Sync Outlook and Google 5x Faster Than Before

We are happy to announce a new feature that enables a substantial speed increase when syncing with Outlook or Google. We call this feature “Optimized Update Sync” and we think you’re going to love it!

Optimized Update Sync (OUS) is now available in CompanionLink build 4044. If you haven’t downloaded it yet, head over to the downloads page to do so now! Our tests have shown sync speed increases of 5x on average. Some sync configurations even synced as much as 18x faster! Take a look at a sample of our tests below:

Reading this chart is fairly simple. “OLx32 Google 5000 50 Off” looks confusing at first, but it means we tested Outlook 32-bit syncing to Google with a database of 5000 contacts that had 50 changes and Optimized Update Sync Off. In a nutshell, the top bar of each group shows the sync with OUS off, while to bottom bar of each group shows the sync with it on. You can see the difference it makes!

A few notes for those of you excited to try out OUS:

– OUS is currently implemented for Outlook and/or Google. Expect it to be implemented for other platforms in the near future.
– OUS can be enabled/disabled via the Options menu. It is enabled by default.
– OUS does not affect initial syncs, P&Rs or rereads.

Full release notes after the break:

Release notes for companionlink.exe 5/23/2011 build 4044:

* Added logic to increase update sync speed for Outlook and/or Google sync.
* Fixed issue where sync with Google would occasionally prompt for .NET 2.0 installation.
* Fixed issue where edited instances of GoldMine 9 recurring events would not sync without a reread.
* Added support for syncing contact linking info with Zoho calendar events.
* Cleaned up some minor UI issues under the Applications tab.
* Stability enhancements for Secure Hosted Sync.
* Stability enhancements for GroupWise sync.
* (Pro only) Added support for syncing Palm custom fields 5 – 9 to Blackberry contact note.
* Fixed issue syncing certain company names with Salesforce.
* Added support for syncing Outlook tasks created from email via drag and drop.
* Fixed issue syncing Highrise account with no contacts present.
* Fixed issue where certain events in Google could be moved to a different Google calendar after syncing with ACT!.
* Added option to transfer cleared records in CLTC.
* Fixed issue where “Acct:” prefix could sync from handheld device back into BCM.
* Added support for sending ACT!/GM linking info to Outlook calendar note when configured for iPhone via Outlook.
* Added conflict resolution settings for WiFi sync.
* Fixed issue where certain unicode characters could prevent data from syncing with Palm Desktop.
* Fixed issues syncing xml characters with Google phone fields.
* Fixed issues syncing “last day of the month” recurring events with Google.
* Improved category filter interface for CompanionLink Express/Pro/FA.
* Fixed issue where relabeled email field in Google could cause email deletion in Zoho.

Sync Outlook and Google 5x Faster Than Before was last updated May 24th, 2011 by David Z

14 thoughts on “Sync Outlook and Google 5x Faster Than Before”

Thanks for the update. Optimized sync requires the Outlook API to reflect the updated data. Some combinations of Outlook when used with Exchange (O365) do not report items that are changed. The daily sweep will get the changes, but sometimes that is not the best. So turning off will work for you also.

I’m seeing problems with the added contacts – it is not picking up the added files unless I re-read the data on the next sync. This has been an issue for quite some time, so I disabled the optomized sync.

Jim, thanks for the test result.

There are in fact two superfast systems. One involves Adds and Changes. In Outlook, we recognize these by having an updated “Modify” date. This is a column in Outlook and you can view it if you set your settings to Column view. It looks like this is working 100% for you.

We have a secondary system for deletes. In Outlook a deleted record is not actually deleted, but instead is moved to the Deleted Items folder. However, even though the record is changed,, the Modified field of the record is not updated. Again, you can verify this by looking at the column view. In my mind this is a bug, because the record has been changed (the folder is changed) but not marked as modified.

Superfast mode looks at modified dates, and since the deleted record is not marked as modified it is not picked up by this system. So we have a second system which sweeps periodically for deletes. The slowest case is that it sweeps once a day. For local folders (not exchange folders) it sweeps more often than that. This is because the sweep is a hefty process and not fast.

To make things more complex, Exchange folders and Outlook local folders (PST) are handled differently. I’m assuming you are using local folders here.

I hope this explanation helps. Thanks for your reply.

i just tested the optimized update outlook sync. I added an additional letter to one of my contact’s names then deleted a previously created dummy contact- doing all this in outlook. I then ran the sync and only the altered contact was changed in my android phone. The deleted contact remained on my phone. I ran the sync again and still the deleted contact remained on my phone. Only after disabling the optimized sync option in Companionlink and running a regular sync did the contact finally go away on my phone. Is a 50% success rate acceptable? Just wondering.

Interesting. Thanks for sharing. I’ll ask the R&D team to look into this. It looks like you have resolved the immediately issue. If there is anything else you need help with, please email me at social@companionlink.com.

After upgrading phone and PC got duplicated events and contacts. A wipe and sync sopped after 850 contacts… I used USB sync with the same results. There is some problem regarding a time-out. I solved this by artificially creating some activity in my phone’s deja office.

Can you describe your issue in more detail? Is it not syncing at all? Is it too slow? What’s your specific problem?

Sync is still pagued with issues. 12 years I have synced with the first MS PDA, first intelligent phone, Nokia, BB and never had my contacts messed up as bad as with Companion Link. If Optimized Update Sync is so good, why not leave it as a standard feature? Why leave the option not to use it? Any particular purpose?
New releases are quite a russian roulette, you update the software once and the next day you get another update to fix a mayor issue.
Are there any quality controls?

Optimized Update Sync (OUS) is our way to sync only the changes to your data since the last time you synchronized. The result is a faster a faster sync process.

Instead of sending and parsing over the full data set during the sync process, OUS keeps track of the changes to data. It syncs only those changes and doesn’t pass/parse the full data set. If OUS is set to “off”, CompanionLink will always read all data in the database during synchronization.

Optimized Update Sync (OUS) is our way to sync only the changes to your data since the last time you synchronized. The result is a faster a faster sync process.

Instead of sending and parsing over the full data set during the sync process, OUS keeps track of the changes to data. It syncs only those changes and doesn’t pass/parse the full data set. If OUS set to “off”, CompanionLink will always read all data in the database during synchronization.

Meant to say data, not “dates”

You did not answer Recaslte’s question…what is Optimized Update Sync and what does it do? Why is it faster? If all the same dates is synched, why is it offered as an option?
Ther was no informaton on the link provided.

Details about our Outlook to Google sync can be found here: http://www.companionlink.com/google/outlook/. If you’re looking for a different sync setup, just visit our homepage and use the widget to pick your configuration to learn more!

This still does not tell me what it does. Ok, in your testing it ran faster. What does it do? How does it do it?

Clcto on July 18, 2016 at 7:36 AM said:

Thanks for the update. Optimized sync requires the Outlook API to reflect the updated data. Some combinations of Outlook when used with Exchange (O365) do not report items that are changed. The daily sweep will get the changes, but sometimes that is not the best. So turning off will work for you also.
lgomes on July 13, 2016 at 12:10 PM said:

I’m seeing problems with the added contacts – it is not picking up the added files unless I re-read the data on the next sync. This has been an issue for quite some time, so I disabled the optomized sync.
Clcto on September 30, 2015 at 9:43 AM said:

Jim, thanks for the test result.

There are in fact two superfast systems. One involves Adds and Changes. In Outlook, we recognize these by having an updated “Modify” date. This is a column in Outlook and you can view it if you set your settings to Column view. It looks like this is working 100% for you.

We have a secondary system for deletes. In Outlook a deleted record is not actually deleted, but instead is moved to the Deleted Items folder. However, even though the record is changed,, the Modified field of the record is not updated. Again, you can verify this by looking at the column view. In my mind this is a bug, because the record has been changed (the folder is changed) but not marked as modified.

Superfast mode looks at modified dates, and since the deleted record is not marked as modified it is not picked up by this system. So we have a second system which sweeps periodically for deletes. The slowest case is that it sweeps once a day. For local folders (not exchange folders) it sweeps more often than that. This is because the sweep is a hefty process and not fast.

To make things more complex, Exchange folders and Outlook local folders (PST) are handled differently. I’m assuming you are using local folders here.

I hope this explanation helps. Thanks for your reply.
Jim Proctor on September 29, 2015 at 10:11 AM said:

i just tested the optimized update outlook sync. I added an additional letter to one of my contact’s names then deleted a previously created dummy contact- doing all this in outlook. I then ran the sync and only the altered contact was changed in my android phone. The deleted contact remained on my phone. I ran the sync again and still the deleted contact remained on my phone. Only after disabling the optimized sync option in Companionlink and running a regular sync did the contact finally go away on my phone. Is a 50% success rate acceptable? Just wondering.
Rushang S. on August 29, 2012 at 9:03 AM said:

Interesting. Thanks for sharing. I’ll ask the R&D team to look into this. It looks like you have resolved the immediately issue. If there is anything else you need help with, please email me at social@companionlink.com.
Bernhard Haidacher on August 29, 2012 at 8:59 AM said:

After upgrading phone and PC got duplicated events and contacts. A wipe and sync sopped after 850 contacts… I used USB sync with the same results. There is some problem regarding a time-out. I solved this by artificially creating some activity in my phone’s deja office.
Rushang S. on August 24, 2012 at 4:27 PM said:

Can you describe your issue in more detail? Is it not syncing at all? Is it too slow? What’s your specific problem?
bhaidacher on August 24, 2012 at 4:23 PM said:

Sync is still pagued with issues. 12 years I have synced with the first MS PDA, first intelligent phone, Nokia, BB and never had my contacts messed up as bad as with Companion Link. If Optimized Update Sync is so good, why not leave it as a standard feature? Why leave the option not to use it? Any particular purpose?
New releases are quite a russian roulette, you update the software once and the next day you get another update to fix a mayor issue.
Are there any quality controls?
Rushang S. on June 15, 2012 at 11:04 AM said:

Optimized Update Sync (OUS) is our way to sync only the changes to your data since the last time you synchronized. The result is a faster a faster sync process.

Instead of sending and parsing over the full data set during the sync process, OUS keeps track of the changes to data. It syncs only those changes and doesn’t pass/parse the full data set. If OUS is set to “off”, CompanionLink will always read all data in the database during synchronization.
Rushang S. on June 15, 2012 at 11:04 AM said:

Optimized Update Sync (OUS) is our way to sync only the changes to your data since the last time you synchronized. The result is a faster a faster sync process.

Instead of sending and parsing over the full data set during the sync process, OUS keeps track of the changes to data. It syncs only those changes and doesn’t pass/parse the full data set. If OUS set to “off”, CompanionLink will always read all data in the database during synchronization.
netsurfer5 on June 14, 2012 at 4:35 PM said:

Meant to say data, not “dates”
netsurfer5 on June 14, 2012 at 4:33 PM said:

You did not answer Recaslte’s question…what is Optimized Update Sync and what does it do? Why is it faster? If all the same dates is synched, why is it offered as an option?
Ther was no informaton on the link provided.
David Z on February 8, 2012 at 8:19 AM said:

Details about our Outlook to Google sync can be found here: http://www.companionlink.com/google/outlook/. If you’re looking for a different sync setup, just visit our homepage and use the widget to pick your configuration to learn more!
Recastle on February 7, 2012 at 7:58 PM said:

This still does not tell me what it does. Ok, in your testing it ran faster. What does it do? How does it do it?