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Archiving Staff Email

How can archiving help me?

Staff and Shared Mailboxes have size restrictions in place and the capacities needs to be maintained to ensure that incoming emails are received and to enable the sending of emails. Regularly archiving (whether manually or automated) will assist with ensuring mailboxes do not exceed the limits.

The below FAQs will assist with the archiving of mailboxes.

How do I open a previously created PST/Archive folder?

  1. Open Outlook
  2. Click File
  3. Click Open & Export
  4. Click Open Outlook Data File
  5. Locate where the PST file was saved and double click on it
  6. The PST file is now open on the left hand side under your mailbox

NOTE: Only 1 person can view a PST file at a time. If it is used by a number of staff you will need to ensure that you close it (by right mouse clicking on it and clicking Close "<pst file name>") after you have finished.

Or for step by step instruction on how to open a specific PST file see the opening a PST file page.

How can I create a PST/Archive folder?

  1. Open Outlook
  2. Click New Items in the top left corner
  3. Click More Items
  4. Click Outlook Data File...
  5. Select location to save the PST
    NOTE: We recommend that PST files are saved in staff personal drives on the server to ensure they are backed up, eg your staff U: drive.
  6. Change default naming convention of File name: to something more appropriate, eg Archive 2018.
  7. Click Ok
  8. Your new PST will now appear at the bottom of the left hand side of your mailbox and you can now create/move folders/emails from your mailbox

For step by step instructions (with screenshots) see How can I create a PST/Archive folder? page.

Or for step by step instruction on how to setup automatic archiving (not the recommended process) on specific folders see the configuring automatic archive page.

Issue viewing PST content or opening

PST files could have issues opening or displaying content for a number of reasons. Outlook may display a warning/issue message when you first open the software or when you click on your PST to try and access content within.

Closing the PST and re-opening will refresh the connection with the file and resolve most issues:

  1. Close/Cancel any error message pop ups
  2. Right mouse click on PST
  3. Click Close 

Once you have closed the PST re-open it by:

  1. Open Outlook
  2. Click File
  3. Click Open & Export
  4. Click Open Outlook Data File
  5. Locate where the PST file was saved and double click on it
  6. The PST file is now open on the left hand side under your mailbox

NOTE: Only 1 person can view a PST file at a time. If it is used by a number of staff you will need to ensure that you close it (by right mouse clicking on it and clicking Close "<pst file name>") after you have finished.

Is SharePoint still a recommended storage facility for emails?

Unfortunately Microsoft no longer supports this option and therefore the IT Help Desk at UniSA are also unable to assist. Even though you cannot move emails directly to SharePoint from Outlook, you could potentially set up a sync between SharePoint and OneDrive and move emails to OneDrive.

Can I setup auto archiving in Outlook?

Step by step instructions (including screenshots) can be found on the Lynda.com page.

How can I archive old calendar items?

  1. Open Outlook
  2. Down the bottom click the 3 dots
  3. Click Folders 
  4. Right mouse click on Calendar
  5. Click Properties
  6. Click AutoArchive tab
  7. Click Archive this folder using these settings:
  8. Set Clean out items older than desired option
  9. Click OK

Once archived you will be able to view old calendar items by opening the .pst file.

Or for step by step instruction (including screenshots) on archiving old calendar items page.

How do I archive my emails on a Mac through Outlook?

Archived emails are placed in a folder called On My Computer, this folder is hidden by default.

To show this go to: Outlook > Preferences > General and untick the Hide.

The On My Computer folder will then appear in you folder list on the left hand side of Outlook folders.

NOTE: Outlook archives in Apple OS can’t be saved on a server share.

Or for step by step instruction (including screen shots) see the how do I archive my emails on a Mac through Outlook page.

How do I archive my emails on a Mac through Apple Mail?

Archived emails in Mail are stored in a folder called On My Mac.

This folder is hidden by default, it will be visible once you archive an email:

  1. Select the email
  2. Click Message menu or the icon
  3. Select Archive

NOTE: Mail archives in Apple OS can’t be saved on a server share.

Or for step by step instruction (including screen shots) see the how do I archive my emails on a Mac through Apple Mail page.

Can I use Mail Backup X on a Mac to backup email?

You can use Mail Backup X to manage your mailbox size on a Mac. Mail Backup X will back up and restore email to/from your local, removable and network drives. Mail Backup X allows you to back up only email that has changed since the last backup. The email backup can be stored at any location - both offline and online. The backups can also be stored at multiple locations simultaneously (Mirror). This helps, especially when one of the two storage locations are not contactable.

To request that Mail Backup X is installed on your University owned Mac please contact the IT Help Desk