Microsoft KB Archive/179773

= OL98: (IMO) Creating and Viewing Archive Items from a Custom Location =

Article ID: 179773

Article Last Modified on 11/21/2000

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Outlook 98 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q179773



NOTE: These procedures only apply if you have installed Outlook with the Internet Mail Only option. To determine your installation type, click About Microsoft Outlook on the Help menu. If you have the Internet Mail Only option installed, you see "Internet Mail Only".

For information about the differences between Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Outlook Express e-mail clients, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

257824 OL2000: Differences Between Outlook and Outlook Express



SUMMARY
This article describes how you can customize Microsoft Outlook 98 to archive items in a specific location and file on your hard disk. It also describes how you can later add the archive file to a profile so that you can retrieve the archived items.



MORE INFORMATION
By default the Outlook AutoArchive feature is set to run every 14 days. In addition, each folder contains an archive property, which determines when items in that folder are archived. Several Outlook folders are installed when AutoArchive is 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). AutoArchive is not automatically available for Inbox, Notes, and Contacts.

When you archive folders, you are moving the items from their existing folders into an archived Personal Folders or PST file. By default, Outlook saves archived items in the following location:

c:\My Documents\Archive.pst

The file Archive.pst is just like any other Personal Folders file (PST) in that it retains the same file structure as the original folders, and you can add or remove an Archive.pst file from an Outlook profile.

You can change the default file name (Archive.pst) and location (C:\My Documents) so that the Outlook items are archived in another location.

Selecting a Custom Archive Location
To change the location and file name of the archived items, follow these steps:
 * 1) On the Tools Menu, click Options, click the Other tab, and then click AutoArchive.
 * 2) In the Default Archive File box, type the path and file name for the location in which you want to archive items. Be sure to use the .pst file name extension at the end of the file name.

Note the "AutoArchive every X days at startup" check box. This determines how often the AutoArchive feature runs.
 * 1) Click OK to close the AutoArchive dialog box, and then click OK to close the Options box.

The next time Outlook successfully archives items, Outlook creates the archive file that you named in step 2. This new file contains all of the archived items in the same folder structure.

Because the archive file is a PST file, you can view archived items either by importing them, or using the Export and Import Wizard, or by adding the archive Personal Folders file as a service in your profile.

If you choose to import the items, they are moved back to their original locations. For more information about importing a PST file, please see "Importing Personal Folder Data" section in the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

181014 OL98: How to Back Up Outlook Data

If you add the archive Personal Folders file to your profile, you can view the items from the archive folder.

Adding an Archive File to Your Profile
To add an archive file to your profile so that you can view the archived items, follow these steps.

NOTE: Keeping archived items in your profile defeats the purpose of using the archiving feature. You should use these steps to view or copy archived items, and then remove the archive file from your profile.


 * 1) On the File menu, point to Open and click Other Outlook File (.pst)
 * 2) In the Open Personal Folders dialog box, find, and then click to select the custom archive PST file you created in the previous section in this article. Then, click Open.
 * 3) On the View menu, click Folder List to use the folder list view. In your folder list, you should see an Archive folder with the archived items in the appropriate subfolder.

