Outer Limits Consulting

EMAIL ARCHIVING
If you are using Outlook with an Exchange Email server, you may need to periodically move emails from your Mailbox on the server to an Archive folder on your computer to save space on the server.
Outlook has an AutoArchive feature, but it needs some help to work well and be useful. The two main problems are 1) Microsoft hides the archive file making it difficult to find later for backups,etc, and 2) by default the AutoArchive only archives the Sent folder.

Here is one recommended way to set it up.

1) CREATE NEW FOLDER FOR OUTLOOK ARCHIVES
(NOTE: You can skip this step if you already have a folder called OutlookData in your My Documents)

In My Documents create a new folder called OutlookData.

2) CHECK FOR EXISTING ARCHIVE.PST FILE
(NOTE: You can skip this step if you already have an archive file in your OutlookData folder)

Search you computer for any file that is called archive.pst

START > Search > All Files and Folders > archive.pst > More Advanced Options > Search hidden files

and if you find a file in YOUR Documents and Settings folder

ie. C:\Documents and Settings\youruserid\...\archive.pst

move it to the new folder OutlookData in your My Documents folder.

3) SET ARCHIVE OPTION IN OUTLOOK

In Outlook2003 go to: Tools > Options > Other > AutoArchive

Click the BROWSE button and select the archive file in the OutlookData folder in My Documents
If the file doesn't already exist, name it archive.pst

Note: Some people prefer to archive items in their Deleted folder instead of permanently deleting them. Uncheck the "Delete expired items" if that is the case.

Another Note: Unless your email box is relatively new and small, don't use the "Apply these settings to all folders now" just yet, or the archive might bog down and take forever to run. See more on that below.

4) RUN ARCHIVE

In Outlook2003: File > Archive > Archive all folders according to their AutoArchive settings > OKAY

5) SET ARCHIVE RULES FOR ALL FOLDERS

By default Outlook archives the Sent folder only, so you must tell it to archive the InBox folders. For each folder and subfolder that you want to archive, right click the folder and select Properties Then under the AutoArchive tab, set the following:

[*] Archive items in this folder using the default settings.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The first time you run the archive, it may take several hours to run. To make it more manageable, you should set the default archive to 12 months, run an archive, then set it to 6 months, run it again, then 3 months, etc. Additionally, perform steps #4 and #5 for each large folder individually to keep the processing time more manageable.

FINAL STEP: Once you've got the AutoArchive working, and the bulk of your email has been archived, you can use apply the AutoArchive rule to all your Folders at once.

In Outlook2003: Tools > Options > Other > AutoArchive > [ Apply these settings to all folders now ]