5 Easy Steps to Access Archived Mail in Outlook

Access Archived Mail in Outlook

Navigating your Outlook inbox can be a daunting task, especially if you’re looking for a specific email from a buried past. Thankfully, Outlook provides a comprehensive archiving system that allows you to access and retrieve messages that have been automatically moved out of your inbox to make way for newer emails.

How To Access Archived Mail In Outlook

Before accessing archived mail, it’s essential to understand how the archiving process works in Outlook. By default, Outlook automatically archives emails older than a specified number of months, which can be anything between 1 to 60 months, a feature designed to streamline your inbox by removing clutter and enhancing efficiency. Additionally, you can also manually archive emails by selecting them and clicking the “Archive” button in the ribbon menu or by using keyboard shortcuts – “Ctrl”+”E” in Windows and “Command”+”E” in Mac.

To retrieve archived emails, you can either search for them using keywords or browse through the archive folder. To search for an archived email, simply type the relevant keywords in the search bar at the top of the Outlook window. Alternatively, click on the “Folder” tab in the ribbon menu, and under the “Favorites” section, select “All Mail.” This action will display all the emails in your mailbox, including the archived ones. From there, you can sort the emails by date, sender, or subject to quickly locate the email you’re looking for.

How To Access Archived Mail In Outlook

To access archived mail in Outlook, you can use the following steps:

  1. Open Outlook and click on the “File” tab.
  2. Click on the “Open & Export” option.
  3. Select the “Open Outlook Data File” option.
  4. In the “Open Outlook Data File” dialog box, navigate to the location of the archived PST file.
  5. Select the PST file and click on the “Open” button.
  6. The archived mail will now be accessible in Outlook.

People Also Ask

How do I open an archived PST file in Outlook 365?

To open an archived PST file in Outlook 365, you can use the following steps:

  1. Open Outlook 365 and click on the “File” tab.
  2. Click on the “Open & Export” option.
  3. Select the “Open Outlook Data File” option.
  4. In the “Open Outlook Data File” dialog box, navigate to the location of the archived PST file.
  5. Select the PST file and click on the “Open” button.
  6. The archived mail will now be accessible in Outlook 365.

Where are archived emails stored in Outlook?

Archived emails in Outlook are stored in PST files. PST files are located in the following default location:

  • Windows 10: %userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
  • Windows 8.1: %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Outlook
  • Windows 7: %userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook

How do I retrieve deleted emails from an archived PST file?

To retrieve deleted emails from an archived PST file, you can use the following steps:

  1. Open Outlook and click on the “File” tab.
  2. Click on the “Open & Export” option.
  3. Select the “Open Outlook Data File” option.
  4. In the “Open Outlook Data File” dialog box, navigate to the location of the archived PST file.
  5. Select the PST file and click on the “Open” button.
  6. The archived mail will now be accessible in Outlook.
  7. To recover deleted emails, click on the “Deleted Items” folder.
  8. Right-click on the deleted email and select the “Restore” option.
  9. The deleted email will now be restored to your inbox.