How to Archive in Outlook
Want to free up space on your mail server? First you’ll need to archive Outlook emails. Here’s the standard way to do it manually, followed by an even easier way.
“What does archiving emails do in Outlook?” people ask me. The simple answer is, it prevents your Outlook mailbox from filling up – and saves your organisation costly space on your mail server.
This is why it’s important to archive Outlook emails. While Microsoft Office does it for you with AutoArchive, which is turned on by default, you can also back up and store emails manually. This way, you can decide which items to archive, where you want to keep them, and how old an email should be for it to be archived.
I’m now going to take you through the standard way to manually archive Outlook emails. Then I’ll tell you of a better way – one that helps your Outlook work more effectively.
How To Archive Outlook Emails (Office 2013 & 2016)
Step 1: Choose your version:
- If you have Outlook 2013, go to File > Info > Cleanup Tools > Archive.
- If you have Outlook 2016, go to File > Info > Tools > Clean up old items
If your mail profile connects to an Exchange Server, Archive and AutoArchive might not be available. Also, your organisation may have a mail retention policy that overrides AutoArchive. So, if you get stuck, check with your system administrator.
Step 2: Click ‘Archive this folder and all subfolders’, then choose the folder you want to archive.
Step 3: Next to ‘Archive items older than:’, type in a date.
Step 4: You might want to archive Sent folder items for a longer time than items in your Inbox folder. If so, you can create multiple .pst files to archive folders with different settings.
Step 5: Tick the ‘Include items with “Do not AutoArchive” checked’ box to archive individual items that aren’t included in automatic archiving. If you do this, the ‘Do not AutoArchive’ setting will be ignored for this archive only, not for future ones.
Step 6: Click ‘OK’.
Want to archive manually always?
To archive only when you want, turn off AutoArchive:
- Go to File > Options > Advanced.
- Under AutoArchive, click AutoArchive Settings.
- Uncheck the Run AutoArchive every n days box.
How To Archive Outlook Emails (Office 2010)
Step 1: Tap ‘File’ tab
Step 2: Choose ‘Cleanup Tools’.
Step 3: Tap ‘Archive’.
Step 4: Choose the ‘Archive this folder and all subfolders’ option, and then choose the folder you want to archive. This manual archive will include any subfolder of the folder you select.
Step 5: Next to ‘Archive items older than’, type in a date.
Step 6: You may not want to use the default file or location. If not, under ‘Archive file’, tap ‘Browse’ to choose a new file or location. You can either browse to find the file that you want, or enter the file name, then choose ‘OK’. The destination location of the file appears in the ‘Archive file’ box.
Step 7: Tick the ‘Include items with “Do not AutoArchive” checked’ box to archive individual items that aren’t included in automatic archiving. If you do this, the ‘Do not AutoArchive’ setting will be ignored for this archive only, not for future ones.
Want to always archive manually?
To archive only when you want, turn off AutoArchive:
Step 1: Go to the ‘File’ tab.
Step 2: Click ‘Options’.
Step 3: Go to the ‘Advanced’ tab (under ‘AutoArchive’) and choose ‘AutoArchive Settings’.
Step 4: Uncheck the ‘Run AutoArchive every n days’ box.
How To Archive Outlook Emails (Office 2007)
Step 1: Go to ‘File’ and click ‘Archive’.
Step 2: Choose ‘Archive this folder and all subfolders’, and then type in a date next to ‘Archive items older than:’.
Step 3: Go to ‘Archive file’; under it, click Browse to select a new file or location if you don’t want to use the default file or location.
Step 4: Tick the ‘Include items with “Do not AutoArchive” checked’ box to archive individual
items that aren’t included in automatic archiving. If you do this, the ‘Do not AutoArchive’ setting will be ignored for this archive only, not for future ones.
Step 5: Choose ‘OK’.
What Does Archiving Do In Outlook?
Archiving removes emails from your network mail server and stores them in an archive on your computer.
Outlook’s archive function stores the emails in Personal Storage Table (PST) files. These (and most email archives) use a database structure, creating rows in a table for each email archived. They can be read, searched and manipulated by Outlook, so that you can access them whenever you want.
A Better Way To Archive Your Emails
Would you like your archived emails to be easy to access, so that users can find what they need quickly? You can ensure this with a dedicated email archiving solution called Cryoserver.
Cryoserver enables end- users to find any email in seconds – without leaving Outlook. It’s independent from your mail server, so you can safely clear space on your server without the risk of losing anything.
- Integrates seamlessly with Outlook
- Stores every email sent and received by your organisation.
- Makes archived emails available to all users via Outlook.
- Replicates your Outlook email folders within the Cryoserver interface.
- Searches faster and more accurately for emails in Outlook.
Find out more about Cryoserver
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