Instructions
1. From Outlook, open your macro editor. (Either press alt-F11 or select Tools, Macro, Visual Basic Editor.)
2. In the macro editor window, select Insert, Module. This will create a text editor window into which you can paste the macro.
3. In the text editor window, paste in the code below. (I recommend you review the code to be sure it’s doing what you want.)
4. You can run the code by placing your cursor anywhere in the code window between the “Sub” and “End Sub” statements and pressing F5. Optionally, you can close the Visual Basic window, then select Tools, Macro, Macros…, and “Run” RemoveDuplicateNotes.

Here is the code for the macro. Hopefully, it is useful to someone. Please let me know if you have any problems so I can correct make an effort to correct the macro.

IMPORTANT A regular copy/paste should work correctly. However, you may experience issues with line breaks that prevent the macro from working. If this is the case, the Outlook VB editor will make it abundantly clear what lines are invalid, so it should be pretty easy to fix rogue line wrapping.

':::::::::::::::::: Macro Begins Here; Copy this line and everything below
Sub RemoveDuplicateNotes()
    Dim olApp As Outlook.Application
    Dim olNote1 As Outlook.NoteItem
    Dim olNote2 As Outlook.NoteItem
    Dim olItems As Outlook.Items
    Dim olNS As Outlook.NameSpace

    Set olApp = New Outlook.Application
    Set olNS = olApp.GetNamespace("MAPI")
    Set olItems = olNS.GetDefaultFolder(olFolderNotes).Items
    olItems.Sort ("Subject")
    Dim DeleteCount As Integer
    Dim z As Integer
    DeleteCount = 0

    For z = olItems.Count To 2 Step -1
        Set olNote1 = olItems.Item(z)
        Set olNote2 = olItems.Item(z - 1)
        DoEvents
        If InStr(1, olNote1.Subject, "Pay Attention") Then
            Debug.Print olNote1.Subject
            Debug.Print "Create Time: " & olNote1.CreationTime
            Debug.Print "Mod time:  " & olNote1.LastModificationTime
        End If
        If olNote1.Body = olNote2.Body Then
            olNote1.Delete
            Debug.Print "Note item " & Left(olNote2.Subject, 25) & "..." & " deleted"
            DeleteCount = DeleteCount + 1
        End If
    Next
    MsgBox DeleteCount & " duplicate Outlook Notes have been removed"
End Sub

':::::::::::::::::: Macro Ends Here

* This macro was developed using Outlook 2003. It works very well for me, but I make no guarantee it will work for you. Please review the code before running to be sure it doesn’t perform some task you are not expecting. Also, I strongly recommend backing up your Outlook data (usually a PST file) before running the macro.

Please leave feedback letting me know whether or not it works for you. If you have problems with it, please let me know that as well.

The following Outlook macro (and instructions) will assist you in removing duplicate contacts. This macro will not merge contacts if they are slightly different, but it simply checks contact records to determine if the names, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and mailing addresses match. If so, it removes one of them. If the key fields match, but the mailing or business address is different, you will be alerted of the discrepancy, and both records will be retained.

It is important to remember that this macro does not compare notes or other (less significant) fields. (At some point, I would like to update the macro to merge contact records if I ever get enough time.)

Instructions
1. From Outlook, open your macro editor. (Either press alt-F11 or select Tools, Macro, Visual Basic Editor.)
2. In the macro editor window, select Insert, Module. This will create a text editor window into which you can paste the macro.
3. In the text editor window, paste in the code below. (I recommend you review the code to be sure it’s doing what you want.)
4. You can run the code by placing your cursor anywhere in the code window between the “Sub” and “End Sub” statements and pressing F5. Optionally, you can close the Visual Basic window, then select Tools, Macro, Macros…, and “Run” RemoveDuplicateContacts.

Here is the code for the macro. Hopefully, it is useful to someone. Please let me know if you have any problems so I can correct make an effort to correct the macro.

IMPORTANT A regular copy/paste should work correctly. However, you may experience issues with line breaks that prevent the macro from working. If this is the case, the Outlook VB editor will make it abundantly clear what lines are invalid, so it should be pretty easy to fix rogue line wrapping.

':::::::::::::::::: Macro Begins Here; Copy this line and everything below
Sub RemoveDuplicateContacts()
    Dim StatusMessage As String
    Dim olApp As Outlook.Application
    Dim olContact1 As Outlook.ContactItem
    Dim olContact2 As Outlook.ContactItem
    Dim olItems As Outlook.Items
    Dim olNS As Outlook.NameSpace

    Set olApp = New Outlook.Application
    Set olNS = olApp.GetNamespace("MAPI")
    Set olItems = olNS.GetDefaultFolder(olFolderContacts).Items
    olItems.Sort ("File As")
    Dim DeleteCount As Integer
    Dim z As Integer
    DeleteCount = 0
    StatusMessage = ""
    For z = olItems.Count To 2 Step -1
        On Error GoTo GroupFound:
ContinueAfterGroup:
        Set olContact1 = olItems.Item(z)
        Set olContact2 = olItems.Item(z - 1)
        On Error GoTo Error1:
        DoEvents
        ' Check key fields to make sure this is a duplicate
        ' Compare first and last names, home phone, mobile phone, and
        ' all 3 e-mail addresses to make sure nothing gets overlooked.
        ' Assume all other fields are the same or unimportant
        If olContact1.FileAs = olContact2.FileAs _
            And olContact1.FirstName = olContact2.FirstName _
            And olContact1.LastName = olContact2.LastName _
            And olContact1.Email1Address = olContact2.Email1Address _
            And olContact1.Email2Address = olContact2.Email2Address _
            And olContact1.Email3Address = olContact2.Email2Address _
            And olContact1.HomeTelephoneNumber = olContact2.HomeTelephoneNumber _
            And olContact1.MobileTelephoneNumber = olContact2.MobileTelephoneNumber _
          Then
            'Determine whether or not addresses exist
            If olContact1.MailingAddress = olContact2.MailingAddress _
                And olContact1.BusinessAddress = olContact2.BusinessAddress Then
                olContact1.Delete
                StatusMessage = StatusMessage & "Contact item " & olContact2.FileAs & _
                    " deleted" & vbCrLf & vbCrLf
                Debug.Print "Contact item " & olContact2.FileAs & " deleted"
                DeleteCount = DeleteCount + 1
            Else
                StatusMessage = StatusMessage & "Mailing addresses are not the same for contacts " & _
                    olContact1.FileAs & "." & vbCrLf & _
                    "Contact not deleted. You may want to manually update " & _
                    "the contact information." & vbCrLf & vbCrLf
                Debug.Print "Mailing addresses are not the same for contacts " & _
                    olContact1.FileAs & ".  Please investigate."
            End If
        End If
    Next
    MsgBox DeleteCount & " duplicate Outlook Contacts have been removed" & _
        vbCrLf & vbCrLf & StatusMessage
    Exit Sub
GroupFound:
    z = z - 1
    Resume ContinueAfterGroup:
Error1:
    MsgBox "Whoops!  Something went horribly wrong (but your contacts are just fine)!"
End Sub
':::::::::::::::::: Macro Ends Here

* This macro was developed using Outlook 2003. It works very well for me, but I make no guarantee it will work for you. Please review the code before running to be sure it doesn’t perform some task you are not expecting. Also, I strongly recommend backing up your Outlook data (usually a PST file) before running the macro.

Please leave feedback letting me know whether or not it works for you. If you have problems with it, please let me know that as well.

The following Outlook macro (and instructions) will assist you in removing duplicate events. This macro will not merge events if they are slightly different, but it simply checks to see if two events are EXACTLY the same, and it removes one of them.

Instructions
1. From Outlook, open your macro editor. (Either press alt-F11 or select Tools, Macro, Visual Basic Editor.)
2. In the macro editor window, select Insert, Module. This will create a text editor window into which you can paste the macro.
3. In the text editor window, paste in the code below. (I recommend you review the code to be sure it's doing what you want.)
4. You can run the code by placing your cursor anywhere in the code window between the "Sub" and "End Sub" statements and pressing F5. Optionally, you can close the Visual Basic window, then select Tools, Macro, Macros..., and "Run" RemoveDuplicateEvents.

The last section of the macro removes all items from your Deleted Items folder. I discovered this is important, because events in my Deleted Items folder "mysteriously" kept re-duplicating. Once I cleaned out the folder, my sync'ing was successful.

Here is the code for the macro. Hopefully, it is useful to someone. Please let me know if you have any problems so I can correct make an effort to correct the macro.

IMPORTANT A regular copy/paste should work correctly. However, you may experience issues with line breaks that prevent the macro from working. If this is the case, the Outlook VB editor will make it abundantly clear what lines are invalid, so it should be pretty easy to fix rogue line wrapping.

':::::::::::::::::: Macro Begins Here; Copy this line and everything below
Sub RemoveDuplicateEvents()
    Dim olApp As Outlook.Application
    Dim olAppointment1 As Outlook.AppointmentItem
    Dim olAppointment2 As Outlook.AppointmentItem
    Dim olItems As Outlook.Items
    Dim olDeletedItems As Outlook.Items
    Dim olNS As Outlook.NameSpace
    Dim SkipConfirmation As Boolean

    Set olApp = New Outlook.Application
    Set olNS = olApp.GetNamespace("MAPI")
    Set olItems = olNS.GetDefaultFolder(olFolderCalendar).Items
    Set olDeletedItems = olNS.GetDefaultFolder(olFolderDeletedItems).Items

    olItems.Sort ("Subject")
    olItems.Sort ("Start")
    Dim DeleteCount As Integer
    Dim z As Integer
    Dim FreeBusyStatus As Boolean
    DeleteCount = 0

    FreeBusyStatus = MsgBox("Do you want to set the status for all-day events to 'Free'?", vbYesNo, "Set Free Busy Status") = vbYes
    If FreeBusyStatus Then
        SkipConfirmation = Not MsgBox("Do you want to be prompted to set free times for all-day events?", vbYesNo, "Skip Confirmation?") = vbYes
    End If

    For z = olItems.Count To 2 Step -1

             Set olAppointment1 = olItems.Item(z)
             Set olAppointment2 = olItems.Item(z - 1)
             Debug.Print olAppointment1.Subject & vbCrLf & olAppointment2.Subject
             DoEvents

             With olAppointment1
                 If .Subject = olAppointment2.Subject And _
                         .Start = olAppointment2.Start Then
                     .Delete
                     Debug.Print "Calendar item " & Left(olAppointment2.Subject, 25) & "..." & " deleted"
                     DeleteCount = DeleteCount + 1
                 End If
             End With
             With olAppointment2
                 If .AllDayEvent And .BusyStatus <> olFree And FreeBusyStatus Then
                     If Not SkipConfirmation Then
                         If MsgBox("Do you want to set """ & .Subject & """ as free time?", vbYesNo, "Confirm Status Change") = vbYes Then
                             .BusyStatus = olFree
                             .Save
                             Debug.Print .Subject & " updated!"
                         End If
                     Else
                         .BusyStatus = olFree
                         .Save
                         Debug.Print .Subject & " updated!"
                     End If
                 End If
             End With
    Next
    If MsgBox(DeleteCount & " duplicate Outlook calendar items have been removed." & _
        vbCrLf & "Do you want to clear your deleted items folder?" & vbCrLf & _
        "(This must be done to prevent re-syncing 'deleted' entries)", vbYesNo, "Confirm Deleted Items Removal") = vbYes Then
        ' Clear deleted items folder
        For z = olDeletedItems.Count To 1 Step -1
            olDeletedItems.Item(z).Delete
            DoEvents
        Next
    End If
    MsgBox "Cleanup Complete!", vbOKOnly, "End of Processing"

End Sub

':::::::::::::::::: Macro Ends Here

* This macro was developed using Outlook 2003. It works very well for me, but I make no guarantee it will work for you. Please review the code before running to be sure it doesn't perform some task you are not expecting. Also, I strongly recommend backing up your Outlook data (usually a PST file) before running the macro.

Please leave feedback letting me know whether or not it works for you. If you have problems with it, please let me know that as well.

This post will explain how to set up a print configuration to allow you to print from and to anywhere on the Internet. You may ask, why would I want to print somewhere if I wasn't physically there? Here's why: If you have a need to be on a computer remotely (using services such as LogMeIn.com or many others), you may want to print from the remote machine to your local printer.

Internet Printer Configuration
These instructions here are fairly generic, because they may vary depending on your Internet Service Provider, router, print server, and operating system. It would be impossible to encompass all possible scenarios. Therefore, some level of expertise is required to set this up. If you know what dynamic IP addresses are and how to configure a router, you should have no problem setting up a printer over the Internet following these instructions. You must have a network-enabled printer (whether direct or using a print server) for these instructions to be of use. We will not cover setting up a network printer in this post.

Before continuing, be sure to evaluate all your options. It may be easier, quicker, more practical and more secure if you use a program like PDFCreator instead of trying to print remotely. PDFCreator allows you to “print” to a PDF file, and you can distribute or print it later. In addition, saving your document to a PDF file can potentially decrease paper usage. If you are interested in trying PDFCreator, you can download it for free from SourceForge.net. Note—not all programs that call themselves “PDFCreator” are free. To be sure to get the most recent version of the correct program, be sure to download it from SourceForge.net.

If you still want to set up remote printing, continue with the following steps.

Router/DNS Setup

Dynamic DNS

To begin, you will need to set up a dynamic DNS service to automatically point to your IP address regardless whether or not your ISP changes your WAN address. I recommend DynDNS.com for this service. It is free and appears to work very well. This posting does not go into detail on how to subscribe and configure DynDNS, because they may change their process or you may choose to use a different service.

If you use DynDNS.com, one recommendation I have is to use a dynamic DNS resolution software client. Although it is probably more convenient to use your router to automatically check and update your dynamic DNS settings, the software client provided by the dynamic DNS service will probably be much more reliable and consistent. If you have a static WAN IP address, the dynamic DNS will not be necessary.

Router
Log in to your router administration setup using whatever method is appropriate for your router. You should see a section labeled DMZ, Port Filters, Servers, or something like that. You will need to go to this section to tell your router to accept certain in-coming ports and route them to a specific internal IP address (which probably starts with 192.168...).

Make an entry in the port listing for port 631. This is the port that will be used by your remote printing connections. Direct port 631 to the IP address of your print server (a dedicated print server is recommended, because you don't want to print remotely and “hope” a print server PC is on).

Verify that the new port rule is “active,” and save your settings. Your router should now accept and route print jobs correctly.

Workstation Setup

1. Log onto the workstation from which you wish to print.
2. Install the printer driver for the printer. You should be able to download the latest driver for any modern printer from the manufacturer's web site.
3. Go to your control panel, select Printers and Faxes, and choose Add a printer.
4. When asked, select A network printer, or a printer attached to another computer, then click Next.
5. Select the option to Connect to a printer on the Internet or on a home or office network.
6. In the URL box, enter the dynamic DNS name you are using, including the port and print queue. For example, this may be a valid URL: http://myAccount.DynDNS.com:631/lp2. If you have a static IP address, you may enter that address or another valid URL that points to your IP address. Also, the port number (631) is optional if your router directs all traffic to a specific IP address. However, I recommend you include it in the URL just to be sure your print jobs direct properly. Click Next.
7. Select the appropriate print driver for the printer you wish to use, then click OK.
8. The setup tool may take a few seconds as it check for the existence of the printer. If everything is set up correctly, you should be prompted whether or not to use this printer as your default printer. I recommend you select no, since you don't want to start “printing” documents only to discover they are printing several miles away. Click Next.
9. Click Finish to close the window. You will now have a (very poorly named) printer added to your printer list. It should be listed as “unknown on http://myAccount.DynDNS.com:631,” or something like that.

Although the printer should be set up and usable at this point, you can rename it to something a little more useful by changing the settings in the registry. If you are not familiar or comfortable changing registry settings, please do not attempt to make the changes. It is very easy to really mess things up if you are not careful. If you feel confident in making the necessary changes, proceed with the following steps.

1. Open your registry editor. (If you do not know how to do this, you should not be attempting these steps!).
2. Navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Print\Printers. You will see the
   new entry labeled something like, ,,http://myAccount.DynDNS.com:631,unknown.
3. Right-click this entry, and rename it to something similar to the following:  ,,http://myAccount.DynDNS.com:631,MyRemotePrinterName.
4. Select this folder, and update the following settings: (The first two can also be done by changing the printer properties from within the control panel. If you make any changes from the control panel, be sure to do so before making changes in the registry to prevent erroneous results.):
   1. Change Description to something useful: My Laser Printer (remote)
   2. Change Location if desired: East Office
   3. Change the Name to whatever you would like to see in the printer list: HP LaserEye 1000 East
5. Close the registry.

The changes will probably not be reflected until the registry is reloaded at boot time. However, next time you boot the computer, you should see a nice, user-friendly list of available printers.  You should now be able to print to the remote printer as if you were sitting next to it. Keep in mind, though, remote printers are subject to the same problems as local printers, so it's probably not a good idea to print a high volume without verifying things are working correctly. You could potentially “print” a 100 page document without any toner.

Hopefully, these instructions will be useful to you. Please leave comments if desired.