Outlook EmailXtender

Email messages and attachments will soon start to be archived to a new, more efficient type of server storage.

Currently, when your mailbox exceeds the maximum size allowed, you receive a message and have either to delete or move messages to a different storage location. To address this, the methods you may be using to store mail items include:

• creating an archive file (a single file which contains many email messages) or
• creating a number of personal folders to which you transfer messages from the main email account.

In both cases this results in important emails being stored on a computer’s local hard disk (drive C:) and therefore not available for routine daily back-up by ISD, nor are they accessible from any other computer.

With the introduction of the new archiving system, it will no longer be necessary to create archive or personal folders, so this facility will be disabled. ISD will soon transfer your existing Personal folders (these are also called PST files) to the new archive system. They will still appear in your email folder list and all the contents will still be accessible so you should not notice any difference. However, these messages and attachments will now be stored in a network storage area and backed up daily leaving you a shortcut to the email.

Now when you work on a different computer you will be able to see all your personal folders. Even deleted messages can be easily retrieved from the archive storage area. Full instructions on how to search for archived messages are given in the documents table below.

Another advantage is that the archiving system significantly increases your mailbox capacity. However, you will still need to keep an eye on the number of emails you store in your Inbox and Sent Items folders, especially if you send and receive lots of attachments. In time you could still reach the maximum storage limit but the archive system will allow you to keep and quickly access a much greater number of email messages. For answers to more commonly asked questions, see the frequently asked questions page.