OL2000: An Overview of Archive and AutoArchive

• Microsoft Outlook 2000

SUMMARY

This article presents a summary of the Microsoft Outlook AutoArchive feature and how to use it.

MORE INFORMATION

Your Outlook mailbox grows as items are created, in the same way that papers pile up on your desk. In the paper-based world, you can occasionally shuffle through your documents and store those that are important but not frequently used. Documents that are less important, such as newspapers and magazines, you can discard based on their age.

You can quickly complete the same process in Outlook. You can manually transfer old items to a storage file by clicking Archive on the File menu, or you can have old items automatically transferred by using AutoArchive. Items are considered old when they reach the age you specify. With AutoArchive, you can either delete or move old items. Outlook can archive all types of items, but it can only locate files that are stored in a e-mail folder, such as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet or Word document attached to an e-mail message. A file that is not stored in a e-mail folder cannot be archived.

AutoArchive is a two-step process. First, you turn on AutoArchive. Second, you set the AutoArchive properties for each folder that you want archived.

At the folder level, you can determine which items are archived, and how often they are archived. You can automatically archive individual folders, groups of folders, or all Outlook folders. The process runs automatically whenever you start Outlook. The AutoArchive properties of each folder are checked by date, and old items are moved to your archive file. Items in the Deleted Items folder are deleted.

Several Outlook folders are set up with AutoArchive turned on. These folders and their default aging periods are Calendar (6 months), Tasks (6 months), Journal (6 months), Sent Items (2 months), and Deleted Items (2 months). The Inbox, Notes, Contacts, and Drafts folders do not have AutoArchive activated automatically.

Archiving vs. Exporting

To Turn on AutoArchive

1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Other tab.



2. Click AutoArchive.



3. Click to select the AutoArchive Every check box, and then specify how often the AutoArchive process will run by typing a number in the days box.



4. Click to select the Prompt Before AutoArchive check box, if you want to be notified before the items are archived.



5. In the Default archive file box, type a file name for the archived items to be transferred to, or click Browse to select from a list.



6. Click OK twice to close Options.

To Set AutoArchive Properties for a Folder

1. In the Folder List, right-click the folder you want to AutoArchive, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.



2. Click the AutoArchive tab.



3. To set AutoArchive for this folder, click to select Clean out items older than.



4. To specify when items should be automatically transferred to your archive file, type a number in the Months box.



5. To specify a file for the archived items to be transferred to, click Move old items to.



6. In the Move old items to box, type a file name for the archived items, or click Browse to select from a list, and then click OK.

REFERENCES

For more information about AutoArchive, click Microsoft Outlook Help on the Help menu, type How do I archive in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topics.

Additional query words: OL2K

Keywords :
Version : WINDOWS:2000
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbhowto