Last updated - October 5, 2002

Expanding your sync options with the REX 6000

Remember to see the REX FAQ on this site for help on specific sync problems and issues.

The Basics Other Sync Software Syncing with a Journada
Intellisync for Yahoo
(Allows sync to Lotus Organizer 5.0!)		 Syncing to multiple computers Syncing Two REX 6000s
on one PC
TrueSync Plus Lotus Notes Novell Groupwise
USB Cradle Concerns ACT! Goldmine
The Basics <back to top>

The REX 6000 uses Intellisync for REX, which Xircom produced from code purchased from Puma Technologies. It is a relatively simple (but not necessarily simple to use) sync tool that allows the REX to sync with either Outlook 98 or 2000, or Intellisync Mobile Desktop, the PIM that is bundled with Intellisync for REX.

The REX 3 and REX 5 use Truesync Plus for REX. Truesync Plus will not work with the REX 6000 (at this point - Truesync and Xircom could get working together on it sometime, but don't hold your breath). Truesync Plus provides REX 3 and 5 users many cool features, the most useful of which may be the ability to sync several elements at the same time. In TrueSync Plus you can sync your REX, Outlook, Lotus Notes, Truesync.com (a web site where you can store your PIM info for access via browser), Palm Pilot, etc., all at the push of a single button. Intellisync for REX does not have any "multi-sync" capability like that at this time. And of course, Intellisync for REX currently only supports Outlook 98/2000 and Intellisync Mobile Desktop.

No other sync product currently supports the REX 6000 directly, although PumaTech (makers of the standard Intellisync sync software used on many Palm Pilot desktops) might be considering adding REX support. Remember that Intellisync for REX and Puma Technologies Intellisync are not the same product.

But, there may be a work-around for REX 6000 users who want to sync with more than just Outlook. Read on, fearless REX'r, about using Yahoo Intellisync, TrueSync Plus, and even Palm sync software to expand your REX 6000 sync possibilities. It may be possible to keep your Palm Pilot and the REX in sync, to sync with the Yahoo web site, or Lotus Organizer 5.0, or ??

Here are some real world success stories about using the techniques outlined below.

Read on for some options and ideas.

Option1: Using Intellisync for Yahoo <back to top>

Please note that the suggestions below have not been tested, beyond the intial install of the Yahoo Intellisync software and verification that the Intellisync for REX software does not seem to be negatively affected by its installation. One user has posted on REX Rumor Central that he has made progress on syncing Organizer 5.0 to his REX 6000 using some of these options, and another report of success is provided below.

Yahoo no longer supports or provides this version of Intellisync, but you can get it here.

Here's a testimonial from one happy users of this option:

"THANK YOU! You are so right about the Intellisync version from Yahoo. After I wasted most of the afternoon looking for advice on rex.net (down half the time), I found your advice, and in 10 minutes I had a copy of my Lotus Organizer files in Yahoo and out to Rex. Now I have portability AND an on-line back-up. Just tell me -- why Rex doesn't use the Yahoo version, which has NO trouble at all with Organizer?" (From MJ.)

But . . . the plot thickens. The reliability of the Yahoo sync service may not be as good as it should be. An update below from MJ, who's had intermittent problems getting Yahoo sync to work consistently - in some cases it freezes on "Preparing to." Here's what she had to say:

"Yahoo is looking more and more like the problem here, as everything else has been changed/eliminated/closed/reinstalled. Yahoo is the only thing left. When it works, Intellisync works, too."

And a further update as of July 31, 2001:

"Here's an update on my Lotus Organizer/Yahoo Intellisync/Rex 6000 problems. Installing Intellisync for Yahoo (a free download) did indeed put Lotus Organizer into the list of software that could be synched with the Rex, through the Rex Sync that came with the 6000. That part works perfectly! But creating that compatibility must have been a suicide mission for Intellisync for Yahoo! Ever since it did that, it hasen't been able to resync the files to Yahoo for an online backup. Who cares!?! Organizer now syncs to Rex 6000; that's all I need."

So it will work, but you may have some issues with the Yahoo service always being up and running.

The idea is this - Intellisync for REX (that comes w/the REX 6000) doesn't support anything but Outlook and the Intellisync PIM. However, there is an Intellisync available for use with Yahoo (Yahoo Intellisync) that supports several other PIMs. See below (this is a setup screen from Yahoo Intellisync, installed on a PC that also has Intellisync for REX installed: :

Interestingly, note that the REX 6000 appears in the Intellisync for Yahoo list! So it would seem (though no one has confirmed) you could use Yahoo Intellisync to sync between your REX and the listed PIMs. Again, not verified by any intrepic sync'rs, yet.

Anyway, when you install Yahoo Intellisync, some of these additional PIMs above magically appear in the Intellisync for REX list of supported programs! See below:

For some unknown reason, Act and Outlook Express don't make it over from the Yahoo version. Interestingly, Palm Pilot Desktop and Palm Pilot organizer show up, where in Yahoo there is only Palm Pilot Organizer. Weird.

So now you have two different sync tools, both of which appear to be able to work with your REX 6000. Possibilities (all unproven) abound.

What you could do is this . . .

  1. Load Intellisync for REX and get your system set up "normally."
  2. Load Yahoo Intellisync and set it up. (Go here to sign up.)
  3. Sync using Intellisync for REX to your preferred PIM from the list
  4. Sync using Yahoo Intellisync or your other PIM's sync software to whatever other elements you want to sync to.

For example - you could sync from your Palm Organizer to the REX 6000 using Intellisync for REX, and then you could use your Palm PIM's sync capabilities to do all other syncing.

Intellisync for REX still won't be able to do what TrueSync Plus (sound of angels voices) does - allow you to sync multiple sources at once. W/my REX Pro/5000 I would sync Lotus Notes, Outlook, Truesyn.com, and my REX Pro all at the same time. Oh, the good old days. . .

Option 2: Using Truesync Plus <back to top>

Yup - if you are a former REX 3 or 5 user, your best bet would be to use Intellisync for REX to sync Outlook and your REX 6000, (or if you've installed Yahoo Intellisync you could sync to Yahoo Calendar) and then use TrueSync Plus to sync to other elements you want to, including your old REX 3 or 5, Truesync.com, Lotus Notes, etc. TrueSync Plus supports a ton of hardware and software, is a free download from Xircom and Excite, and can sync to multiple PIMs at the same time.

To download from Xircom you'll need your REX ISBN number. Don't use the one on the silver stickers that looks like this: A8A2HW086001 - that won't work. Look for the tiny number next to "ISBN" on the bottome right corner of the back of your REX 3 or Pro/5000.

Dowloading from Excite is the way to go if you aren't a previous owner of a REX 3 or Pro/5000. To download TrueSync Plus from Excite check the following links:

Here are some detailed TrueSync Plus installation/setup instructions.

I've gotten several "Eureka, it works!" comments from folks on this TS Plus angle, but I did get one user who was not totally successful w/the Yahoo portion of the sync:

"One problem with syncing to other devices by way of truesync and Yahoo is that Yahoo <or maybe TrueSync Plus> is squirrelly about memos/notes, basically not supporting synchronized notes, and is a mess with multi-day messages."

Theoretically, you could use TrueSync Plus to along with Intellisync for REX to sync REX 6000 data to and from any number of PIMs/devices. If anyone tries this and has any cool results to report, let me know.

Option 3: Using other sync software <back to top>

I think you get it by now. Almost any sync software that you have access to might be able to be used in concert with the REX 6000 and Intellisync for REX to keep your life in sync. From Deepsync: "I just saw a nice program to overcome my Sync problem with Lotus Notes. I recommend using the my.palm.com Synchronizer, which you can use as intermediate between most common PIMs and devices..."

And another idea, from Deepsync:

"Hey all I just saw a possible solution how to sync directly with Lotus Notes. The Japanese Pumtech Site shows a Intellisync Anywhere Product for the DS2 which is for Lotus Notes 4.5/4.6/5. But its a commercial one. Do you think when installing it after the Intellisync for Rex installation, we can use it like Intellisync for Yahoo ?. Does anyone know this Intellisync Anywhere for DS2 or just know something about Intellisync Anywhere ? Thanks"

Intellisync Anywhere appears to be a corporate product, with server, client, and mobile modules. However, there is a product simply called "Intellisync" on the Pumatech site. There is a Palm and Windows CE version. It retails for $69.99 from Pumatechs web site - look here: http://www.pumatech.com/Intellisync_Palm_CE.html. It might be worth checking into - here's the list of supported PIMs:

"Works with popular PC applications . . . Only Intellisync supports virtually all the major applications you use:

The main down-side is that this product requires that Palm "Hotsync" is installed. Installing a trial copy of the Palm version of Intellisync added "Palm Pilot Organizer" to the list of available sync options (called "Available Translators" in the configuration screens in Intellisync) in Intellisync for REX, and added REX 6000 as a choice to the Intellisync commercial product. If you are upgrading to a REX from a Palm PDA and need more sync capabilities than Intellisync for REX offers, this might be an idea for you to consider.

Experiment, and let us know what you find out. BUT - always back up your data files before trying new sync software/combinations!

Syncing two computers using one REX 6000 - it's multi-sync! <back to top>

It appears to be possible to keep two (and likely more) computers in sync using Intellisync and the REX 6000. Many thanks to Howard for testing (and testing). First, some caveats:

Here's what Howard has found in his testing:

"With "REX6000 Wins" setting for Conflict Resolution everything seems to sync as it should. I have entered records on the REX and on both computers and the sync works. I also went in and changed the records to make sure that changes to existing records would carry over and they did. For the most part this seems to be a quick fix. The problem comes when I have made changes to the same record on both Outlook and the REX. Intellisync will automatically select the REX entry and delete the outlook entry. I don't even get a reminder screen or anything. I guess I'm going to have to remember to only make changes one until I have synced. It's not perfect but it will work. I have turned the "REX6000 Wins" switch on on all four sync categories. I'll run like this for a while and see what happens."

Pretty simple - change items in either Outlook or the REX, not both, and you should be fine.

To set your configuration to "REX 6000 Wins:"

  1. Start Intellisync for REX and select the "Configure" button
  2. Select the category that you want to sync to both computers (e.g., Planner)
  3. Select the "Advanced..." button. The following dialog will appear:



  4. Select the "Conflict Resolution" tab (the dialog comes up with the "Date Range" tab displayed
  5. Click on the REX6000 Wins radio button and select the OK button.
  6. You may also want to go to the "Confirmation" tab and make sure all confirmations (for delete or change records) are on the first time you sync

Sync type depends on your most recent sync:

"I have since discovered that if the last sync that was completed was completed with the computer you are presently syncing with then a quick sync is OK. If the last sync completed was with another computer then a full sync is required."

That's it - using this method you should be able to move between computers with your REX (e.g., home and work, laptop and desktop, etc.) and keep contacts, appointments, memos, and tasks in sync on the computers and your REX.

One angle that has not been tested - this process may work best if you manage your contacts, memos, and tasks using categories in Outlook. If you use folders (e.g., a separate folder for each group of contacts) it's not been confirmed that the REX 6000 and Intellisync will get the contacts from your REX into the right folders on the second computer when you sync. You would need to create the folders (we think) and give it a whirl. <g> Do you feel lucky? (Hey - we're a volunteer organization - we can't test everything!) If you have any updates or additional info on syncing between multiple computers, please let us know!

Syncing with Lotus Notes <back to top>

Lotus Notes always seems to be a problemmatic sync target for REX devices, including the 3000 and 5000. Below is one solution found by Joerg. If you have any other ideas for Notes users, let us know!

Lotus Notes - REX 6000 two-step sync success reported (From Joerg)

"I have some very good news regarding Win NT and Lotus Notes with the REX6000

I'm able to synchronize my Lotus Notes calender with the REX6000. I can synchronize Contacts, ToDo and Calender. I haven't tried the Memos up to now."

Here is how I do it.

First I use TrueSync for Yahoo! to synchronize Lotus Notes calender with Yahoo! After that I'm using the Intellisync for Yahoo! to synchronize to the REX. This works great. I only had problems with calender entries which where older than the actual date.

Best of all, these programs are free.

I downloaded the Truesync version from Starfish (at ftp://ftp.starfish.com/incoming/tsci/tsci-starfish.exe) and tried to install this version.

UPDATE: See Tice's site for the TrueSync software. It is no longer available from Starfish.

But there where no Truesync program to install. Only the translators (which allow you to sync w/different programs) were installed. Then I tried the Truesync version from Yahoo. Truesync from Yahoo then had access to several translators which are normaly not available to it! (Lotus Notes, and some phones).

It looks like the version from the Starfish ftp changes something in the settings and all of a sudden the Yahoo version has more choices to sync with. So I'm using Truesyn from Yahoo, which has the Lotus Notes translator available because the Starfish version was installed first.

As a check, I deleted every Starfish entry in the Windows registry. And then the Yahoo version did not have the Lotus Notes translator available. After installing the Starfish ftp version I could use the required translators again in the Yahoo version!"

Go here to sign up for the Yahoo service and download Intellisync for Yahoo.

Update from Dan:

"I went to the Yahoo web site and downloaded everything from there. If you go to http://calendar.yahoo.com/YYY:10976/srt:0?v=140&pi=100 you should have the links to download both Intellisync for Yahoo and TrueSync for Yahoo. It took me a few tries to get the TrueSync download, the Starfish site doesn't seem to be the most reliable in the world. I got it on the fifth or sixth try.

. . . I did get everything working. Installed Intellisync for Yahoo and True Sync for Yahoo per Joerg's instructions. Contacts were no problem. Notes didn't like repeating Calendar entries with no end date, so I had to go in and give all the birthdays, meetings, etc a solid end date. Might be a pain when I miss my Mom's birthday ten years from now, but oh well." :-)

You'll need to register for Yahoo's services to download the sync programs (they have Intellisync for Yahoo and Truesync). Once you're registered, click the "Options" link at the top right-hand corner of the screen, then select "Sychronize" on the Options page for the two downloads.

And another important update from Will:

"Apparently the version that I downloaded from Yahoo doesn't have the notes translator, so I had to download from Excite Canada to get it. it is working normally. Thanks."

So you may need to go to Excite and sign up for Excite calendar to get a version of Intellisync for Excite to get the necessary Notes translator.

My.palm.com (Note - the Mypalm.com sync service was discontinued as of January, 2002.)

From Deepsync: "I just saw a nice program to overcome my Sync problem with Lotus Notes. I recommend using the my.palm.com Synchronizer, which you can use as intermediate between most common PIMs and devices..."

Another potential option - Notes sync support added to DS2 Sync software! (From Big Blue)

Yeah, once again DS2 owners have it better than us poor Rexies.

"Rex6000 and Lotus Notes users, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. On the japanese web site for the DS2 there is an updated software (1.1.0) available that adds Notes R5 support (in this case: Notes support at all) to IntelliSync for Rex. Take a look at

http://dataslim.angel.co.jp/ds2/whatsnew.html

My japanese is quite poor but I can read the first line anyway. And of course I can download the update.

Unfortunately I was not able to integrate these updated files into the Rex6000 IntelliSync installation. The dssync.exe file (which is the counterpart of Rexsync.exe) does not run, it asks for a progv5.dll which I don't have and can't find. So I did some overwriting and renaming with these new files (f.i. you probably have to rename all llds2*.* files to llr6k*.* and ds2*.* to rex*.*). Now my rexsync.exe crashes when clicking the sync options button. Which means that my file replacing could have been succesful but the rexsync.exe doesn't like the new files. Maybe some else will have a bit more success..."

An interesting discovery for Notes users, to be sure. Installing Intellisync for Yahoo on a system w/Intellisync for REX on it adds Lotus Organizer sync to Intellisync for REX. If the necessary dll(s) or other file(s) that give Notes sync to the DS2 program are registered w/Windows on a system w/REX Intellisync, it might then be able to sync Notes. Knowing the mechanism by which Yahoo INtellisync adds Organizer sync to Intellisync for REX would maybe point the way . . .

So, could getting the DS2 program to install to a DS2 directory on a PC with Intellisync for REX grant Notes sync capability as well? Might be worth looking into. . .

Syncing with Novell Groupwise <back to top>

Novell plug-in allows "direct" sync of your Groupwise 5.5 data to REX, via Outlook. (From TC)

"I read your rex-pages with interest and like to give you some information about synchronizing the Rex with GroupWise, my favourite groupware.

There is a free plugin for Outlook from Novell. After Installing you can easily access your Groupwise message store with Outlook and have full calendering-, email-, task-, notes-funktonality and so on. Only the extended funktions like document management are not available.

In other words you can use Outlook as interface for GroupWise. By this you also have an easy way to synchronize the Rex with GroupWise because you can synchronize it with Outlook using the existing Software for the Rex.

During the synchronization you don t have to open Outlook and the GroupWise client can be used beside Outlook.

Hope this helps other users."

The Groupwise 5.5 plugin TC refers to is listed on this page on the Novell site as:

27 Jun 2000 gw55ol2.exe 3654K GroupWise 5.5 Plug-In for MS Outlook

If you can't get to that page directly, you can probably find it by searching for "Outlook" on the Novell site.

Here's what the download page says about the plug-in:

The GroupWise 5.5 Plug-In for MS Outlook allows you to access your GroupWise mailbox via the MS Outlook 98/2000 client. It uses the MAPI profile to configure GroupWise Messaging and Address Book services. The GroupWise MAPI service providers translate Outlook items into GroupWise items and vice versa. This allows appointments in GroupWise to appear as appointments in Outlook. Similarly, appointments created in Outlook appear as GroupWise appointments. For a complete list of features and issues, see the GroupWise 5.5 Plug-In for MS Outlook online guide at:

http://www.novell.com/documentation/lg/gwotlk/docui/index.html

and see the Frequently Asked Questions at:

http://support.novell.com/cgi-bin/search/patlstfind.cgi?2957005

Luke is leading the charge on Novell Groupwise sync, and has some intriguing (and useful!) information and ideas to get sync w/Groupwise.

"I have been working on getting the REX to sync with Novell GroupWise and have had some success. For those who are interested, I have compiled a page that talks about all the options I have found to do this. http://www.erinat.com/rex/GroupWise/."

For example:

"...there's a great utility out there by Scott Lewis (a cool Novell wizard) called "GroupWise Import/Export." I just used this today to export my tasks, calendar, and memos into single TAB'd text files and then imported them into Outlook 2000. Everything sync'd up fine! I had to Map a few fields between the Novell/Outlook relationship, but it wasn't much. I'll try to streamline this process in the future. The Novell utility may be found at: http://www.slewis.org/software/. (From Eric)

Novell Groupwise users - unite! (From Luke)

"I just got my REX last week and I love it! I am also a former PalmPilot user (gave it away today) who has relied on syncing with GroupWise for calendar and tasks.

I haven't found a really good solution for this kind of configuration, so I contacted a GroupWise developer who specializes in third-party integration and communication. He said he could easily create a program that will sync the Intellisync Desktop with GroupWise.

So now my question: Do you have any idea how many people might be interested in syncing their REX with GroupWise? If there is enough interest, he will do it then charge a small fee for licensing."

If you are a Groupwise user and would like to get in on this opportunity, please contact Luke!

Help for syncing with ACT! (From Myster)

"I remember people using ACT and asking how to synch with REX Just found this shareware they might find useful:

http://www.personalcrm.com/act-to-outlook-ACTaddon.htm"

From the web site:

ACT-To-Outlook Convert

Convert, Update, and Transfer ACT! Contacts into Outlook Contacts

Customer Comments

"Act-to-Outlook was very easy to set up and use. I transferred all of my customers from my database right into Outlook on the first try. I didn't even have to read a manual to do it. I also loved customer service. I lost my registration number and I was able to get the information right away. Thank you"

Syncing with Goldmine

From Dominic:

"Just a tip I've got after playing with my new REX. To sync from Goldmine, as there is no PIM, Goldmine has a fully functional sync option for Outlook, and hence from there to the REX. Hey presto, hundreds of contacts and diary items, even alarmed tasks. You can even select only the contacts you have tasks and/or history with."

Syncing with a Journada <back to top>

The REX 3000 and 5000 could sync w/the HP Journada hand-helds via Truesync Plus. The REX 6000 does not support direct sync with any of the Journada hand-helds. Here's one way to get around that problem:

"Just a thought...There is no way that I know of to sync the REX 6000 with the Jornada but if you sync the REX 6000 with Outlook and then TrueSync it back to the Jornada that would probably work...I do that with my REX 6000 and my www.excite.com page... Hope this helps... " (From PCMaven)

Journada software can conflict with Intellisync! (From Thomas)

The problem:

Hallo, (sorry, may be my English isn't perfect at all), I recently purchased a Rex 6000. First of all I recognized that there is no possibility to synchronize with my hp jornada 680 in the same way I do with my Rex 5001 (bad).

Second : I have real problems to synchronize Outlook 2000 with Rex 6000 (serial cradle). I use COM-Port 1 with the Jornada-Cradle and ActiveSync 3.5. If I try to do the same with IntelliSync and Rex ... I always get that message, the system can't detect an available COM-Port !? Can anybody help me. I use Windows 98. (Franz)

The solution:

The problem is the synchronisation software for the Jornada. It stays resident in the background of your System and frequently polls all COM-ports. By doing so it blocks the ports for any other applications.

Solution:
Open the task-manager and kill the process named "wcescomm". By doing so Intellisync should work properly. The downside is, that you have to start the Jornada sync manually. (Tom)

Syncing Two REX 6000s on the Same PC <back to top>

"I have just purchased a second REX 6000 for use as a backup (between the time my current one dies out of warranty and some other company comes out with a PDA even close to the R6K form-factor!).

My question is this: Can I synch it with Outlook98 on the same computer as my regular unit? In other words, can I maintain two R6Ks on the same desktop computer?

Well, I answered my own question by...trying it! (Imagine that!) The answer is ... yes you can.

When I attempted to sync the new R6K it did a "mapping" step as usual, and I set it up to be identical to my old R6K. I then used Rextools to finish the setup by putting in my personal info and add-ins. I also added the new device to the MyRex site.

I then synched each R6K again and each did fine. Apparently, the "getting device ID" step in the synch process can identify different devices and keeps a separate sync-history for each." (From Antmelnat)

Using the USB cradle when syncing <back to top>

Make sure you use a root port on the USB tree; the Rex USB adapter is not powered, and a lower port doesn't have enough power. You may have to unplug it and plug it in once or twice until the driver develops the "mock serial port", but it does work.

Some more USB comments from Tasteslike. . . from REX Rumor Central:

"Self(bus) powered USB hub's do not seem to work with the USB Dock. Powered (External Power Cube) Hubs do seem to work. Two examples: Asante FriendlyNET Portable USB Hub does not work. The Belkin 4 Port Hub Model F5U101, works when plugged in.

Also, under Win2K when you move your USB Dock around on the USB Bus, it keeps asking for you to reload the driver. I haven't seen any other USB devices exhibit this behavior."

But a different result from one user (thanks, Deepsync):

"I cannot confirm your comments on self-bus powered USB-Hubs on the Sync page. Mine is working fine and I never had any problems. I'm using a UH-124 (4 port self powered Hub) from Interdiscount."

<back to top>