Microsoft Outlook 2007 – How To Archive Mail

Outlook 2007 has the ability to export and view archived mail.  Once mail has been exported from your mailbox, you will be able to manage the archived content as if it was another mailbox.  Here are the steps showing how to set up an archive using Outlook 2007.

Begin by opening Outlook 2007 and clicking on FILE in the upper left corner of the application.  Choose IMPORT AND EXPORT.

A list will appear.  Select EXPORT TO A FILE, and click NEXT.

Choose PERSONAL FOLDER FILE (.pst).  This type of file is the archive that Outlook can open, yet can be stored someplace other than the mail server where the rest of your mail resides.  Click NEXT.

In the next window, you will need to pick what folder(s) you would like to archive.  This will not remove the items from your mailbox; it will just copy them over to the archive.  The “+” signs will expand the folders to allow navigation of your folder tree.  Highlight the folder you wish to archive, check the INCLUDE SUBFOLDERS box if you wish to archive everything under that folder, and then click NEXT.

Click the BROWSE button to find a place on the network or backup storage device to place your archive.  Name the archive something intuitive and relevant to the content it will hold.  When done, click FINISH.

Name the archive something relevant to the content that will be in it.  The name you place here will be what appears when you open this archive in Outlook.  You can password-protect your content, although this can be problematic if the password is forgotten.  Information Technology staff do not have the ability to help retrieve/reset forgotten passwords of this type.  Leave the password field blank (or protect it if you wish) and click OK.

The mail will begin to export to the location designated earlier in this guide.  If the folder being exported is large, Outlook will appear to freeze or lock up.  Eventually it will display a progress bar and begin exporting mail.  Once the progress bars are complete, follow the next section to open the new archive inside of Outlook to make sure the data transferred properly.  Once the archive appears to contain your data, you will need to delete the originals from your mailbox.  Archiving only copies the data from your live mailbox.

Microsoft Outlook 2007 – How To Open Archived Mail

Once you have created an archive, Outlook 2007 can view it as if it were an additional mailbox.  You will also be able to move items and folders between the archive and the live mail server mailbox at any time.  Any mail moved from the live mailbox to the archive will only exist in the archive.  Any mail moved from the archive to the live mailbox will only exist in the live mailbox.  Here are the steps to open an archive in Outlook 2007.

Open Outlook 2007, click on FILE, then OPEN, then OUTLOOK DATA FILE.

Click the BROWSE button and navigate to the folder where your archive had previously been exported to.  Highlight the file you chose and click OK.  As is shown in the image below, your archive will display at the bottom of the left hand column as if it were an additional mailbox.  Data can be moved back and forth between the live mailbox and the archive from within Outlook 2007.  Review the content of the archive and make sure it is all in place prior to deleting the original information from your live mailbox.