Archiving and reducing Outlook.pst file

[Phil vK]

I am archiving folders with the intent of having a backup I can copy to an
external disk, and to reduce the size of my Outlook.pst file. After
archiving 2 folders and then deleting them from my Outlook Folder list, I
noticed that there is NO change to the Outlook.pst file. Can someone please
tell me the correct way to do this or point me to an article that describes
how?

 

[Gordon]

I am archiving folders with the intent of having a backup I can copy to an
external disk, and to reduce the size of my Outlook.pst file. After
archiving 2 folders and then deleting them from my Outlook Folder list, I
noticed that there is NO change to the Outlook.pst file. Can someone
please
tell me the correct way to do this or point me to an article that
describes
how?

Did you compact the pst file?

 

[Phil vK]

Gordon - I was going to compact after I archive all my old folders. The big
question is, is it OK to delete the Archive Folders from the foler view if
the Archived PST file is on my hard drive?

 

[Gordon]

Gordon - I was going to compact after I archive all my old folders. The
big
question is, is it OK to delete the Archive Folders from the foler view
if
the Archived PST file is on my hard drive?

Yes - as long as you choose "Close" not "delete"....

 

[Phil vK]

Oops - I've been deleting them! If you just "close" them, don't they stay in
the Outlook.pst file's memory therby letting that file get bigger and bigger
forever?

 

[Gordon]

Oops - I've been deleting them! If you just "close" them, don't they stay
in
the Outlook.pst file's memory therby letting that file get bigger and
bigger
forever?

No because they are actually separate files.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

I am archiving folders with the intent of having a backup I can copy to an
external disk, and to reduce the size of my Outlook.pst file. After
archiving 2 folders and then deleting them from my Outlook Folder list, I
noticed that there is NO change to the Outlook.pst file. Can someone please
tell me the correct way to do this or point me to an article that describes
how?

If by "archiving" you mean using the archive function in Outlook, be aware
that you are not making a backup. A backup is an exact replica of an existing
PST. Archiving means you're removing some of the data in a PST and putting it
in another.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

Gordon - I was going to compact after I archive all my old folders. The big
question is, is it OK to delete the Archive Folders from the foler view if
the Archived PST file is on my hard drive?

What exactly are you deleting, the folders you just created in the extra PST,
the folders in the source PST from which you were copying things, or the PST
itself. How are you performing this deletion? I n Outlook or in Windows?

 

[Phil vK]

I followed the instructions for compacting files, however it only took a
second and the file size didn't change, about 1.86 GB at the moment. This is
Outlook 2002 by the way.

 

[Gordon]

I followed the instructions for compacting files, however it only took a
second and the file size didn't change, about 1.86 GB at the moment. This
is
Outlook 2002 by the way.

OK try this.
Manually create a new pst file (In Outlook do File-New Outlook Data File)
and move a couple of folders from your old pst into the new. Then compact
the old. Do you see a change in size then?

 

[Phil vK]

No change, it (Outlook.pst) keeps getting bigger. I named the new folder
"Personal Folders - New" and moved a couple of folders into it from "Personal
Folders". Question - how come "Personal Folders" has an Inbox and Sent Items
and the newly created one does not. (I am, and always have been confused on
why Outlook folders seem to work different than regular Windows Explorer
Folders and how Outlook Folders are created and deleted).

 

[Gordon]

Question - how come "Personal Folders" has an Inbox and Sent Items
and the newly created one does not.

Because it's not been designated as the Mail delivery location. If you
changed the default delivery location to the new pst file you just created,
you would see an Inbox and Sent Items folder...

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

No change, it (Outlook.pst) keeps getting bigger. I named the new folder
"Personal Folders - New" and moved a couple of folders into it from
"Personal
Folders". Question - how come "Personal Folders" has an Inbox and Sent
Items
and the newly created one does not.

When you create a new PST, the only two folders that will be pre-created are
Deleted Items and Search Folders. When you make a PST the delivery location,
then Outlook will populate all the default folders.

(I am, and always have been confused on
why Outlook folders seem to work different than regular Windows Explorer
Folders and how Outlook Folders are created and deleted).

The "folders" you see in Outlook aren't really folders in the sense that
Windows file system folders are. The Outlook folders are just indexes in a
data base. (Well, in one sense, that's all file systems folders are also, but
there are other differences as well that make file system folders a little
more "real".)

 

[Phil vK]

Brian - what do you mean by "When you make a PST the delivery location"?

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

Brian - what do you mean by "When you make a PST the delivery location"?

For Outlook 2002, click Tools>E-mail Accounts>View or change existing e-mail
accounts>Next. At the lower left you should see a drop-down labeled "Deliver
new e-mail to the following locaiton." Select the PST you wish to be the
default PST, click FInish, then stop and restart Outlook. Outlook will
populate that PST with all the default folders.