Outlook/Email - Archiving Messages
You may have seen messages telling you that you are using up too much space on e-mail
server, or just need to clean house. Outlook is set to automatically archive your messages
every 2 weeks, but it's difficult to retrieve those messages.
By creating and managing your own archives, you control what gets
archived, and when. Follow the steps below to set up and manage
archives.
Create
a designated archive folder
- On your desktop, find the
icon for your My Documents folder. Double click to Open.
- Go to the File menu (at the top left
of the My Documents box), select New, and select Folder.
- A new folder will
appear with the words "New Folder" highlighted. Replace the
highlighted text with the new folder name. Try naming it "E-mail
Archive."
- After you type in the name, type the Enter key to save the new name.
Archive messages into your folder
- Go to the File menu and select "Archive." The Archive dialog box
will open.
- Select the folder you would like to archive from the list.
- At the bottom of the Archive screen, you are asked
the "archive from" date. A good rule of thumb is to archive anything older than
the current quarter. If you use this rule, set the "Archive Items Older
than" date to the first day of the current quarter.
- Click the "Browse" button and navigate to the My Documents
folder.
- Select your E-Mail Archive folder and click "OK."
- Outlook will automatically call the file Archive.pst. For ease of retrieval, you should change that name to match
the name of the folder you are archiving (sent items, inbox, etc.). For example,
if you are archiving your Sent Items folder from Fall 2006, the File name would read
D:/My
Documents/E-mail Archive/First Archive/Sent Items.Fall06.pst. Change
the file name and click "OK."
- Depending on how many messages have to archive, this
could take several minutes. If you look to the bottom right of your Outlook
screen, you will see the Archive indicator. It is ok to do other work in Outlook
or other programs while you are archiving.
Adjust auto-archive settings
Your Outlook may be set to automatically archive your messages
every 2 weeks. You can adjust this to archive whenever you wish or not to
archive at all.
- Go to Tools (at the top of your Outlook screen)
and select Options.
- From the tabs at the top of the Options box, select Other.
- In the middle of the Other screen is the Auto
Archive edit area. Click on the Auto Archive button to the right.
- Uncheck the box for "Run Auto Archive every __ days."
- Click "OK", then click "OK" to exit the Options screen.
Last updated:
January 23, 2007
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