Automatically Archiving Outlook Items

If you don't want to delete items in your Outlook data file, but you don't want to keep them in your default Outlook data file, you can use a tool called AutoArchive. Outlook can either move items from your folders into a new Archive Personal Folders file or simply delete items from the folders in your mailbox. AutoArchive works by comparing the last modification date for an item to a predefined date you set. For example, you can choose to have Outlook AutoArchive all items that are more than six months old. You can define an archive schedule on a per-folder or per-mailbox basis.

Defining Archiving Periods

Each of Outlook's default folders, except the Contacts folder, has a default archive period. This is the period after which an item is eligible for AutoArchive. Table 24.1 details the archive period for all of Outlook's default folders. The Contacts folder doesn't have an archive period because after you enter a contact in the Contacts folder, you might never make a change to that contact, but you want the contact to remain in the folder for future reference.

Table 24.1. Default Archive Periods

Folder

Archival Period

On by Default?

Condition

Calendar

6 months

Yes

Start date or last modified time

Contacts

None

No

Not archived

Deleted Items

2 months

Yes

Date item deleted

Drafts

3 months

No

Creation date or last modified date

Inbox

3 months

No

Received date or last modified date

Journal

6 months

Yes

Entry date or last modified date

Notes

3 months

No

Entry date or last modified date

Outbox

3 months

No

Creation date or last modified date

Sent Items

2 months

Yes

Date item was sent

Tasks

6 months

Yes

Completion date or last modified date; incomplete tasks are not archived

If you create a new folder in your Outlook store, its default archival period is the same as its folder type. For instance, a user-created Calendar folder has an archival period of 6 months and AutoArchive is on by default.

Some folders are not archived by default. If you want those folders to be archived, you must explicitly turn on AutoArchive.

To turn on AutoArchive for a folder, use the following steps:

  1. Right-click any folder and select Properties.

  2. Click the AutoArchive tab to display Figure 24.10.

    Figure 24.10. Use the AutoArchive tab to configure folder specific archive behavior.

    graphics/24fig10.jpg

  3. For a user-created mail folder, AutoArchive is off by default. To turn AutoArchive on, choose an archive behavior. You can either choose to Archive Items In This Folder Using the Default Settings or Archive This Folder Using These Settings. If you want to use the default AutoArchive settings for this folder, choose the first option. Otherwise, you can set the archive options for the folder manually.

If you choose to configure AutoArchive settings specifically for this folder, you can control which items are archived as well as what happens to those items once AutoArchive runs. You can set all the following options on a per-folder basis:

  • Clean Out Items Older Than You can choose to archive items older than any number of days, weeks, or months.

  • Move Old Items to Default Archive Folder You can specify the default archive folder globally in Outlook. Choosing this option always moves archived items to this specific archive folder.

  • Move Old Items To If you have a specific archive folder you want to use to store items in this folder, you can select this option and click Browse to locate your archive folder.

  • Permanently Delete Old Items If you don't want to save items that you archive, you can choose to have Outlook permanently delete them.

NOTE

If your network administrator has set a retention policy, this information is displayed at the bottom of the AutoArchive tab.


When you've finished setting the AutoArchive settings for your folder, click OK to save your changes.

NOTE

If you haven't set AutoArchive options globally, Outlook informs you that you currently have no global AutoArchive settings. Outlook will then enable AutoArchive and set an archive schedule of every 14 days.


Turning On AutoArchive

In addition to setting archive settings on a per-folder basis, you can also configure global AutoArchive settings. To access the global AutoArchive settings, select Tools, Options, and click the Other tab. Click the AutoArchive button to display Figure 24.11.

Figure 24.11. You can set global AutoArchive settings through the options dialog box.

graphics/24fig11.gif

If you haven't enabled AutoArchive globally and haven't set any folder-specific AutoArchive settings, you must turn on AutoArchive by checking the box marked Run AutoArchive Every XX Days. You can enter an AutoArchive interval between 1 and 60 days. If you want Outlook to inform you before AutoArchive runs, check the box marked Prompt Before AutoArchive Runs.

The next section of the AutoArchive options dialog box enables you to control what happens when AutoArchive runs. You can choose from the following options:

  • Delete Expired Items When you send an email, you can choose an expiration date for it. By default, when AutoArchive runs, it deletes all items that have expired from any folder set to AutoArchive.

  • Show Archive Folder in Folder List When AutoArchive runs, it creates an Archive Personal Folders file. By default, this folder appears in your folder list. You can uncheck this option to hide the Archive folder from your folder list.

  • Default Folder Settings for Archiving In this section, you can choose an archive interval of days, weeks, or months. You can also choose the archive folder you want to use to store your archived items. If you want to create a new archive file, click the Browse button and enter a new archive filename. If you want to delete old items rather than archiving them, select Permanently Delete Old Items. If you want all folders to follow the same AutoArchive schedule, click the button marked Apply These Settings to All Folders Now.

  • Retention Policy If your system administrator has set any retention policies for your mailbox store, that information appears here.

Click OK to save your AutoArchive settings. Click OK once more to exit the Options dialog box.

Excluding Items from Archiving

By default, all items in a folder are archived if they meet the AutoArchive settings. However, if there are items in a folder that you want to exclude from automatic archiving, you can do so on a per-item basis. For example, if you want to clean out all items more than six months old but you want to keep three items that contain information you need on a regular basis, you can prevent those three items from being archived.

To prevent an item from being archived, open the item. Select File, Properties to display Figure 24.12. Check the box marked Do Not AutoArchive This Item and click OK. Close the item and save your changes.

Figure 24.12. Use the Properties dialog box to prevent archiving an item.

graphics/24fig12.gif

NOTE

You can exclude any Outlook item from being automatically archived. Even though contact items aren't archived automatically, you can archive them manually. If you want to archive contact items manually, but want to prevent certain contact items from being archived, use the previous procedure to prevent it.




Special Edition Using Microsoft Office Outlook 2003
Special Edition Using Microsoft Office Outlook 2003
ISBN: 0789729563
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 426

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