

Archived items are removed from your Outlook mailbox size and moved to the archive file based on the settings you determine. The archive.pst file can be created and updated at any location you specify, usually your local hard drive.

Setup your archive preferences under the Info > Cleanup Tools > Archive option. If you are accessing Outlook from Exchange, you may not be able to change archive options as archiving is often controlled by system administrators or a third party program. Archive Older MessagesĪnother useful maintenance step is to periodically archive your Outlook folders. If you are running a standalone version of Outlook your email, calendar, tasks, and notes are all stored in the outlook.pst file (or. You should also backup this file to prevent losing these Outlook items if your computer goes down or is updated. This option may not be available to you as many organizations have moved away from supporting Personal Folders.Įven though the messages you move to Personal Folders are no longer counted in the size of your mailbox, the Personal Folders file (outlook.pst) is stored on your local hard drive and is not accessible remotely. If you’re accessing Outlook from Exchange, another way to reduce the Outlook mailbox size is to move Outlook items to your Personal Folders. If available, one option is to view and delete multiple versions of items in our mailbox.Ģ.


And, you can still cleanup your Outlook mailbox size if you are running Outlook as a stand-alone (POP3) version. Note: With the move in many organizations from Exchange Server (local/network) to Exchange Online (cloud/Office 365), the following steps will be less important as storage space is dramatically increased. However, it’s still a best practice to reduce the number of items in Outlook for simpler organization and faster search. Try these tips for a faster, more organized approach to keep your mailbox smaller and easier to work with. Is your mailbox full? Are you getting weekly or even daily messages from your system administrator saying you need to reduce the Microsoft Outlook mailbox size? This can lead to a lot of wasted time cleaning up your mailbox.
