Is your Microsoft Outlook inbox feeling slow and unresponsive? Are simple tasks like sending or receiving emails taking longer than usual? If so, it might be a sign that your mailbox is overloaded with messages. Surprisingly, even a moderate email volume can significantly impact Outlook’s performance.
To determine the size of your mailbox, navigate to File > Folder > Properties > Storage (or right-click on any folder and select Properties). This will display the total size of the selected folder and its subfolders. Are you ready to learn how to archive emails in Outlook? this guide will help to manage your Outlook inbox, storage, and auto-archiving rules. Let’s start.
What does Outlook Email Archive do?
The Outlook email archive feature helps you manage your inbox by moving older emails to a separate folder. This frees up space in your primary inbox, making it easier to find recent messages and improving Outlook’s performance.
Here’s a breakdown of what Outlook email archiving features is:
- Moves older emails: You can set rules to automatically archive emails after a certain period (e.g., 6 months) or manually archive specific messages or folders.
- Creates an archive folder: Archived emails are moved to a dedicated “Archive” folder, which is still accessible within Outlook.
- Improves inbox performance: By reducing the number of emails in your primary inbox, archiving can significantly speed up Outlook’s responsiveness.
- Preserves email history: Archived emails are not deleted; they are simply moved to a different location for storage.
Before Archiving Outlook Emails Remember These Key Points:
- Archiving vs. deleting: Archiving moves emails to a separate folder, while deleting permanently removes them from your account.
- Local vs. online archiving: Depending on your Outlook setup, archived emails may be stored locally on your computer or online on a server.
- Accessibility: Archived emails are generally still accessible within Outlook, but their availability may vary depending on your account type and archiving method.
How to Archive Outlook Emails?
You might be wondering how to effectively archive your Outlook emails. Many questions likely arise about the best and easiest methods for organizing your inbox. In this article, I will share two methods you can use within Microsoft Outlook.
Here’s a simple approach:
- Create an Archive Folder: Begin by creating a new folder within Outlook, aptly named “Archive.” You can also create subfolders within this main archive (e.g., “Archive 2023,” “Archive – Work Projects”).
- Manual Archiving: Select the emails you wish to archive, right-click, and choose “Move to Folder.” Select your “Archive” folder from the list.
- Automated Archiving: Outlook’s Auto Archive feature is designed to automatically back up deleted items, sent items, and expired calendar events and tasks. However, if your inbox receives hundreds of emails daily and you don’t consistently delete or move messages, your mailbox can quickly become overloaded. Exceeding 2GB can drastically slow down Outlook’s performance.
Step to Archive Emails in Outlook:
Follow this simple step-by-step guide.
1. Set up an Archive folder in Outlook
- Right-click on the On My Computer heading at the bottom of your folder list and select New Folder.
- Name the folder “Archived Outlook Mail” or a similarly descriptive name.
- For older Outlook versions, navigate to File > Archive and specify the date for archiving older items.
2. Create an Archiving Rule:
- Go to Tools > Rules and select Exchange from the On My Computer section.
- Click the “+” near the bottom of the window.
- Name the rule clearly (e.g., “120 Days, Auto Archive”).
- Under When a new message arrives, set the Date Received threshold (we recommend 120-180 days).
- In the Do the Following section, select “Move Message to” and choose your “Archived Outlook Mail” folder.
- Enable the rule and click OK.
- For older Outlook versions, navigate to Tools > Options > Other > Auto Archive to access similar settings.
3. Apply the Rule to Existing Emails:
- To ensure that older emails are also archived, select the desired mail folder.
- Go to Messages > Rules > [Your Rule Name].
- Outlook will then reorganize your emails based on the defined criteria.
- Note that Outlook uses the “Last Modified Date” for archiving, not the “Received Date.”
- Repeat this process for each folder you wish to archive.
How do I Access My Archived Emails?
Your archived emails will be readily accessible in the left-hand column of folders or within the list of .pst files on your computer. The key benefit is that they no longer occupy valuable space in your active mailbox.
Key Considerations for Outlook Web:
- Outlook Web App Compatibility: If you access your email through Outlook Web App, emails archived on your local computer will not be visible online.
- Data Loss Risk: .pst files and archived folders stored locally are susceptible to data loss if not included in your regular backup and disaster recovery (BDR) plan.
How to Choose the Right Method?
This section will help you with choosing the Outlook email archiving solution for your personal and business uses.
Online Archiving:
- Ideal for: Users who frequently access their email from different devices (laptops, smartphones, tablets), those who prioritize cloud storage and automatic backups, and those who require access to archived emails even when working offline (with some limitations).
- Key Considerations: Requires an active internet connection for most access. Reliance on the stability and security of the server hosting your email. May have storage limits imposed by your email provider.
Local (.pst) Archiving:
- Ideal for: Users who primarily use Outlook on a single computer, those who prefer to have complete control over their email data, and those concerned about potential data privacy issues with cloud storage.
- Key Considerations: Requires regular manual or automated backups to prevent data loss in case of hard drive failure. Limited to the computer where the .pst file is stored for primary access. Requires careful management of disk space to avoid storage issues. Helpful in compliance and privacy purposes which is always a primary concern for most businesses.
Do Auto Archive Rules Work with Exchange Cached Mode?
Yes, it works but there can be potential issues when using Outlook with Cached Exchange Mode and enabling Auto Archive rules based on receiving dates or modification dates. Here’s why:
- Cached Exchange Mode Limitations: Limited Offline Access: Cached Exchange Mode primarily focuses on providing offline access to a subset of your mailbox data. The default cache period is usually 12 months, meaning emails older than this are generally not cached locally. Synchronization Dependency: Auto Archive relies on Outlook having access to the email data to perform the archiving action. If the email is not cached locally (due to the cache period setting), Auto Archive might not recognize it and therefore won’t archive it.
- Date-Based Archiving Challenges: Cache Period Conflict: If your Auto Archive rule targets emails older than the cached period, those emails might not be archived as they won’t be available locally for Outlook to process. Modification Date Issues: Modification dates can be affected by various actions (e.g., forwarding, replying, flagging), potentially impacting the accuracy of date-based archiving rules.
Also Read: Why Outlook Is Not Opening in Windows 11 and 10?
My Recommendations:
- Adjust Cache Period: Increase the Cached Exchange Mode period to ensure that emails targeted by your Auto Archive rules are included in the local cache.
- Consider Alternative Archiving Methods: Explore alternative archiving options like server-side rules or manual archiving to ensure consistent and reliable archiving behavior.
- Test Thoroughly: After implementing any changes, thoroughly test your Auto Archive rules to verify that they are functioning as expected.
Note: The specific behavior and potential issues may vary depending on your Outlook version, Exchange Server settings, and individual configuration.
Key Takeaways:
This is how you can archive emails in Outlook; I’m happy to share these tips with you. While archiving can significantly improve Outlook’s performance and free up valuable mailbox space, it’s crucial to remember that it’s not a substitute for a robust email archiving solution.
For a hassle-free and timely-scheduled backup solution for your Outlook mail, you must consider any trusted vendor that provides a robust solution for your Exchange Outlook mailbox. Shoviv Outlook Suite and Office 365 backup and restore is one of the optimal choices for small and medium businesses.
For more info about this backup/archiving solution visit the official website. I hope this information is valuable to you. Stay connected with me for part two, where I will use this software to archive Outlook emails. Till then, you can start managing your incoming Outlook emails for better performance.
