Archiving Older Email to a Local Outlook Archive (IMAP)

If your email account is configured in Microsoft Outlook using IMAP, your email is normally stored on the mail server and synchronised with Outlook.

If your mailbox is becoming full, you can archive older messages to your computer. This moves the selected email from your IMAP mailbox into a local Outlook Data File (.pst). This can significantly reduce the amount of storage being used by your email account on the server, while still allowing you to access your older email through Outlook.

Important: This article applies to Classic Outlook for Windows. The AutoArchive feature is not available in the new Outlook for Windows.

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Archive Folder vs Local Archive #

It is important to understand the difference between Outlook’s normal Archive folder and a local Outlook archive.

• Archive button: Moves the message into an Archive folder within your email account. For an IMAP account, this folder is still stored on the mail server, so it does not reduce your server mailbox usage.
• Local PST archive: Moves messages into an Outlook Data File (.pst) stored on your computer. This is what frees space in your email account.

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Before You Begin #

Once email has been moved into a local PST archive:

• The archived email is stored on your computer rather than in your IMAP mailbox.
• The archived email will remain accessible through Outlook on that computer.
• The archived email will no longer be available through Webmail, and will not automatically appear on your phone, tablet or other computers.
• You should ensure your computer is backed up, as the local PST file contains the archived email.

We strongly recommend including your Outlook PST files in your normal computer backup.

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Option 1: Manually Archive Older Email #

You can manually move older email from your IMAP account into a local archive.

Open the Archive Window #

In Classic Outlook:

1. Open Outlook.
2. Click File.
3. Select Info.
4. Select Tools.
5. Select Clean Up Old Items.

The Archive window will appear.

Choose What to Archive #

1. Select Archive this folder and all subfolders.
2. Select the folder you want to archive, such as Inbox. You can select the top level of your email account if you want to include multiple mail folders.
3. Under Archive items older than, select the date you want to use. For example, if you want to remove email older than 12 months from the server, select a date approximately 12 months ago.
4. Under Archive file, select the location where you want the archive PST file stored. A typical location is: C:\Users\YourUsername\Documents\Outlook Files\archive.pst
5. Click OK to begin the archive.

Outlook will move qualifying messages from the IMAP folders into the local PST archive. Depending on the amount of email being archived, this process may take some time.

Accessing Your Archived Email #

After the archive has been created, it should appear in the folder list on the left-hand side of Outlook. It may appear as Archives or Outlook Data File.

You can expand this section to access your archived Inbox, Sent Items and other folders. The archived messages remain searchable and can be opened, replied to or forwarded like other messages in Outlook.

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Option 2: Automatically Archive Older Email #

Classic Outlook can also automatically move older email into a local PST file.

Configure AutoArchive #

1. Open Outlook.
2. Click File.
3. Select Options.
4. Select Advanced.
5. Locate the AutoArchive section.
6. Click AutoArchive Settings.

Then set the following:

• Enable Run AutoArchive every _ days. For example, you may configure Outlook to run AutoArchive every 14 days.
• Ensure Archive or delete old items is enabled.
• Under Clean out items older than, select how old email should be before it is archived. For example, 12 months.
• Under Move old items to, select the local PST file that should contain the archived email. For example: C:\Users\YourUsername\Documents\Outlook Files\archive.pst
• We recommend enabling Show archive folder in folder list. This makes it easy to access your archived email from Outlook.

Click OK when finished.

Check Individual Mail Folders #

Outlook can have different AutoArchive settings for individual folders. If messages from a particular folder are not being archived:

1. Right-click the folder in Outlook.
2. Select Properties.
3. Select the AutoArchive tab.
4. Select Archive this folder using the default settings.

Alternatively, you can configure a separate archiving period specifically for that folder.

Repeat this for folders such as:

• Inbox
• Sent Items
• Any custom email folders you have created

Confirm That Mailbox Space Has Been Reduced #

After archiving, Outlook will synchronise the changes with the IMAP mail server. Messages that have been successfully moved into the local PST file will be removed from the corresponding IMAP folders on the server.

Depending on the amount of email moved and the speed of your Internet connection, it may take some time for the changes to synchronise.

You can check your mailbox usage again through your hosting control panel or Webmail after synchronisation has completed.

Important: Back Up Your Archive #

Your local archive PST file is stored on your computer. Once email has been removed from the IMAP server, the server is no longer providing a synchronised copy of those archived messages.

If the computer or hard drive fails and you do not have a backup of the PST file, your archived email may be lost.

We therefore strongly recommend regularly backing up the following folder:

C:\Users\YourUsername\Documents\Outlook Files\

If you selected a different location for your PST file, make sure that location is included in your backups.

Using a Different Computer #

If you replace your computer or need to access the archive from another computer, copy the PST file to the new computer.

In Classic Outlook, select File → Open & Export → Open Outlook Data File, then select your archived .pst file. The archive will then appear in the Outlook folder list.

New Outlook for Windows #

Microsoft’s new Outlook for Windows does not currently support AutoArchive.

If you need Outlook to automatically move older IMAP email into a local PST archive, you will need to use Classic Outlook for Windows. If you are currently using new Outlook, you may need to switch back to Classic Outlook before following the instructions in this article.

Summary #

For IMAP email accounts:

Archive button moves email to an Archive folder on the mail server. This generally does not reduce your mailbox storage usage.

Local PST archive stores email in an Outlook Data File on your computer. This removes the archived email from the IMAP mailbox and can reduce your server storage usage.

Always ensure that your local Outlook PST archive is included in your regular computer backups.