archive empty!

[Patti]

I hope someone can help me! I usually auto archive when Outlook prompts me,
and whenever (rarely) I wanted to look at something, I could always just
click in the archive folder and see them all over there. I never even looked
at the Auto- archive settings until today, when I went to look for something,
and the whole folder is empty! Where did everything go?

So I looked under Tools>Options>Other>AutoArchive settings and see a box
checked that says "Archive or delete old items" and another that says "Delete
expired items (email folders only). !!!!!!!

Why 'archive OR delete'? There's a damn big difference between the two!
Did Outlook delete all my old emails??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

What are expired item?!?!?!?!?!

I need them now for a court hearing!!!!!!!

HHEEELLLLLPPPPPP!!!!!

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

I hope someone can help me! I usually auto archive when Outlook prompts me,
and whenever (rarely) I wanted to look at something, I could always just
click in the archive folder and see them all over there. I never even
looked
at the Auto- archive settings until today, when I went to look for
something,
and the whole folder is empty! Where did everything go?

So I looked under Tools>Options>Other>AutoArchive settings and see a box
checked that says "Archive or delete old items" and another that says
"Delete
expired items (email folders only). !!!!!!!

Why 'archive OR delete'? There's a damn big difference between the two!

You can configure the AutoArchive process to do either, but the "Delete
expired items" isn't a part of that. It's a different function. Notice that
it's on the same level as "Archive or delete" and that it's a check box, not a
radio button. Check boxes are options that are not mutually exclusive. They
can be chosen and operate simultaneously. Radio buttons are mutually
exclusive options. Thus, the AutoArchive options for "Move old items" and
"Permanently delete old items" are mutually exclusive and underneath the
"Archive or delete" check box, so they modify that option. Those radio
buttons choose the "archive" or the "delete" option of the "Archive or delete"
check box and that has nothing to do with expired items.

Expired messages are messages that you have either deliberately marked as
expired or that get marked as expired with Tools>options>E-mail
Options>Advanced E-mail Options>Messages expire after XX days. Outlook
represents those by displaying them in the mail folder with an overstrike
through the subject. AutoArchive can also remove those messages in addition
to performing its archiving function.

Did Outlook delete all my old emails??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Likely not.

What are expired item?!?!?!?!?!

See above.

I need them now for a court hearing!!!!!!!

If you can't find them in your active PST or your archive PST, you'll have to
restore them from one of the backups you've made. You DO make backups of your
PSTs, correct?

 

[Patti]

Thanks Brian, that was helpful and reassuring information -- seems like since
I didn't have the 'permanently delete old items' radio button selected, it
should have just moved them.

The big mystery remains, however . . . . why aren't they in the archive
folder? Why, when I used to choose the Archives Folders in the folder list,
I could see them, and now I cannot? There is a 'Sent Items' folder under the
Archive Folders, but no Inbox (and I can't recall if there ever was), but my
regular Inbox has definitely been pruned. I remember it was so easy to
search those archived items -- they were just right there, and now they're
gone.

I do make backups, but my guess is that all my recent backup archive.pst
files have been replaced by this new "empty" archive.pst -- I don't keep an
infinite number of backups. I can get to some of the old stuff on permanent
backups, but there are sure to be gaps. This so sucks.

Anyway, thanks for the info.

Patti

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

The big mystery remains, however . . . . why aren't they in the archive
folder? Why, when I used to choose the Archives Folders in the folder list,
I could see them, and now I cannot? There is a 'Sent Items' folder under
the
Archive Folders, but no Inbox (and I can't recall if there ever was), but my
regular Inbox has definitely been pruned. I remember it was so easy to
search those archived items -- they were just right there, and now they're
gone.

If you renamed or deleted an archive PST in the file system, Outlook would
create a new empty one. That's the only way I know to have archive items
disappear. Things don't "just happen". I do find it odd that you don't have
an Inbox in the archive PST unless you've explicitly excluded that folder
from the archive process in its properties. Outlook should create folder
copies even if no items in the folder get archived.

I do make backups, but my guess is that all my recent backup archive.pst
files have been replaced by this new "empty" archive.pst -- I don't keep an
infinite number of backups. I can get to some of the old stuff on permanent
backups, but there are sure to be gaps. This so sucks.

Were I in your position, I'd enable vviewing hidden files and folders, search
the entire hard drive for ".pst" and open each one I find in Outlook to see
what it contains just to make sure I didn't lose track of one.

 

[LimeyDi]

Brian, your post says "see above" for "expired" mail messages - this seems
rto applyonly yo messages expired by me - there are several incoming messages
in my folders that are grayed out and are marked expired, but my settingsay
NOT to expire messages (check box is blank) - if others send me messages that
expire, how can that be changed? i want to decide which messages to keep as
current and for how long.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

Brian, your post says "see above" for "expired" mail messages - this seems
rto applyonly yo messages expired by me - there are several incoming
messages
in my folders that are grayed out and are marked expired, but my settingsay
NOT to expire messages (check box is blank) - if others send me messages
that
expire, how can that be changed? i want to decide which messages to keep as
current and for how long.

If someone has set the expiration date when they sent the message, I don't see
any automatic way, other than writing your own code, to remove that date.

 

[LimeyDi]

I'm just Plain Jane Mail User, so code-writing is not among my skills. Is
there any way to get the messages sent by others that have "expired" to
display the same as all my regular "unexpired" mail, i.e. not greyed out and
with no line through them? Will these messages delete themselves at some
point, or is there somehting i can do to prevent that? Thanks!

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

I'm just Plain Jane Mail User, so code-writing is not among my skills. Is
there any way to get the messages sent by others that have "expired" to
display the same as all my regular "unexpired" mail, i.e. not greyed out and
with no line through them?

Sure. For Outlook 2003, click Tools>Organize>Using Colors>Automatic
Formatting. Either uncheck the "Expired e-mail" rule or change it to choose a
normal font. I'm not at my OL 2007 system right now, so I don't know if the
path is the same. Use Help to look for "highlight items".

Will these messages delete themselves at some
point, or is there somehting i can do to prevent that?

They'll delete only if you've configured AutoArchive to delete them.

 

[LimeyDi]

Excellent - done - thanks, Brian. Now if I could only find out how to
highlight text in a new mail message - only way I know now is to highlight
the phrase in Word then copy and paste. I have spent a fair amount of time
researchingthuis - what did i miss? How can i add (yellow) highlighting to
text in an email? Thanks again!

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

Excellent - done - thanks, Brian. Now if I could only find out how to
highlight text in a new mail message - only way I know now is to highlight
the phrase in Word then copy and paste. I have spent a fair amount of time
researchingthuis - what did i miss? How can i add (yellow) highlighting to
text in an email? Thanks again!

If you're using Word, then look for "apply or remove highlighting" in Help.
Basically, you select the text you wish to highlight, then click the Highlight
tool on the Extended Formatting toolbar. If you don't see that toolbar,
right-click an empty area of the toolbar space, choose Customize, and select
"Extended Formatting" on the Toolbar tab. Click Close.