What is the Best Way to Backup Gmail using Outlook 2007 with IMAP?

[John TCI]

In our family we have 5 active Gmail accounts. We all travel extensively and
access mails using 7 different PCs and laptops at different times and from
different locations. Last year we changed over from POP to IMAP and uploaded
more than 12 years of e-mails to the Gmail server. 10+Gb took more than 2
days to complete but this has been more than compensated by all the time
saved filing etc..

We love the flexibility and ease of access of Outlook 2007 “synchronizedâ€
with IMAP . . . The filters (and automatic labelling) in Gmail are other
great time savers. We also extensively use the Outlook address book and
calendars synced with our Blackberries.

However, we would feel more secure if we had at least one complete backup.
It would also be more convenient (quicker to respond and less time to wait
to download etc.) if we had a copy of each mail, and its attachments,
available on each computer.

Is there any way to maintain IMAP but force Gmail to download every mail
(and attachment) into Outlook 2007? In this way the PST file would be the
backup and easy to backup further by copying across to each computer in turn.

Many thanks in advance.

 

[DL]

Since the Gmail folder within Outlook is simply another pst, you can use the
free outlook backup addin, available on MS outlook site - or any other
backup tool

I'm not sure as to why your IMAP account has not downloaded all mail, mine
certainly has

 

[John TCI]

Thank you.

Do you know how to force Gmail/Outlook 2007to download copies of all of the
e-mails? Did you do something special when you set up IMAP? As far as I know
I haven't changed any of the default settings.

 

[DL]

I simply set up gmail,imap, within OL and all mail was downloaded, I hadnt
previously uploaded any mail to gmail, from any other source

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

Do you know how to force Gmail/Outlook 2007to download copies of all of the
e-mails? Did you do something special when you set up IMAP? As far as I know
I haven't changed any of the default settings.

When you visit a folder, all of the mesages in it should be downloaded. If
you include the gmail account in the Send/Receive Group and specify that the
entire message should be downloaded and then subscribe to all of the folders,
they should all be checked each send/receive interval and any new medssages
downloaded.

 

[John TCI]

Many thanks Brian . . . this makes eminent sense and has helped me locate the
problem (and the solution).

Unbeknown to me, only one of the computers was set to download everything.
However, it probably explains why its connection to the IMAP server kept
getting disconnected before it could download many of the messages (don’t
know but can only presume because the total files were so large.)

I’ve now set it up to do a few folders at a time . . . it appears to be
working because the pst files are increasing in size. However, it is taking
forever, because, although the 5 Gmail addresses total about 10Gb, Gmail has
many duplicates (and even triplicates) because of the “All mail†and “Sent
Mail†labels/folders (e.g. the largest Gmail account of 5.9Gb is already at
9.2Gb in Outlook and still increasing).

One more question, is it possible to rename the pst files associated with
the IMAP and force Outlook 2007 to associate with the new file? It worked
previously with POP but with IMAP it appears to start a new file.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

One more question, is it possible to rename the pst files associated with
the IMAP and force Outlook 2007 to associate with the new file? It worked
previously with POP but with IMAP it appears to start a new file.

With Outlook 2007 it's not possible to rename the IMAP PST.

 

[John TCI]

Thought as much.

Anyway many thanks again for your help to resolve the initial problem.