Using the AutoArchive feature
of the Microsoft Outlook program

Campus E-Mail Quotas

Each person with a campus mailbox is assigned a quota on the e-mail server so that the server's resources can be shared fairly.

When you begin to approach the limit of your quota, you receive messages from the server informing you of this. When you get close to the limit, the server prevents you from sending any messages until you delete messages from your mailbox. When you exceed the limit, messages addressed to you are no longer delivered, and are returned to the sender with a descriptive error message.

While there are many steps that you can take to manage the size of your mailbox, one of the most effective is to regularly archive messages to your local computer.

Outlook AutoArchive

Faculty and staff may wish to use the AutoArchive feature of the Microsoft Outlook program to help manage the amount of e-mail stored on the CUA e-mail servers automatically.  This can help ensure that you remain within your server quota limits.

You should use the AutoArchive feature only if you have a University desktop computer assigned to you (i.e., you regularly use just one computer), since the messages are archived to a file on the local hard drive.  Archived messages can be read only on that computer; they are not accessible from other computers or through the Webmail (OWA) interface.

Learning all about AutoArchive

The best way to learn about using the AutoArchive feature is to take the self-paced Microsoft online training course "File or archive your e-mail on your own computer". You should use Internet Explorer if you want to make use of the course's practice sessions.

The course also shows you how to file e-mail in a personal folder as an alternative to the AutoArchive feature.

Enabling the AutoArchive Feature

To turn on the AutoArchive feature in Outlook 2003, follow these steps.

1. Select Tools from the Outlook menu, and then select Options.
   
   
2. In the Options window, select the Other tab. Click the AutoArchive button.
   
   
3. Check the box next to "AutoArchive Every" and select the number of days. The default is 14.
   
   
4. Check the box next to "Prompt before AutoArchive" to be notified that archiving is taking place.
   
   
5. In the "Default folder settings for archiving section," specify a value for "Clean out items older than." The default is 6 Months.
   
   
6. Look at the file specified in the "Move old items to" box. This is the location of your archive file on your local computer. See "Managing your archive.pst file" below.
   
   
7. By default, only these folders are set to archive automatically: Calendar, Tasks, Journal, Sent Items, Deleted Items. If you want to AutoArchive all your folders, click "Apply these settings to all folders now". Note that the Contacts folder cannot be AutoArchived.
   
   
8. Click OK to close the Option windows.
   
   
9. Configure the AutoArchive settings for any folders for which you want different settings.  To do this, right-click the folder and select "Properties".  Select the AutoArchive tab in the Properties window and make your changes.

Managing your archive.pst file

It is very important that you back up your archive.pst file periodically to protect the information it contains in case your hard drive fails or the file is accidentally deleted.  A good time to do this is after each scheduled archive; these occur every 14 days by default.

The standard Windows folder location of your archive.pst file is:

C:\Documents and Settings\{yourlogonname}\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\archive.pst

where "{yourlogonname}" is your CUA network logon username, e.g. jonesabc.

To navigate to this folder using Windows Explorer or My Computer, you will need to change a Folder Option setting.

1. Open Windows Explorer or My Computer
   
   
2. Select "Tools" from the menu, and then "Folder Options".
   
   
3. On the "View" tab, in the Advanced settings box, select the option to "Show hidden files and folders"
   
   
4. Click OK to close the Folder Options window.

To back up your AutoArchive data,

1. exit completely from Outlook and any programs that might be synchronizing with it (such as Palm Desktop or Microsoft ActiveSync)
   
   
2. copy the archive.pst file to removeable media such as a USB drive, or burn it onto a writeable CD or DVD disc

If you file messages to a personal folder rather than using AutoArchive, you should back up the Personal Folders .pst file the same way. Personal folders are usually stored in the same Windows folder as the archive.pst file.

Please note that the maximum size of a Personal Folder (.pst) file, including archive.pst, is 20 gigabytes (GB).