How can I put read only access on a .PST file, so the user can access the file (read) but cannot modify it (create items, delete items, etc)?

Sani would like to be able to share her Personal Folders with the Read Access Only attribute enabled -- to prevent anything from being changed or modified.

Personal Folders are really not designed for multiple person access and Outlook will actually not allow the same Personal Folder .PST file to be opened simultaneously on two different systems.

Personal Folders are actually files that accessed/viewed from within Outlook. In order for Outlook to access the Personal Folder, Outlook would need to have full, write access to the .PST file. If it were to be configured for read-only use, then others would not be able to access it and neither would your local copy of Outlook. It's not a good thing.

If you're in an Exchange Server environment and you want to be able to share information with others in a folder, then check into the possibility of using Public Folders on your server.

While Outlook itself doesn't permit the sharing of .PST files, there are a number of third-party products that provide much of this functionality without the need for Exchange server. Some of the best listings of these products are available from Slipstick, located at http://www.slipstick.com. You might want to look at http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/share.htm for a large number of resources in this area.

Francine Otterson is the President of the San Diego Outlook User Group and a Microsoft Outlook MVP. She has been in the IT industry for over 10 years, providing technical support, software customization solutions and training in corporate settings, and as a consultant. She balances her work around her daughter and husband in sunny San Diego, California.