What is Archiving? Learn to Archive Outlook Emails Easily

Archive is a useful and familiar feature for many users of the Outlook app in Microsoft Office 365. It helps to organize and manage emails more efficiently. In this article, we'll explore how to archive emails in Outlook.

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Archive is a feature in Microsoft Outlook that helps users store received and sent emails for a specific period of time. When archiving is performed, emails are no longer kept in the primary mailbox but are instead moved to a different storage location on the computer’s hard drive.

What is Archiving?

Archiving is a feature used in Microsoft Outlook to help users store received and sent emails for a specific period of time. When archiving is performed, emails are no longer kept in the primary mailbox and are instead moved to a different storage location on the computer’s hard drive.

In simpler terms, it is the conversion of data file format from .pst to archive.pst. This enables users to search and access required emails more easily and also frees up storage space in the Outlook mailbox.

Things to Keep in Mind While Archiving Outlook Mail

  • Typically, in Outlook accounts, all emails or related files such as contacts, notes, meeting schedules, and tasks are saved in a .pst file, which is the only file format used for storage. When you move an email or any file in the .pst format to the archive.pst file, it will be completely stored in the Outlook Archive folder, and you will no longer be able to find it in the previous root folder.
  • Storing files in this manner is different from exporting files. Exporting files does not remove the original files; it only copies the original files from the initial directory and exports them to a separate directory. This process is completely unrelated to the .pst file.
  • A backup file is also different from an archive file in Outlook. If you want to back up an archive file, create a copy of it and save it in Dropbox or OneDrive.
  • Contacts cannot be saved automatically in Outlook. Users must manually save contacts to the address book.

How to Set Up Archiving?

Users can set up the following three commonly used settings for the archive feature in Outlook:

  • Automatically delete expired emails: In the email window, you can use the tab option to set up automatic deletion of expired emails, helping to free up memory.
  • Set a specific retention period for folders: You can freely choose the desired number of days to retain your folders. Multiple folders can be set up simultaneously.
  • Resolve errors before automatic archiving: Before the automatic archiving process is carried out, a notification about this setting will be displayed. To cancel automatic archiving, select No.

Other options include: Delete or archive items, permanently delete folders, display the archive folder in the list, move old items to a new folder, etc.

Guide to Quick Archiving Mail in Outlook

Steps to Open an Archive File in Outlook

Step 1: Open the Outlook application and log in to your account. Once the Outlook home screen appears, click on the File option -> Select Open & Export -> select Open Outlook Data File.

Step 2: Click on Archive, then select Open to open the Archive file.

Steps to Archive Mail with Each Folder in Outlook

Step 1: Find the folder you want to use for archiving, right-click on it, and then select Properties.

Step 2: Once the new window opens, select the Autoarchive tab. Under Archive item in this folder using the default settings, click on Default Archive Settings.

Steps to Archive All Mail in Outlook

Step 1: First, open the Outlook application and click on File.

Step 2: Next, select Info, under the Mailbox Settings section, click Clean Up Old Items….

Step 3: Click on Archive this folder and all subfolders and open the folder you want to use for archiving. Next, enter the archiving time frame and then tick Include items with Do not AutoArchive checked. Select OK to save the changes.

Frequently asked questions

Archiving is the process of moving emails from your inbox to a separate folder, called an archive folder. This helps you organize your inbox and keep important emails safe and easily accessible.

Archiving emails is a great way to declutter your inbox and keep it organized. It helps you find important emails quickly and keeps your inbox from becoming overwhelmed with old messages. It’s also a good way to back up important emails and ensure they’re not deleted accidentally.

Archiving emails in Outlook is simple. You can either drag and drop emails into the archive folder, or you can use the built-in archiving feature. To use the drag-and-drop method, simply select the email(s) you want to archive, then drag and drop them into the archive folder. To use the built-in feature, go to the File tab, click ‘Cleanup Tools’, and then select ‘Archive’. From there, you can choose the folder you want to archive and set a date range if needed.

Yes, accessing your archived emails is simple. In Outlook, your archive folder is typically located in the left-hand navigation pane under ‘Outlook Data File’ or ‘Archive Folders’. Simply click on the folder to view your archived emails. You can also use the search function to find specific archived emails quickly.

Yes, Outlook allows you to set up automatic archiving. Go to the File tab, click ‘Options’, and then select ‘Advanced’. Under the ‘AutoArchive’ section, you can set the frequency and parameters for automatic archiving. This way, Outlook will periodically archive old emails based on your specified settings.

Archiving moves emails out of your inbox and into a separate folder, while deleting removes emails from your inbox and places them in the ‘Deleted Items’ folder. Archiving is useful for organizing and backing up important emails, while deleting is useful for removing unimportant emails to free up space. Archived emails can be accessed anytime, but deleted emails will be permanently removed after they’re deleted from the ‘Deleted Items’ folder.