How To Archive Outlook Mailbox Before Tax Time

Summary

This guide helps you troubleshoot and resolve: How To Archive Outlook Mailbox Before Tax Time. Follow the steps below to fix the issue.

Common Causes

Archiving your Outlook mailbox before tax time is a smart way to keep your inbox organised, improve application performance, and retain important correspondence for compliance purposes. Archiving moves older emails from your primary mailbox into a separate Outlook data file (.pst) stored locally on your computer, reducing the load on your mail server without permanently deleting messages.

Quick Fix Steps

1. Open Microsoft Outlook.
2. Go to File > Options > Advanced.
3. Under AutoArchive, select AutoArchive Settings.
4. Enable Run AutoArchive every and set your preferred frequency.
5. Choose where archived items are stored and click OK.

Detailed Instructions

Enable AutoArchive in Outlook

1. Open Outlook and click File in the top-left corner.
2. Select Options from the left-hand menu.
3. Click Advanced in the Outlook Options window.
4. Scroll to the AutoArchive section and select AutoArchive Settings.
5. Check Run AutoArchive every and enter the number of days (for example, every 14 days).
6. Select your preferred options, such as Delete expired items or Archive or delete old items.
7. Choose the default folder for archived items or select Move old items to and browse to a specific .pst file location.
8. Click OK, then click OK again to close Outlook Options.

Manually Archive Specific Folders

1. In Outlook, click File > Info > Tools > Clean Up Old Items.
2. Select Archive this folder and all subfolders.
3. Choose the folder you want to archive from the list.
4. Select a date under Archive items older than.
5. Choose an archive file location or accept the default .pst path.
6. Click OK to start the manual archive process.

Where Archived Items Are Stored

Archived emails are saved in Outlook data files with the .pst extension. By default, these files are usually located in:

You can confirm or change the archive file location in the AutoArchive Settings window under Move old items to.

How to Retrieve Archived Emails

1. Open Outlook.
2. Click File > Open & Export > Open Outlook Data File.
3. Browse to the location of your .pst archive file and select it.
4. Click OK. The archive will appear in your folder pane on the left, usually under a name like Archives or the file name you chose.
5. Drag and drop emails from the archive folder back into your primary mailbox if needed.

Troubleshooting

Archive option is greyed out

If you are using Outlook with a Microsoft 365 or Exchange account, your organisation may have online archive policies managed by your administrator that override local AutoArchive settings. Contact your IT administrator or Open a Ticket for assistance.

.pst file is too large or corrupted

Large archive files can cause performance issues. Use the Inbox Repair Tool (scanpst.exe) to check and repair corrupted .pst files. For guidance on backing up and restoring Outlook data files, see our article Backing Up and Restoring Outlook Data Files (.pst/.ost).

Archived emails are not appearing

Ensure the archive data file is open in Outlook. If it is missing from the folder pane, use File > Open & Export > Open Outlook Data File to reattach it.

Related Articles

• Setting Up an Email Account in Outlook (POP/IMAP/Exchange)
• Managing Email Signatures in Outlook
• Troubleshooting Outlook Send/Receive Errors
• Backing Up and Restoring Outlook Data Files (.pst/.ost)
• Organizing Emails with Rules and Alerts in Outlook
• Using Outlook Calendar and Scheduling Meetings

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