OL97: Creating and Viewing Archive Items from a Custom Location (173575)

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By default the Outlook AutoArchive features is set to run every 14 days. Additionally, each folder contains an archive property, which determines when items in that folder are archived. Several Outlook folders are installed with AutoArchive turned 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). Inbox, Notes, and Contacts do not have AutoArchive activated automatically.

When you archive folders, you are moving the items from their existing folder into an archive type of Personal Folders or PST file. By default, Outlook saves archived items in the following location: The file Archive.pst is just like any other Personal Folders file (PST) in that it retains the same file structure as your original folders and you can add or remove an Archive.pst file from your Outlook profile.

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

Setting Outlook to Use A Custom Archive Location

Follow these steps to change the location and file name of your archived items:

1. On the Tools Menu, click Options and click the AutoArchive tab.
2. In the "Default archive file" box, type the path and file name for location you want items archived. Be sure to use the .pst extension on the file name.
   
   Note the "AutoArchive every X days at startup" check box. This determines how often AutoArchive occurs.
3. 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 above. This new file contains all of your archived items in the same folder structure.

Since the archive file is a PST file, you can view archived items either by importing them, 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 move back to their original location. For more information on importing a PST file, please see the topic "Importing Personal Folder Data" in the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: If you choose to add the archive Personal Folders file to your profile, you simply view the items from the archive folder.

Adding an Archive File to Your Profile

To add an archive file to your profile so 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 Tools menu, click Services and on the Services tab, click Add.
2. In the Available information services list, click to select Personal Folders.
3. In "Create/Open Personal Folders File", navigate to and click to select the custom archive PST file you created in the "Setting Outlook to Use A Custom Archive Location" section of this article and then click Open.
4. In the Name box, type Archive and then click OK. This will add Archive to your list of profile services.
5. Click OK to close the Services box.
6. On the Outlook Standard Toolbar, click Folder List to turn on the folder list view. In your folder list, you should see an Archive folder with your archived items in their appropriate subfolder.