Knowledge Base

OL2000: (CW) How to Move Your Personal Folders File to a Network Server

PSS ID Number: 197263

Article Last Modified on 3/7/2002

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Outlook 2000

This article was previously published under Q197263

NOTE: These procedures only apply if you have installed Outlook with the Corporate Workgroup/Other option. This option allows you to use Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI) services. To determine your installation type, on the Help Menu, click About Microsoft Outlook. In About Microsoft Outlook you should see "Corporate" if you have the Corporate Workgroup installation.

SUMMARY

This article describes how to move your Microsoft Outlook 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

NOTE: Personal folder files (.pst files) are not recommended over a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN) link. For additional information about why this is not recommended and what other solutions there are, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

297019 OL2000: Why .pst Files Are Not Recommended Over LAN or WAN Link

By default, Microsoft Outlook stores all of the information in your Personal Folders file on your hard disk 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.

Configuring Outlook to use your Personal Folders file from a network server is a three-part process:

Identify the .pst file used by your mail profile.
Copy the .pst file to a network server where you have full rights.
Configure your profile to reference the new location of your .pst file.

Identifying Your PST File Name and Location

Start Outlook.
On the Tools menu, click Services.
On the Services tab, click to select Personal Folder, and then click Properties.
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.
Click OK, click OK again, and then click Exit and Log Off to quit Outlook.

Establish a Persistent Connection to the Network Server

Click Start, point to Programs, and then click Windows Explorer.
On the Tools menu, click Map Network Drive.
Click to select the drive, type the path to the location of the .pst file, click to select Reconnect At Logon, and then click OK.

Copying the PST File to the Network Server

Quit all programs.
Use Windows Explorer to locate and copy the .pst file to the network server. This is the file you noted in step 4 in the "Identifying Your Profile's PST File Name and Location" section earlier in this article.

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

Start Outlook.
On the Tools menu, click Services.
On the Services tab, click to select Personal Folder, and then click Remove.

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.
On the Services tab, click Add.
In the Available Information Services list, click to select Personal Folder, and then click OK.
In the File Name box, type the network path to your .pst file on the network server, and then click Open.
Click OK to close all dialog boxes.
On the File menu, click Exit and Log Off.
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; 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.

Multiple Personal Folders

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 with 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.

For additional information about working with multiple Personal folders, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

195782 OL2000: Working with Personal Folders

Additional query words: OL2K

Keywords: kbinfo KB197263
Technology: kbOutlook2000Search kbOutlookSearch kbZNotKeyword3

Microsoft KB Archive/197263

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