Left Navigation bar for Rules



Click here to subscribe
to our weekly newsletter
Exchange Messaging Outlook

EMO back issues




Housekeeping and Message Management - Outlook

google ad 120x240 white banner - Outlook pages

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.
  • 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.

    Do you need to save messages in your My Documents (or other folder)? See How to Save Email Messages to the Windows File System 

    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

    Aid4Mail Aid4Mail is an email migration and conversion tool, which supports over 30 mail formats including Outlook (PST, MSG files), Windows Live Mail, Thunderbird, Eudora, and mbox. It can search mail by date, header content, and in the Forensic and Enterprise versions, by message body content. Mail folders and files can be processed even when disconnected (unmounted) from their email client including those stored on CD, DVD, and USB drives.
    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. Manage your Inbox and Sent Items folders. Move emails out of the Inbox to the correct folder at the click of a button. QuickFile remembers the folders used for each person and presents a short customized list each time. Use the same list to Send&File in one step instead of having to go back to your Sent Items folder. Plus many more email management features such as one-click creation of task/appointments from emails, newsletter processing, deferred non-urgent emails and much more.
    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

    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.
    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. 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. Available in Standard or Pro Version 5.0.
    Boomerang Boomerang is an add-in for Microsoft Outlook 2007 that allows you to take a message out of your Inbox for a few hours or a few days, until you're ready to deal with it. Ask it to return a message tomorrow afternoon, and at noon tomorrow, it will bring that message back into your Inbox.
    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.
    Database Exporter for Outlook Database Exporter for Microsoft Outlook enables you to export the contents of an Outlook folder to an external database. It is especially designed to overcome the inability of the Outlook's built-in 'Import and Export Wizard' to handle data in custom forms, by allowing you to export any kind of data, including custom fields, to a database, in a simple click. You can selectively specify which fields to include in the export, and the appropriate data type will be inherited in the database. Supports export of mails, appointments, tasks or contacts. It can operate on any Outlook form, field types and support any Outlook folder, whether a private folder or an Exchange Public Folder.
    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.
    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.
    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.
    OLAP Statistics for Outlook OLAP Statistics tool for Microsoft Outlook helps you to gain insight into your folder items and make new discoveries. It overcomes the limitation associated with the generalization of information using the Outlook views with only few fields at a time. It analyzes your Outlook data in multi-dimensional view in grids, charts and graphs and supports pivoting, drill down/slice and dice and filtering. You can run analysis tool on individual Outlook or public folder, with its own unique set of desired built-in and user-defined fields. You can specify any field as the measure using functions such as sum, count, distinct count, maximum, minimum etc, and use this against other fields to generate statistics. Now it’s easier than ever to spot new trends and discover unknown problems in your data flow. Save and share reports as PDF, JPEG, HTML or PNG formats.
    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 eMail Manager Outlook eMail Manager integrates with your inbox in the form of a File Message button in either a toolbar of the main Outlook window or on the ribbon of the email window. As the email is read you have the option to quickly file the message into an Outlook folder or the file system in the form of an .MSG file.
    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.
    Pandali Folder Master for Outlook The Pandali Folder Master for Outlook allows users to move, copy, and delete multiple Outlook folders in batches. No more right-clicking on folders one by one.
    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 Finder The Fortisware PST Finder is an IT-Pro tool for locating PST files on a local network and enabling automated removal, archiving and import to Microsoft Exchange Server. Rich reporting features make it easy to look for recently-modified PST files on the network and to monitor the status of automated imports. Determine the size of PST files on an individual and domain level for planning purposes. Take control of PST creation through policy-level controls: PST Finder can also adjust users' Outlook settings to disable the generation of new PST files on an individual workstation or domain level.
    PSTStation Use PSTStation Corporate to audit, reconcile, protect, backup or archive PST files of your organization. PSTStation Corporate scan feature detects all PST stored on workstations or corporate file servers. The software can detect PST files either from live Outlook profiles, or by scanning directories. Advanced scan also allows administrators to find empty or broken files as well as hidden PST files. No agent is installed except for a small program on laptops. Actions can be applied to a single PST file or to a group of files. Administrators can define and schedule jobs. Actions included: archiving, full or brick-level backup, compression, custom action. Version 3.1
    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)
    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.
    Weight Diet for Outlook Weight Diet for Outlook helps users to shrink their mailbox size and organize emails by finding & eliminating obsolete emails, such as duplicate, autoresponder or mail failure messages. Users can specify which mail folders to scan and how to filter messages so only certain emails will be found. Weight Diet can reduce the mailbox size by moving email attachments out of the user's mailbox file while keeping a shortcut to the original attachments in the email message. Avoid the frustrations of sending large files by email, use Weight Diet to upload file attachments to file sharing servers and replace the attached file with its download link in the outgoing email message.
     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.
  • This page is printer friendly
    Last modified on Monday, April 05, 2010
    Copyright Slipstick Systems. All rights reserved.
    Send comments using our Feedback page

    Home | What's New | Exchange Server | Outlook | Utilities
    About Slipstick | Feedback | Privacy Policy | Archived Pages | Link to Us | Advertise

    Submit New or Updated Outlook and Exchange Server Utilities

    Hosted by Intermedia.net