Email file getting huge

[tcarp]

I need to change strategies. I've been using personal, archive, special
project pst files to store past messages that, in some cases, will be around
for a long time. The files have gotten so large that they take by far the
longest time to backup.

Can email be stored outside the pst files retaining addressing and signature
information?

Tom

 

[tcarp]

[EDIT]
I've done some looking at the pst files and this problem of huge files is
more confusing than I thought.

I have 3 archive pst files. Don't archive files get used during the archive
process and doesn't that process overwrite the old content? I understand
that compressing is needed, but doesn't old content get wiped out?

 

[DL]

You can create as many Archive files as you like, If you have three it means
you archived to different ones.
Define *huge*
What version of OL?
What are you backing up with?

 

[Brian Tillman]

[EDIT]
I've done some looking at the pst files and this problem of huge
files is more confusing than I thought.

I have 3 archive pst files. Don't archive files get used during the
archive process and doesn't that process overwrite the old content?
I understand that compressing is needed, but doesn't old content get
wiped out?

In addition to what DL said, archiving adds to whatever your current archive
PST is, it does not overwrite.

 

[tcarp]

Define *huge* One of the archive files is a little over a gig
What version of OL? 2003 SP3
What are you backing up with? I use Retrospect. I'm not complaining about the backup time, I just noticed that one of the archive files, which seems to always need to be backed up (meaning the content has changed).

I think I could use a little "archive basics". Note that I haven't changed
any of the default AutoArchive settings and have OL to do the archive every
couple weeks automatically.

What I'm reading here is that, unless I purge stuff out of the archive.pst
file I've selected, it will grow indefinitely. If that's true, it could
explain what's happening. Looking at the mail, it looks like I created the
one currently being used in aug 2006.

What's a good strategy? Do you periodically set up a new archive.pst file
and start filling it up and eventually purge or do an off-system backup for
the older archive.pst files?

Is there any reason not to have quite a few .pst files (not just archive)
and use OL to sort and organize email or should the email eventually be moved
to non-OL file locations?

Thanks

Tom

 

[tcarp]

:

In addition to what DL said, archiving adds to whatever your current archive
PST is, it does not overwrite.

Since it appears that an archive.pst will just keep filling and filling, it
looks like either they need to be purged periodically or a new one need to be
set up. I've stopped the bleeding (or is it the opposite since nothings
going out) by creating a new archive file and setting the auto archive file
pointer to the new one.

Tom

 

[DL]

Personnally; I create an archive for each year, they are all (5) open within
OL

If your archives are open, within OL, your backup software will likely
consider them changed / amended every time you close OL.
If the constantly backed up archive file is not open within OL, then it must
have changed

OL 2003, unicode format, can cope with 20gb or so
If you purge an archive, unless to an offline archive that kinda defeats the
object of keeping your archived data, I have had occassion to refer to
something from 2005

 

[tcarp]

Personally; I create an archive for each year, they are all (5) open within
OL

Sounds like the right strategy, meaning to do a cutoff each year possibly
doing a little purging for the obvious stuff. It's not the file size I was
so concerned about; it's more about how to manage archives in OL.

I'm assuming when you use the term "active" in OL you mean it's part of the
file management list(?) vs. just being a pst but not showing up in the OL
folders window.

Considering an overall file folder strategy, do you also set up separate
pst's for, say, projects or do you simply add folders to the main personal
folder file?

Tom

 

[Brian Tillman]

I'm assuming when you use the term "active" in OL you mean it's part
of the file management list(?) vs. just being a pst but not showing
up in the OL folders window.

In Archive PSTs are special in that the currently active PST can be accessed
by Outlook even when it doesn't show in the Folder List. I believe in that
case, Outlook will open it only when an archive process runs and then close
it afterward.

Considering an overall file folder strategy, do you also set up
separate pst's for, say, projects or do you simply add folders to the
main personal folder file?

With Unicode PSTs, that's really up to you, since they hold so much. My
inclination is to keep a single PST, but when I was using Outlook 2000, I
used multiple PSTs.

 

[Brian Tillman]

I've stopped the bleeding (or is it the
opposite since nothings going out) by creating a new archive file and
setting the auto archive file pointer to the new one.

An alternate approach is to simply close Outlook and rename the old archive
PST to something else. Outlook will then create a new archive PST with the
old name the next time archiving runs. Then you don't have to mess with
ever changing Outlook's settings.

 

[DL]

By active I mean open within OL, i.e. visible in the folders window.
I have some 6 accounts (pop) within OL & use folders.
But there again my email usage is not excessive.

 

[tcarp]

Brian,

I'm familiar with the Data File Management as the place to set the name and
filename for any of the pst's. If I want to actually rename the pst file
itself, do I need to go to the DFM setting and put in a new pathway for the
file?

I seem to recall that's the process.

This question is going to lead to another issue I have with OL files, namely
the contacts folders.

If I go to the Contacts tab in OL there are two My Contacts listed: Contacts
and one called Timeless (a business list). This seems simple enough but if I
Check Names when authoring a new message and Show More Names the window that
pops up there's a pull down Show Names In The which has Outlook Address Books
listing 3 of them: Contacts, Contacts, and Timeless.

The first Contacts address book in the list is empty. The second one has
data as does the Timeless one.

Thanks for help getting my OL files cleaned up and organized.

Tom

 

[Brian Tillman]

I'm familiar with the Data File Management as the place to set the
name and filename for any of the pst's. If I want to actually rename
the pst file itself, do I need to go to the DFM setting and put in a
new pathway for the file?

You can rename the archive PST with Windows Explorer while Outlook is
closed. The next time archiving runs in Outlook, Outlook will notice the
PST doesn't exist and create it. This is not the way to handle the delivery
location PST, however.

You can certainly manipulate the archive PST with File>Data File Management,
as you described before. I was trying to suggest something simpler.

This question is going to lead to another issue I have with OL files,
namely the contacts folders.

If I go to the Contacts tab in OL there are two My Contacts listed:
Contacts and one called Timeless (a business list). This seems
simple enough but if I Check Names when authoring a new message and
Show More Names the window that pops up there's a pull down Show
Names In The which has Outlook Address Books listing 3 of them:
Contacts, Contacts, and Timeless.

This means that you have a reference to a Contacts folder that no longer
exists, perhaps the result of manipulating the PSTs as you say you did.

The first Contacts address book in the list is empty. The second one
has data as does the Timeless one.

Click Tools>E-mail Accounts>View or change existing directories or address
books>Next. Select Outlook Address Book and click Change. Remove the bogus
entry there. It will probably be the first one.