Configure AutoArchive In Outlook 2007
In a previous article we showed you how to quickly clean out your inbox. Here we will show you how to have more control over what is kept and what is not. Let’s look at a way to archive the older items so your inbox is not so cluttered up.
AutoArchive is turned on by default in Outlook 2007 and will actually remove some of the oldest files (you determine the amount of time) completely.
Open Outlook and click on Tools \ Options
Now click on the Other tab and click the AutoArchive button.
This opens up a whole menu of options and settings to pick from: for instance you can choose how often AutoArchive runs. In this example I picked 20 days. I also place a check next to “Prompt before AutoArchive runs” just in case there is something I do not want deleted.
This is also where you decide when to clean out old items and the location to move them to. Of course you can always select to permanently delete old items if you do not want to keep them around any longer. Click OK and your settings are saved!
Daily Email Updates
You can get our how-to articles in your inbox each day for free. Just enter your name and email below:
You failed to mention that while auto archive is turned on by default, NOTHING is set to archive. Your readers either have to click the button “Apply these settings to all folders now” or manually configure each folder to be archived. Otherwise the auto archive will run, but nothing will be moved.
Don’t forget that AutoArchiving looks at Last Modified Date and NOT Received or Sent Date. If users do ANYTHING to a message (including just look at it) in an Exchange environment the Last Modified Date will change. It will also change, in a pst environment, if the message is moved, copied, forwarded or replied to.
I have done all this but for some reason it is still not archiving. It is creating the folders but not placing the old emails in them. We have just recently upgraded to 2007 from 2003. Could that be a problem?
I set up autoarchive like it is desribed here and receheked many times. But the autoarchive is not working. It is not moving emails to the archive folder. I am running Outlook 2007 in Vista. I am connected to a hosted exchange by my website host. Please help. How do i troubleshoot?
I’ve had the same problem as Mo listed above. Have any solutions or trouble shooting been recommended and if so, is it sent to the email or will it be posted on the site? Thanks in advance.
I am also having the problem where it will create the folders but move nothing into them. We are on a Exhange 2003 server, and i am using Outlook 2007. Any idea as to why this is not working?
I have done all this but it is noot archiving. It is creating the Archive folders but not placing the old emails in them. Could that be a problem?
I agree with everyone. Outlook2003 AutoArchiving does not work with Exchange 2007. Any solution?
How do I remove duplicate Archive Folders? Each time I archive a new folder is created. I’ve moved everything into one set of archive folders but I still have an empty archive folder.
Wow, can not believe so many people have the same problem an still no fix. I try to use Autoarchive to smaller my 2 GByte .OST file while moving items to a local .PST file – NOTHING no Emails moving… it only creates empty folders. I tried several times. I am on a hosted Exhange server. Anybody found the bug?
Well, I found the answer for the not working ARCHIVE function:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/295657
Stupid that they consider the “modified” date for the archive function because my ‘modified date’ entry is wrong for most of my emails. Beside, how would you ‘modifify’ received emails in your inbox? Well, over 1000 emails from 2005 show in my inbox ‘modified 12/18/2008″ and I am sure I have not touch any of these emails.
I take back my original comment, complaining that auto archiving does not work. Actually, auto archiving works fine, as long as you remember that Outlook uses the “modified” date, not the “received” date (as you would expect). A variety of actions changes the modified date. Most common is when you move a message from one folder to another, the modified date changes. So for example, if you receive a message in June, but then move it to another folder in November, the modified date is now November. And if your archive settings are looking for messages in June, that message will not be archived (because it’s really a November message).
You can confirm all the dates, “sent”, “received”, “modified” by opening a message | Propertes.
Interestingly enough, as you can’t change the modified date, I changed the date to auto archive to a point in the future. It will archive everything (in the specified folder), including the most current data. But at least it gets archived; you can always retreive archived data.
I had a huge problem with this since I am using IMAP.
Every time I send/receive or look at an e-mail, the modified date is updated.
AOL deletes old messages every month, so if I don’t back them up they disappear.
I can’t use POP3 because I need to see my server folders (sent, spam). POP, in general, only works with the Inbox folder.
My workaround was to create a Rule (Tools -> Rules and Alerts) to automatically put a copy of new messages that come into my IMAP Inbox into my Archived Folders Inbox.
This puts two copies in my Outlook, one in my IMAP folder, which will disappear when AOL decides to delete it, and one in my archived folder, which is all safe and permanent.
Unfortunately, so far I haven’t been able to get this to work for any IMAP folders except Inbox.
So if I send an e-mail from the AOL webmail instead of the Outlook client on my home desktop, I’ll have no permanent copy unless I manually copy it from my IMAP Sent folder.
I really need to archive – I have a large number of messages in my inbox andsent items. This worked well for me with XP outlook 2003. I now have vista and outlook 2007. I know how to do the settings to archive, but the archive folders will not appear in the mail folders as before. They should automatically appear when you first archive. Your help would be appreciated!
You can always select the mail you want to archive, right click, and move to your archive folder.
Thanks but the main problem is that the Archive folders are not automatically created when archiving – there are no archive folders – if I auto-archive, then duplicate messages are created in the existing folders.
Auto Archive runs on “Modified Date”
View
Current View
Customize Current View
All Mail Fields
ADD “Modified”
OK, OK
Look at your mod dates, what’s effecting them? Malware apps scanning?, Backup utils?
I had this same issue. The properties for each folder had the AutoArchive configured, but when AutoArchive ran nothing happened. I discovered that I had to select “Archive or Delete old Items” under tools/options/other/Autoarchive. Set a high default value and then set your folders to whatever you want. The folder value overrides the default, but the default needs to been enabled. Click on the autoarchive button under mailbox cleanup and it should work now. At least that’s what my problem was.