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

ID: Q171231

The information in this article applies to:
  • 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.
It is possible to configure your mail profile to use more than one PST file. For example, you can use one locally and one from a server or open a shared PST file from another user's profile. These configurations are beyond the scope of this article. For more information about working with multiple Personal Folders, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q162206 OL97: Working with Personal Folders
Q164407 OL97: Managing a PST for Two Different Computers
Configuring Outlook to use your Personal Folders file from a network server is a three-part process:
  • 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.


NOTE: You can save the PST file in any folder on the destination computer as long as you have full rights and remember the location and file name.

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.


If the PST is your default delivery location, you will see the following message:
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.
Click Yes to have Outlook update the Outlook Bar shortcuts so that they point to your new PST file location, or click No to leave the shortcuts for your original local PST file.

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


Last Reviewed: October 8, 1999
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