How should I set up folder structure in Outlook 2002?

[Peter Barrett]

Hi

I am not convinced that the way that my folder structure is set up is optimal.

I currently have four folders - each containing subfolders as follows

Archive Folders
Calandar
Deleted Items
Inbox
Journals
Old E-mails
Sent Items
Hotmail
Deleted Items
Inbox
Junk E-mail
Sent Items
Outlook Today
Calendar
Contacts
Drafts
Inbox
Journal
Notes
Outbox
Sent Items
Tasks
Personal Folders
Calandar
Deleted Items
Drafts
Inbox
Journal
Outbox
Sent Items

What is the purpose of the Archive Folders / Outlook Today / Personal
Folders? How should they be used?

Does this seem untidy? How should it be structured? Why do I need so many
inboxes - and so many sent item folders? This just seems to split up my mail
archive over a huge area and is confusing. I would like to just have one
inbox and one sent items in my hotmail folder.

Any comments on the current structure and how it coudl usefully be tidied up
would be gratefully received.

Thanks in advance.

Peter Barrett

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

What is the purpose of the Archive Folders /

This is a Personal Folders .pst file that contains information that you have archived using the AutoArchive feature. You can close it by right-clicking on the top folder in that store and choosing Close. There is also an option on the Tools | Options | Other | AutoArchive dialog that will tell Outlook not to show the Archive Folders after archiving.

You might want to make a note of the archive .pst file name and path before closing it, so that you can get it back any time by choosing File | Open | Outlook Data File. File | Data File Management will show you that information.

Hotmail

This second information store is a local proxy of the information stored online in your Hotmail mailbox. You cannot close this store directly. If you don't use Hotmail, then you can remove the account (and folders) from your current Outlook session through Tools | E-mail accounts.

Outlook Today

This is your default information store, probably another .pst file (check File | Data File Management or the properties for Outlook Today). Whenever you right-click an email address and choose Add to Contacts, Outlook saves that contact in the Contacts folder in this default store. Whenever you click the New button on the menu, Outlook saves the resulting new item in the folders in this store.

You cannot close the default store.

Personal Folders

This is another .pst file. Whether you need it or not depends on the data it contains. You can close it as you would the archive .pst file.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[Peter Barrett]

Sue

Thanks for getting back to me.

Can I ask a further question please? What is the relationship between the
Inbox and the Sent Items folders in the Outlook Today directory with those in
the Hotmail directory.

The Inbox in the Outlook Today folder is empty and does not seem to be
populated as I receive messages at Hotmail.

The Sent Items folder that is part of the Outlook Today folder does contain
some of the items in my Hotmail Sent Items folder - but not all of them. Do
items sent using Outlook appear in this folder - but if they are sent using
the Hotmail application they do not appear in this folder? What are the rules
and what is the logic behind them?

Any insight gratefully received - I'll get to understand this application
eventually! I know that it can do a lot more for me than I currently use it
for - but I want to build on solid, well understood foundations.

All the best.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

The Inbox and Sent Items folders in your default store (Outlook Today) would be used for any items received from or sent with POP3 mail accounts. Your description indicates that you have only a Hotmail account. Messages sent through Hotmail should be in its Sent Items folder, IIRC (but I haven't used it in years, so I could be mistaken).

Hotmail, however, cannot support the special Outlook folders like Contacts and Calendar. That is why you need both a default store that can handle those folders and a Hotmail proxy PST to handle the Hotmail mail, which uses a completely different protocol than a POP3 mail account would.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers