Archiving - Outlook 2003

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1 Archiving - Outlook 2003 Archiving data automatically Configuring the Automatic Archiving of Items Archiving data manually Restoring Data Archiving data automatically Over time you will likely want to move some of your Outlook items to a separate location because you no longer need them, but don t want to delete them. For example, perhaps you want to keep a copy of all of the messages in your Sent Items folder so you can refer to them later if needed, but you don t want them to stay in Sent Items. In these situations you can use Outlook s AutoArchive feature to move out those old items. The Outlook AutoArchive feature archives data automatically according to settings you configure for each folder or all your folders. You might want to archive every day if you receive new data that you don t want to take the chance of losing overnight. Or you might want to set AutoArchive to run once a week. To set up a folder to automatically archive using the default AutoArchive settings, follow these steps: 1. Right-click a folder in the folder list and choose Properties, then click the AutoArchive tab. 2. Select Archive Items In This Folder Using The Default Settings. 3. Click OK 4. Repeat these steps for each folder you want to archive. By default, Outlook starts AutoArchive every 14 days and archives your data in the selected folder to the Archive.pst personal folders file. You can also specify custom AutoArchive settings for a folder. Open the properties for the folder, click the AutoArchive tab, and choose the Archive This Folder Using These Settings option. Then, specify settings on the AutoArchive tab as desired for the folder. Configuring the Automatic Archiving of Items Outlook provides several ways to configure and manage your data-archiving settings. For example, suppose that you want Outlook to run AutoArchive every day, but you want to be prompted before it starts. You can configure AutoArchive to do just that. In addition, you might want to delete old items after a specific date (say, after a message sits in the Inbox for six months). This section shows you how to configure AutoArchive to handle many of your archiving needs. To set AutoArchive options, choose Tools, Options, click the Other tab, and click Auto- Archive to open the AutoArchive dialog box. The following sections explain the options you ll find in the AutoArchive dialog box.

2 Run AutoArchive Every n Days Outlook allows you to run AutoArchive on a per-day cycle. For example, if you want to run it each day, set it to run every 1 day. To archive every other day, set AutoArchive to run every 2 days, and so on. To set the length of time between AutoArchive sessions, set the Run AutoArchive Every n Days option to the number of days you want between archiving sessions. The number you enter must be between 1 and 60. Prompt Before AutoArchive Runs You can have Outlook display a message before it starts an AutoArchive session. The message includes a Cancel button to let you cancel the AutoArchive for that day. To activate this option, select the Prompt Before AutoArchive Runs check box in the AutoArchive dialog box. Delete Expired Items In your message folders, AutoArchive can delete messages if they are older than a specified amount of time. To set this option, select the Delete Expired Items check box. Also make sure that the Archive Or Delete Old Items check box is selected. In the Default Folder Settings For Archiving area, set the amount of time you want to pass before AutoArchive automatically deletes messages. The default is six months, but you can set this to as high as 60 months or as low as one day. Archive or Delete Old Items If you want AutoArchive to archive or delete old Outlook items, select the Archive Or Delete Old Items check box. Then set the amount of time that should elapse before old items are archived or deleted. Again, the default is six months, but you can set it to as high as 60 months or as low as one day. Show Archive Folder in Folder List If you want Outlook to display your archive folder in the folder list, select the Show Archive Folder In Folder List check box. You might want to select this check box if you think you d like to be able to see which items have been archived. Also, you might find that some items are removed from your working folders (such as Inbox or Calendar) before you want them removed. By showing the archive folder in the folder list, you can quickly and easily move items back to a working folder. Specify How Archived Items Are Handled In the Default Folder Settings For Archiving area, you can set the number of days that should pass before e- mail messages or other items are archived or deleted (see the previous two sections). In addition, this area includes options for the way old items are handled. With the Move Old Items To option, you can specify a PST file to which Outlook should move archived items. Click Browse to identify a different location and the PST file in which you want to store archives. On the other hand, if you want to delete archived items, select Permanently Delete Old Items and Outlook will delete items during the AutoArchive sessions. This option is probably not a good choice if you want to retain information for long periods of time.

3 Apply Settings to All Folders If you want these AutoArchive settings to apply to all your folders, click Apply These Settings To All Folders Now. Any settings you establish for individual folders (see the next section) are not overridden by the default settings in the AutoArchive dialog box. AutoArchive Settings for Individual Folders When you configure AutoArchive settings, you can use the default settings just described, or you can specify options for individual folders. To take the latter approach, open the Properties dialog box for the folder, click the Auto- Archive tab, and click Archive This Folder Using These Settings. Then set the following options: Do Not Archive Items In This Folder Specify that the current folder should not be archived. Archive This Folder Using These Settings Direct Outlook to archive items in the folder based on the custom settings you specify in the dialog box. Clean Out Items Older Than n This option lets you specify the number of days, weeks, or months that should pass before AutoArchive removes items in the selected folder. Move Old Items To Default Archive Folder You can have Outlook move old items to the folder specified for default AutoArchive settings. Move Old Items To This option lets you specify a different folder in which to archive old items. Click Browse to locate a different folder or file. Permanently Delete Old Items You can direct Outlook to delete items in this folder during archiving. Archiving data manually You can archive data not only automatically but also manually for example, before leaving on vacation or when you need to move your files to a new machine. To archive data manually, perform these steps: 1. Choose File, Archive. 2. Select one of the following options in the Archive dialog box. Archive All Folders According To Their AutoArchive Settings Use this option to archive all folders using preset AutoArchive settings. When you select this option, the remaining options in this dialog box become unavailable. Go to step 7. Archive This Folder And All Subfolders Select this option if you want to archive individual folders and their subfolders. Go to step Select the folder you want to archive. If the folder includes subfolders, those folders are archived as well. 4. In the Archive Items Older Than drop-down list, specify the latest date from which Outlook should start archiving data. For instance, if you want to archive data older than today s date, select that date. Otherwise, all your data in the selected folder will not be archived.

4 5. If you have specified that a folder should not be archived automatically but you want to archive this folder now, select the Include Items With Do Not AutoArchive Checked check box. 6. To change the personal folders file that will store your archive, click Browse and then choose the file and folder where the archive will be stored. You also can type the path and file name in the Archive File box if you know this information. 7. Click OK Outlook begins archiving your data. If the folder contains a large amount of data, archiving might take several minutes (or hours, depending on the speed of your computer and other factors). You can watch the status of the archiving by looking at the right side of Outlook s status bar. When the process has finished, the Archive.pst file (or whichever archive file you specified in step 6) will contain the data Outlook just archived. Restoring data Suppose you ve worked on a project for six months and you ve been diligent about archiving messages and other items from the project. You come into work one day and find that your system has crashed and Outlook has lost all your data. You need the archived data to get back all your lost information and continue working. How do you get it back? You can restore data from an archive file in two ways: drag items from a PST file to a folder, or import a PST file. The following steps show you how to drag data from a PST file: 1. After restoring your computer and, if necessary, reinstalling Outlook, choose File, Open, Outlook Data File to open the Open Outlook Data File dialog box. 2. Select the file that contains the archived items you want to restore. 3. Click OK. The archive folder (named Archive Folders by default) now appears in your folder list. 4. Click the plus sign (+) next to Archive Folders (or the name you ve given this folder) to expand the folder. Expand subsequent folders if necessary until your data is in the right pane. 5. Drag the folder or item to the original folder in which the data was stored. 6. Continue dragging items until they all are restored. To restore items by importing a PST file, follow these steps: 1. Choose File, Import And Export to open the Import and Export Wizard. 2. Select Import From Another Program Or File and click Next. 3. Select Personal Folder File (.pst) and click Next. 4. On the Import Personal Folders wizard page, type the name of the file you want to import in the File To Import box, or click Browse to locate the file using the Open Personal Folders dialog box. 5. Select one of the following import options pertaining to duplicate data:

5 To replace duplicate items that might be in your folders during import, select Replace Duplicates With Items Imported. To create duplicate items, select Allow Duplicates To Be Created. To prevent Outlook from creating duplicates or writing over existing data, select Do Not Import Duplicates. 6. Click Next. 7. Select the folder from which you want to import data. 8. If the archived folder includes subfolders you want to import as well, select the Include Subfolders option. 9. To filter data, click Filter. You can filter by using search strings, Structured Query Language (SQL), and other advanced querying methods. Click OK after filling out your filter information. 10. Select one of the following destination options: Import Items Into The Current Folder Select this option to import data to the current folder that is, the folder currently selected. Import Items Into The Same Folder In Choose this option to import data into the destination folder of the same name as the source folder (such as from the Inbox to the Inbox) Then, in the drop-down list under this last option, select the destination personal folders or mailbox. 11. Click Finish. Outlook displays a window showing you the progress of the import process. The archive folder appears in the folder list (if the folder list is open), but it is removed when the operation is completed.