Friday Tech Tip; (Murray Avenue Edition): Archiving Mail in Outlook

Because there are limits to the amount of mail you can keep in your lmtsd.org inbox, you need clear it out periodically.  You could delete them, but then you've lost the record of your email transactions and communications.  One solution is to put those old messages someplace.  Outlook provides such a place: you can create what is called an Outlook Data File ( or '.pst' file type) to archive and store old mail in Outlook.  I'll take you through two scenarios: making one from scratch, and reconnecting to one that you already have but isn't showing up.

1. To make one from scratch, do this:
1. On the Home tab, in the New group, click New Items, point to More Items, and then click Outlook Data File.
2. In the 'Create or Open Outlook Data File' dialog box, name your Data File.
3. In the 'Save in' dropdown menu at the top, CHANGE the default location to:

   \\lmtsdvlocker\mateachers\[your name]\Mail\

   (This step puts the data file on the network, instead of on your local machine.)
4. Click OK!  You are all set up! 
   
2.  If you have one already, and just want to connect up to it, do this:
1. In Outlook, make sure your 'Navigation Pane' is visable. 
   (Your Navigation Pane is the column that provides access to folders used to organize your information. Click a folder to show the items it contains. It also includes the Favorite Folders section and buttons to switch between Mail, Calendar, Tasks and other views.
2. Click the 'File' tab.
3. On the 'Info' tab, click 'Account Settings', and then click 'Account Settings.'
4. On the 'Data Files' tab, click 'Add.'
5. Click the Outlook Data File (.pst) file that you want to open, and then click OK.
   
   Where is the data file located you ask?  Usually right here:
   
   

   \\lmtsdvlocker\mateachers\[your name]\Mail\[your data file].pst

That should hook you up.  Happy archiving!