OL97: How to Move Your Personal Folders File to a Network Server

• Microsoft Outlook 97

SUMMARY

This article describes how to move your Personal Folders file (sometimes called the Personal Information Store or *.pst file) to a network server. You can then configure your mail profile to use the Personal Folders file from the network server location.

MORE INFORMATION

WARNING: Depending on network traffic, configuring your mail profile to store your Personal Folders information on a network server may significantly slow Outlook performance.

By default, Microsoft Outlook 97 stores all of the information in your Personal Folders file on your local hard drive in a PST file. Your Personal Folders file contains a collection of MAPI folders and can include your Calendar, Contacts, Inbox, Journal, Notes, Outbox, Sent Items, and Tasks folders. Your Personal Folders file can also contain custom MAPI folders.

Depending on your profile configuration, your Personal Folders file may or may not be your default delivery location. This article discusses procedures for using your Personal Folders file from a server location regardless of delivery location.

NOTE: Only one program may open your PST file at a time. You cannot run Outlook on two different computers, each using the same PST file at once. In this case, when you attempt to open the PST file on the second Outlook program, you will receive the following message:

   Unable to expand the folder. The set of folders could not be opened.
   The file <path and filename>.pst is in use and could not be
   accessed. Close any application that is using this file, and then
   try again.

   Article-ID: Q162206
   Title     : OL97: Working with Personal Folders

   Article-ID: Q164407
   Title     : OL97: Managing a PST for Two Different Computers

• You must identify the PST file used by your mail profile.
• You must copy the PST file to a network server where you have full rights.
• You must configure your profile to reference the new location of your PST file.

Identifying Your Profile's PST File Name and Location

1. Start Outlook.

2. On the Tools menu, click Services.

3. Under the Services tab, click to select "Personal Folder," and then click Properties.

4. Note the path and file name of your PST file. For example, C:\Exchange\Mailbox.pst indicates a Personal Folders file named Mailbox.pst located in the Exchange folder on drive C.

5. Click OK and OK to close all dialog boxes, and then "Exit and Log Off" to quit Outlook.

Establish a Persistent Connection

1. Click Start, point to Programs, then click Windows Explorer.

2. On the Tools menu, click Map Network Drive.

3. Select the Drive, type the Path to the location of the PST file, click to check Reconnect at logon, then click OK.

Copying the PST File to the Network Server

1. Quit all programs.

2. Use Windows Explorer to locate and copy the PST file you noted in step 4 in the "Identifying Your Profile's PST File Name and Location" section to the network server, or to a disk and then to the server.

Configuring Your Profile to Use the PST File from the Network Server

1. Start Outlook.

2. On the Tools menu, click Services.

3. Under the Services tab, click to select "Personal Folder" and click Remove to remove the current local PST file from your profile.

   If this is your default mail delivery location, you will see the following message:

         This information service contains the default message store
         for the profile. Are you sure you want to remove this information
         service from the profile?
   

   Click Yes.

4. Under the Services tab, click Add to open the "Add Service to Profile" dialog box.

5. In the Available information services list, click to select "Personal folder," and then click OK.

6. In the File Name box, type the network path to your PST file on the network server, and then click Open.

7. Click OK to close all dialog boxes.

8. On the File menu, click "Exit and Log Off."

9. Restart Outlook.

   The location messages are delivered to has changed for this user
   profile. To complete this operation, you may need to copy the contents
   of the old Outlook folders to the new Outlook folders. For information
   about how to complete this change of your mail delivery location, see
   Microsoft Outlook Help. Some of the shortcuts on the Outlook Bar may no
   longer work. Do you want Outlook to recreate your shortcuts? All
   shortcuts you have created will be removed.

Your profile now points to your Personal Folders File (Personal Information Store) located on the network server.

REFERENCES

For more information about Microsoft Outlook Personal Folders, type "personal folders" in the Office Assistant, click Search, and then click to view "Set where e-mail messages are sent from and received." Or click to view "Set up where and how e-mail is delivered."

Keywords          : GnlFold kbnetwork
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbinfo