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Housekeeping and Message Management - Outlook

The keys to keeping the size of your folders manageable are to

  • Periodically empty the Deleted Items folder
  • Archive or delete from Sent Items
  • Remove attachments from sent messages, assuming that the attached files are stored elsewhere on your system
  • Use one of the third-party tools listed here to compress attachments that you want to keep in your folders
  • If you are using Personal Folders, periodically compact them to recover space left behind by deleted items.
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    This page lists tools that can help users and administrators manage Outlook items by archiving items, removing attachments, repairing .pst and .ost files, renaming special folders, calculating folder size, backing up Outlook data.

    Utilities for working with attachments, including attachment removers, reminders and attachment compression tools are at Attachment Management Tools

    The More Information section includes links to additional types of tools that may be useful for housekeeping.

    Administrator and Exchange server housekeeping utilities are now at http://www.slipstick.com/addins/housekeeping_admin.asp.

    Tools in the Spotlight
    Auto-Mate An add-in for Outlook that allows you use define rules to move mail from your Inbox (or other folders) based on several criteria, including the age of the message. While Outlook already provides a powerful set of rules, they can only be applied immediately when the message arrives, and not a couple days or weeks later. Auto-Mate fills this gap an enables you to apply rules to messages that have been in your Inbox for a given number of hours, days or weeks. In addition, the program offers a default set of rules and folders that work in conjunction with Outlook features to organize your mail into folders based on date and To-Do status. Available in Standard or Pro Version 4.0.
    EZDetach for Outlook Save attachments as system files either as part of a Rules Wizard rule or manually, from either a folder view or the Advanced Find window. Can create subfolders to organize attachments by sender or date, pass an attachment to a script or other program, add a link in messages to point to the detached file, filter on attachment names, and automatically zip or unzip attachments. Version 5.5.1.327.
    HTML Email Archiver HTML Email Archiver works with all types of Microsoft Outlook folders and archives Outlook items to HTML format or platform-dependent CHM format. This allows you to publish Microsoft Outlook folders on the Internet, or move data from Microsoft Outlook onto other software and hardware platforms, including mobile devices. These archives reproduce the structure of Microsoft Outlook folders, can contain messages or other elements in any language and with any types of attachments, support sorting by several criteria and can be searched with advanced options.
    Incoming Mail Organizer This add-in for Outlook organizes the email in your inbox by automatically moving it to folders you designate. Similar to our Sent Items Organizer, you can have the add-in automatically move the email to folders that you create based on who it's from, keywords in the subject or body, or you can have it prompt you for the folder each time it doesn’t know how to handle the email. It also comes with a facility to back propagate through all your old emails and file them accordingly. This add-in is a great way to reduce the number of Outlook rules you use. Enter code WD9BHK53 during checkout.
    QuickFile 4Outlook File 90% of your emails at the click of a button.QuickFile works with both Sent Emails and Received Emails. QuickFile also keeps your Inbox clean by automatically processing Newsletters and deferring non-urgent emails for you. Version 4.0.110
    Sent Items Organizer Sent Items Organizer version 3.2 has been released. With its Send And File button, this version now allows you to type the first few characters of the folder you’re interested in to quickly find the folder you need. In addition, it allows you to override your regular Send button so you don’t have to change your current send habits. Finally, this version has improved shared mailbox handling to automatically file emails from shared mailboxes into their respective Sent Items folders. Enter code WD9BHK53 during checkout.
    SimplyFile for Microsoft Outlook SimplyFile helps you file incoming and outgoing messages to the right Outlook folder with one click of a mouse. SimplyFile's state of the art algorithm learns as you file messages and suggests destination folders for filing. All you have to do to send a message to the right folder is click a button. SimplyFile also includes buttons for turning messages into Tasks and Appointments. Compatible with Outlook 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2007. Version 2.3.4.106.

    More Tools
    Aid4Mail Backup and restore Outlook data files, interface options, and settings. You can backup on one machine and restore to another, but both machines should be running the same version of Outlook. Backup and restore operations can be run from the command line, with your favorite Windows scheduling program for unattended operation.
    ArchiveAssist ArchiveAssist is a standalone program designed to overcome archiving failures in Microsoft Outlook. Outlook archives messages based not on their Received Date or Sent Date but on what Outlook calls their Modified Date, which changes to the current date any time you touch message by, for instance, by Editing, Importing, or Replying To a message. ArchiveAssist allows archiving to work on recently touched messages.
    ArchivER Archive Outlook data as individual files, preserving the Outlook folder structure.
    Attachments to Folders Attachments to Folders gives Outlook the ability to extract or move attachments to a Microsoft® Windows® folder or another Outlook Folder.
    CCS Network Inventory CCS Network Inventory is a powerful hardware and software inventory and asset tracking program. Install the software on your local PC or to a shared drive, and start scanning your LAN to get detailed software and hardware inventory and configuration information. Also integrates with CCS Help Desk and allows viewing of configuration information from a trouble ticket.
    CleanMail Combines the Attachment Executive and Message Executive utilities, also listed on this page.
    DeleteByDate DeleteByDate is a standalone program that lets you delete messages by date or by a range of dates from all your Outlook folders at once, or from only those folders you select.
    DetachEx Removes all the attachments from messages in selected folders, optionally saving them on your local system. Use it to clean out the attachments, then compact Personal Folders to reduce the size of your .pst file.
    DetachPipe Save, detach, and delete attachments from Outlook messages. Leaves a clickable hyperlink in the message pointing to the saved attachment.
    E-Rkive Outlook archiving tool that allows you to store messages with the same folder structure as Outlook, keep archives on CD-ROM, maintain up to 10 archive databases, search archived messages, and compress them to save space.
    Email Sorter Wizard E-mail Sorter Wizard gives the end-user the ability to save and direct incoming and outgoing e-mails. No need for the old drag and drop techniques, just click on the message and the e-mail is automatically filed.
    Extract Microsoft Outlook Emails to Database Copies key Outlook email properties to an Access or MySQL database. May also work with other ODBC databases. Triggers Outlook security prompt. Free.
    EZDelete EZDelete adds a button to the Outlook toolbar which allows you to purge messages (remove without moving to the Deleted Items folder) with one click. Important note: once you purge a message there is no way to get it back. Free.
    Ffolder Utility to rename or delete "special" Outlook folders such as the Calendar, Tasks, Inbox, and Contacts. VB source code included. Requires CDO. Free.
    ForMorph Builds a relational database from messages and contacts in Outlook and other mail and newsgroup programs, providing both an archive and a way to move Outlook information into a variety of other programs.
    Information Storage Usage Form Outlook form for measuring the amount of space used by an Exchange Server mailbox. Publish to your Personal Folders so you can access it with the Compose | New Form function.
    Janitor in a DLL Adds a command to Exchange/Windows Message or Outlook 97 to purge old messages from the Deleted Items folder or set a limit on the number and age of messages therein.
    Language Stamper Tool to rename "special" Outlook folders, such as the Calendar, Tasks, Inbox, and Contacts, either for all mailboxes on a server or for a single mailbox . Requires CDO. Available in both administrator and end user versions.
    LBE Toolbox for MS Outlook Multifunction utility to send individual messages to a list generated either from a text file or from criteria on the Contacts folder, remove large file attachments, remove duplicate contacts and messages, and perform a few other little chores.
    MailToFile MailToFile for MS Outlook is the integrated solution for filing emails outside your Outlook application. You can store your emails directly into a customer or project folder, with only a few mouse clicks. An archived message doesn't change: it remains a regular email! You can easily open, reply and forward all messages. With MailToFile you always have all your digital correspondence filed together.
    Message Executive Formerly a component of CleanMail. Rules and other tools for managing messages, based on the sender. Can move messages after reading or after so many days. Beta.
    Message Vault Archive Outlook/Exchange messages to a separate encrypted, compressed, searchable archive store. The store can also export messages to standard RFC 822 format.
    MessageSave for Outlook MessageSave is an Outlook add-in for archiving and saving email messages. This powerful and intuitive plugin supports msg, txt, eml and mbox formats. It enables manual, rule-based and schedule-based operation. Use MessageSave to save e-mail messages for archiving, data retention, regulatory compliance, document management, backup, email sharing and exporting Outlook email to other mail clients, such as Mac Mail.app. Version 4.0.4.303.
    OST Integrity Check Tool for Outlook 2000 Compares the local .ost offline folders file with the Exchange Server mailbox and Favorites public folders and tries to correct any discrepancies. Intended for use if you're experiencing OST corruption or synchronization problems. (Microsoft Office Update). See: OL2000 (CW) Corrupt OST File Prevents Synchronization OL2000 Error Message When You Automatically Synchronize Offline Folders
    Outlook Accelerator Outlook Accelerator improves Outlook performance by defragmenting Personal or Offline Folders - the place where Outlook stores all your emails, attachments, contacts, documents, etc. Outlook Folders tend to grow fast and are being constantly changed by Outlook. As a result, the file that keeps your Folders becomes heavily fragmented very quickly.
    Outlook Cleaner Filters, moves, deletes, and performs other cleanup operations through one interface showing all your folders. Filters Outlook Items across multiple folders by aging, subject, email, domain name and attachment match i.e. you can now identify all emails with a particular type of attachment and then delete or move them all. In addition, multiple profiles can be setup to be run interactively or via batch mode. Outlook 2000 SR-1 or later.
    Outlook Mail Backup JavaScript + XML export and viewing utility for Outlook message backup. Free. Source code included. Triggers Outlook address security prompts. A modification (Outlook Mail Backup + HTML embedded images) updates <img> tags for embedded images in HTML messages to point to detached attachments.
    Outlook Picture Extractor Extract just pictures or all attachments from items in any Outlook and save them to a system folder of your choice. Can optionally move processed items to a different Outlook folder.
    Outlook2Mac Exports Outlook mail, calendar, and contacts to mbox, iCal, and vCard files for import into Entourage and other Macintosh mail and collaboration programs. Can also be used to extract all file attachments to a system folder.
    PDF/XPS/DOC Document Exporter for Outlook 2007 Document Exporter brings PDF, XPS and other widely used formats such as DOC, MHT and HTML to Outlook 2007 enabling you to save or simply attach your emails as PDF/XPS. You can batch convert multiple mail (or post) items to multiple file documents in a single-click. Additionally, you can merge and save multiple related mail (or post) items to a single file document. Whatever the technique you use, Document Exporter preserves all the inline/embedded images, hyperlinks in the generated documents.
    Personal Message Store Export Utility Exports Outlook messages to a text file with complete Internet headers. Visual Basic 6.0 source code included.
    PST Manager Standalone program to compress Outlook Personal Folders .pst files automatically.
    Search and Recover Email and file recovery tool can restore data deleted from Outlook Personal Folders .pst files.
    SharePointUpload Sharepoint Upload is a command line freeware tool (with .NET source) that can extract e-mails from PST, Public Folders, and Exchange Mailboxes and place on a file system in MSG format (using Redemption). The extracted files are compatible to SharePoint naming conventions.
    Three-Pane Preview Extension for Outlook 97 Use this extension to display an entire mail message at the bottom of a view without opening it. Also adds a command to the File menu to check the size of your folders. Doesn't include hotlinks or the ability to copy from the preview pane. (Microsoft Office Update)
    Todi Outlook 2000 COM add-in to extract all attachments and save them as system files, leaving a link in the mail message. Visual Basic source code included. Free.
    UniAccess This utility for exporting from Exchange or Outlook folders includes a routine for removing attachments from messages.
    Universal Mail Archiver Tool for end users to select specific messages to archive or for Exchange Server administrators to set up rules-based archiving. Archives are stored as compressed files.
    VBOffice Reporter VBOffice Reporter is an easy to use tool for data analysis and reporting in Outlook. A single click allows you to see the number of hours planned for meetings the next month, expenses for a specific project in the last month, and many things more. Features include the ability to create reports for all tasks, calendar, and journal items. Create a report with a single click and then sent via e-mail or open it in Excel. Version 2. Trial available.
     Back to Top

    Administrator Tools | More Information

    More Information
  • Compression Tools -- By compressing attachments, these can reduce the storage space used by Outlook items.
  • Search Tools -- These tools provide faster, indexed searching.
  • Configuration and Maintenance Issues
  • To repair a damaged Outlook PST file
  • Overview of Archive and of AutoArchive in Outlook 2003
  • OL98: How to Remove or Replace Folder Size Button in Folder Properties
  • OL2002 How to Remove or Replace Folder Size Button in Folder Properties
  • OL2000 An Overview of Archive and AutoArchive
  • XADM Understanding Offline and Snapshot Backups -- for Exchange Server
  • Incorporating Archiving into Your Exchange 2000 Migration Strategy -- vendor white paper on using archiving as part of a migration strategy
  • Microsoft Backup and Storage Management Partners
  • Change Outlook Folder AutoArchive settings -- CDO script for changing AutoArchive settings on individual folders
  • Attachment Archiving to a File Server Script -- Script to run on Exchange 2000 Server to archive mailbox item attachments as system files and replace them in the original items with a text link to the archived file
  • Backing up Exchange 2000 using Windows 2000 Backup
  • Outlook Mailbox Maintenance Plan
  • Attachment Management Tools = Utilities for working with attachments, including attachment removers, reminders and automatic attachment compression tools.
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    Updated Oct 20 2009
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