Microsoft KB Archive/913114

= Outlook item data that is in Outlook 2007 still remains in the .pst file when you move the .pst file to an earlier version of Microsoft Outlook =

Article ID: 913114

Article Last Modified on 4/25/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Office Outlook 2007

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SYMPTOMS
Consider the following scenario. You open a Personal Folders file (.pst) in Microsoft Office Outlook 2007. Then, you move this .pst file to an earlier version of Microsoft Outlook. In this scenario, Outlook item data that is in Outlook 2007 still remains in the .pst file. This includes properties of the messages and the first 256 bytes of the message bodies.

For example, if you delete an item that is contained in the .pst file in the earlier version of Microsoft Outlook, the entry for the item is not completely deleted. If you try to clean up the contents of the .pst file by compacting the file, the properties that were in the .pst file when you opened the file in Outlook 2007 remain.

Note You cannot see this behavior in Microsoft Outlook. To see this behavior, you must open the .pst file in a hexadecimal editor.



CAUSE
This issue occurs because Outlook 2007 writes indexing information into the .pst file. This information cannot be reconciled by earlier versions of Microsoft Outlook. This indexing information is part of a new feature set that is available in Outlook 2007. The indexing information is not recognized by earlier versions of Microsoft Outlook.



WORKAROUND
To work around this issue, do not open a .pst file that has been opened in Outlook 2007 in an earlier version of Microsoft Outlook. When you use this workaround, you can help prevent potential privacy concerns with your Outlook items.

If you experience this issue, move the file back to Outlook 2007 so that the indexing information can be synchronized and reconciled.



MORE INFORMATION
An Outlook 2007 .pst file includes indexing information that contains envelope data about every Outlook item. When you move a .pst file from Outlook 2007 to an earlier version of Microsoft Outlook, the envelope information will no longer be updated. If any Outlook item is deleted or modified, the item's original envelope information will remain unchanged in the .pst file. This behavior applies only to the item's envelope information that is stored in the .pst file, such as the Subject line, the timestamp information, and the &quot;To&quot; and &quot;From&quot; information. Any items that were in the envelope information when you opened the .pst file in Outlook 2007 will remain in the .pst file until you move the file back into Outlook 2007. At this point, the .pst reconciliation code in Outlook 2007 will resynchronize the envelope information and the index with the current state of the .pst file.

This behavior may be a potential privacy concern because an item will not be completely removed from a .pst file when you delete the item from the .pst file.

Additional query words: outlook2007 outlook2k7 ol2007 ol2k7

Keywords: kbemail kbtshoot kbprb KB913114

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