Safe and Easy Storage. Archives.

Great Outlook Strategies
These articles are extracts from the new book Conquer Your Email Overload, Superb Tips and Tricks For Busy People by Debbie Mayo-Smith. They will help save you stress and time. And time is money.

Safe and Easy Storage. Archives.

First, Archives is an Outlook only program. If you are using Outlook Express, read on. It might be the inducement you need to move over to Outlook (see our article Outlook Vs. Outlook Express)

Your Outlook mailbox grows as you create and receive items. It also becomes dated. Why carry around emails that are two years old? Or meetings/appointments in your calendar that are 4 months old? Or old eticket receipts?

Archiving is a brilliant answer. Why?

1. Effective record keeping
By archiving instead of deleting messages, you'll keep records

2. Save disk space
Archiving uses compression, so archived items use less storage space.

3. Your Outlook opens quicker
Because it's lost weight. My cheeky way of saying you've shifted file size out.

4. Cut down on your clutter
Archiving removes items from your mailbox and puts them in the archive file.

5. Automatic
Archiving works automatically. You'll get a little prompt saying "Want to archive your old items now?" And all you have to do is say yes.

6. Individual settings
Have a folder that you don't want to archive as frequesntly? You can set archiving on a per folder basis.

AutoArchive
AutoArchive is on by default and runs automatically at scheduled intervals, clearing out old and expired items from your folders (except Contacts). Old items are those that reach the archiving age you specify. It could be 4 months, it could be 2 months, a year. The choice is yours.

What AutoArchive does with items
AutoArchive can do one or both of the following things for you:
1. Permanently delete expired items
2. Delete or archive old items to an archive file.

The archive file is a special type of data file.
The first time AutoArchive runs, Outlook creates the archive file automatically in the following location:
C:\Documents and Settings\yourusername \Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\Archive.pst
If you don't see the Local Settings folder, it may be hidden. See Microsoft Windows Help for information about showing hidden folders.

Mirror image of your folders
When Outlook archives, it will set up a list of folders that directly match what you have in Outlook. They're all nested under Archive Folders in your Folder List. You work with the Archive emails the same way you work with items in your main Inbox.

If you decide you want archived items moved back into your main mailbox, you can import all the items from the archive file into their original folders or into other folders you specify. Or you can manually move or copy individual items.

Top Tip: Online Tutorial (I found on the Microsoft website)
Manage the size of your mailbox:

Debbie Mayo-Smith (BSc Hons Econ) is an International Motivational Business Speaker and Managing Director of SuccessIS! (http://www.successis.co.nz) and a leading specialist in easy practical ways to improve business profitability, personal productivity and Internet marketing. Debbie lives in NZ and travels the world speaking, writing and training. By the way, if you'd like to get lots of neat tricks like this, plus marketing and business development tips, why not enrol for our free newsletter?

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