cozi\Cozi Central\Vault\Settings\, where is the name of the user who has installed the Cozi Outlook Toolbar.
8. Delete the file called OutlookSyncSettings.xml.
9. Close this folder.
10. Start Outlook.
11. In the Cozi Outlook Toolbar, click settings, and reselect the family members you want to sync.

If you are using Windows XP:

1. Close Outlook.
2. Open Windows Explorer or the My Computer folder and navigate to "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\".
3. Browse to "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Cozi\Cozi Central\Vault\Settings\" by opening the relevant folders.
4. Delete the file in this directory, which should start with the word "Household".
5. Close this folder.
6. Open the Start menu, and in the box type "C:\Documents and Settings\".
7. Browse to C:\Documents and Settings\\Application Data\Cozi\Cozi Central\Vault\Settings\, where is the name of the user who has installed the Cozi Outlook Toolbar.
8. Delete the file called OutlookSyncSettings.xml.
9. Close this folder.
10. Start Outlook.
11. In the Cozi Outlook Toolbar, click settings, and reselect the family members you want to sync.

 

Syncing Cozi and Outlook

Can I sync from multiple computers?

We recommend you select one computer to sync your account to, per attendee. For example, Mom can sync to Cozi from her work computer as long as Mom is the selected attendee, and Dad can sync to Cozi from his work computer as long as Dad is the selected attendee. However, we do not recommend you sync the same Outlook/Exchange account on multiple computers at the same time.

We do not recommend using the Cozi Outlook Toolbar on computers with different versions of Outlook installed to sync to the same Cozi account. If you use more than one computer with different versions of Outlook installed, we recommend you install and use the Cozi Outlook Toolbar on one computer. For example, if your home computer has Outlook 2010 (32-bit version only) installed and your work computer has Outlook 2007 installed, we recommend installing and using the Cozi Outlook Toolbar on either your home or work computer, but not both.

 

I'm syncing for the first time. It seems to be taking a long time. Is this normal?

Your very first sync may take a few minutes, depending on how many appointments are on your calendar. If you're watching your Outlook calendar during the process, you may see some appointments "flicker" as everything shuffles into the right slot. This is perfectly normal, and it will only last a few seconds. Subsequent syncs should be much faster.

 

Is there anything I should do after the first sync?

We've worked hard to make Outlook integration work for you. However, to protect users' privacy and preferences, there are some things Cozi does not change. But you can! We recommend you do the following:

 

None of my appointments are syncing. What could be causing this?

In general, the appointments from Cozi that should sync to your Outlook calendar are any that include you as an attendee. The exception is any data that was created outside of Cozi and imported via an iCal. That data won't sync to Outlook, even if it includes you as an attendee.

As far as appointments in Outlook that should sync to your Cozi account, they would include any appointments that include you as an attendee, and are designated to sync by the settings you've selected. To see your current setting, click Settings on the Outlook Toolbar, and then click Which Appointments. There are three choices:

  • If you chose "Appointments outside my usual work hours," only those appointments that fall outside your normal work hours (so your family can see, for example, that you have a late meeting or business trip coming up) will show up in Cozi.
  • If you chose "All appointments," all your Outlook appointments will appear in Cozi.
  • If you chose "Only the appointments I pick," only the appointments you've chosen to manually sync will show up in Cozi.

Cozi puts all the appointments in Outlook that will be synced into the "Family" category.

If you're still experiencing issues, the Cozi Outlook Toolbar may not syncing properly because Outlook is in vault mode, instead of cached mode. Especially with a large volume of appointments to sync, it's necessary to run Outlook in cached mode.

To change your settings to use the Cached Mode, please follow these steps if you're using Outlook 2010:

1. On the File tab, under "Account Information", click Account Settings, and then choose Account Settings.
2. Highlight your Exchange server account, and then click Change.
3. Under Microsoft Exchange Server, select Cached Exchange Mode. Click Next, and then click OK.
4. Click Finish.
5. After this change is made, please restart Outlook and attempt the Outlook sync process again.

To change your settings to use the Cached Mode, please follow these steps if you're using Outlook 2007:
1. On the Tools menu, click Account Settings.
2. On the E-mail tab, select the Exchange server.
3. Click Change.
5. Select the Use Cached Exchange Mode option, and complete the wizard.
6. After this change is made, please restart Outlook and attempt the Outlook sync process again.

To change your settings to use the Cached Mode, please follow these steps if you're using Outlook 2003:
1. On the Tools menu, click E-mail Accounts.
3. Select "View or change existing e-mail accounts."
4. Select the Exchange server.
5. Click Change.
5. Select the Use Cached Exchange Mode option, and complete the wizard.
6. After this change is made, please restart Outlook and attempt the Outlook sync process again.

 

I'm seeing duplicate appointments in Outlook. How do I fix that?

You might be seeing duplicate appointments because you created the same appointment in Cozi and Outlook before you synced.

To ensure that you don't continue receiving duplicates or that you don't permanently remove the appointment from both calendars, you need to delete the "right" duplicate appointment:
1. Be sure you have customized Outlook to show "Family" appointments in color.
2. Open your Outlook calendar so you can see duplicate appointments side by side.
3. Select the appointment that is not in the Family category (the Family appointment will appear in the color you selected in Step 1), and then click the Delete button on the Standard toolbar in Outlook.

 

Why are everyone's Outlook appointments showing up on my calendar in Cozi?

If you were tracking all family activities in Outlook and synced with Cozi, all appointments were put onto your tab, regardless of who they were assigned to in Outlook. You may want to go through Cozi and add your kids' names or spouse's name, as necessary. However, if you want to keep seeing these appointments in your copy of Outlook, you should keep your name attached to them in Cozi.

 

Whenever I try to sync other family members' appointments, only one person’s appointments are displayed. How do I see other family members' appointments?

Currently, the Cozi Outlook Toolbar is designed to sync only one family member's appointments to a single Outlook calendar. With the release of Beta 3 of the Cozi Outlook Toolbar, you can now sync appointments for other family members. If you do not want to upgrade to Beta 3, you could add yourself as an attendee to other family members' appointments in Cozi in order for them to sync to your Outlook calendar.

 

My family appointments in Outlook only show up on my calendar? How do I get them to display on each family member's calendar in Cozi?

If you were tracking all family activities in Outlook and synced with Cozi, all appointments were put onto your view of the calendar. You may want to go through Cozi and add your kids' names or spouse's name, as necessary. However, if you want to keep seeing these appointments on your Outlook calendar, you should keep your name attached to them in Cozi.

1. Open Cozi, and on the home page, click anywhere on the Calendar.

2. Click the appointment to open it, and click the check boxes next to family members' names to add or remove them from the appointment.

 

How do I create categories manually?

If you are using Outlook 2010 or Outlook 2007, click the appointment, click Categorize on the Toolbar, and then click Family. If you don't see the Family category in the dropdown list, click All Categories, and then click New to add the Family category manually.

If you are using Outlook 2003, open the appointment and type the word Family in the Categories field (bottom right corner).

 

Some of my appointments have disappeared. How do I stop that from happening?

There are several reasons why appointments may disappear:

  • You are syncing more than one Outlook calendar for a specific family member. Each family member can only sync one Outlook calendar to Cozi. Syncing more than one Outlook calendar per person can result in data deletion from one or more of your calendars, as one calendar overwrites the other in subsequent syncs.
  • You are syncing Outlook with another calendar program. Outlook should only be synced with one program at a time or unexpected results can occur.
  • You have been removed as an attendee from the appointment after the sync. You must be included as an attendee on the appointment in order for it to be synced. If you are removed from an appointment, the appointment will be deleted from Cozi or Outlook or both.

 

Syncing used to work, but has stopped. How to I get syncing working again?

Syncing may stop working for the following reasons:

  • A recently added appointment contains data causing a sync error
  • You are syncing to other calendars, such as a phone calendar or a Google calendar, and some of the data from the external calendar contains data that cannot be interpreted correctly
  • You recently installed new software on your machine that is causing a conflict
  • Some other change in your configuration or environment is causing a conflict

Review recently added appointments, installed software, and recent configuration and environment changes to determine the source of the conflict.

 

What do the log errors after syncing mean?

If you receive errors when syncing, you can first try to delete the appointment causing the error. The most common types of appointments that cause errors are those created outside of Outlook, and imported to Outlook and are then not being properly interpreted by the Cozi Outlook Toolbar.

If you see a "Cache disconnected" error in the logs, it is possible that Outlook is set to vault mode instead of cached mode. If you're able to adjust the server settings, it's possible that the sync could proceed. It's also possible that adjusting the toolbar settings to manual sync mode could provide a better outcome, since only appointments that you choose would be synced.

If you continue to receive errors, there is likely a conflict with your configuration or environment that is responsible for the log errors after syncing Outlook to Cozi. Unfortunately, there are some errors we can't account for. Our technical team continues to investigate unresolved errors. We are developing an update to the Beta 2 version of the Cozi Outlook Toolbar, and hope that it will work better for you.

 

Additional information

Where can I find additional information about the Cozi Outlook Toolbar?

For more information about the Cozi Outlook Toolbar, go to the Cozi Outlook Toolbar help overview.

 

I'm getting an error that says Cozi cannot connect to Outlook. What do I do?

This error message can be caused if Outlook is offline at the time of the sync, or if there is a firewall in place that is blocking communication between Outlook and Cozi. In order for the Cozi Outlook Toolbar to function properly, access to the following ports must be allowed:

  • https://xml.cozi.com:80
  • https://xml.cozi.com:443

Check to make sure that you're online and have access to these ports.

 

Why aren't exceptions to recurring appointments behaving as I expect?

There are three scenarios that we know about. These problems can be resolved by syncing again or by closing and restarting Outlook; several synchronizations may be required before the problems are completely resolved.

1. If you create a recurring appointment with an exception in Outlook and then delete the series from Cozi, the series and the exception will be removed from Outlook. However, the exception will stay in Cozi until a subsequent synchronization.

2. If you create a recurring appointment in Outlook or Cozi and create and then delete an exception in Outlook, the exception will not be deleted from Cozi.

3. If you create a recurring appointment in Cozi and then modify one appointment in the series, the changes that you make to the series may not be applied to the exception in Outlook.

 

I’ve tried everything and am still having problems. Now what?

We're sorry you're still having issues with the Cozi Outlook Toolbar. Unfortunately, if you've followed all of the steps outlined above, there is likely a conflict with your configuration or environment that is preventing the Cozi Outlook Toolbar from functioning properly. While the Cozi Outlook Toolbar works for most users, given the diverse configurations and environments possible on individual computers, it's not always possible to resolve all installation or syncing problems. However, we have developed an update to the Beta 2 version of the Cozi Outlook Toolbar that could work better for you. It is available now.

 

How do I uninstall the Cozi Outlook Toolbar?

If you need to uninstall the Cozi Outlook Toolbar, use Add/Remove Programs in your Windows Control Panel.