Forum Moderators: LifeinAsia
SAVE EVERY EMAIL COMMUNICATION!
I highly recommend that you save each and every email communication with your clients, your vendors, your partners, your affiliations, etc. Create specific folders for each within Outlook. Set up Rules to drop incoming and outgoing email into the appropriate folders.
I had an interesting email volley today with a supplier. To make a long story short, I had saved emails from previous communications that went back 17 months (from the date I signed up as an affiliate).
Those saved email communications along with Archive.org copies of web pages dated prior to those email communications were just what we needed to confirm someone was not telling the whole truth. ;)
Do you save email?
For how long?
How BIG is your pst file?
Do you Auto-Archive?
How frequently?
How far back?
Do you use Rules?
Do you save email?
For how long?
How BIG is your pst file?
Do you Auto-Archive?
How far back?
Do you use Rules?
Do you save email?
Most definitely!
For how long?
Indefinitely!
How BIG is your pst file?
Only 65Mb. I have a number of business email addresses, so all of them aren't stored in Outlook.
Do you Auto-Archive?
No, but I may start.
How frequently?
I'll probably utilize it on a daily basis.
How far back?
Do you use Rules?
Yes. I use Rules to separate emails from specific businesses.
Saving email communication is a verified paper-trail that you may need in the future. I still have emails from 2003!
Do you save email? Definitely
For how long? Forever
How BIG is your pst file? Archive close to 1 gig, current about 60 megs
Do you Auto-Archive? How frequently? Anything older than 6 months except for stuff dealing with basic account and login information, downloaded software licenses, etc.
How far back? '96
Do you use Rules? Only for things I know I don't have to look at. I eyeball everything else in my inbox and manage them manually.
Do you Auto-Archive? No, but could you elaborate on what it really does and how I can retrieve things archived?
How frequently? n/a
How far back? on my current Pc back to 2004 when I had it built. From the previous machine I have backups. Hope I never have to use them.
Do you use Rules? Yes
Do you Auto-Archive? No, but could you elaborate on what it really does and how I can retrieve things archived?
Description of the AutoArchive feature in Outlook 2003
[support.microsoft.com...]
Microsoft explains it best at the above link.
I actually got my first message (last week) telling me that I could not move emails until I reduced the size of my .pst file which was at 1.6GB+. I had to create an archive2.pst and continue with my archiving there and I had to change the settings a bit to move more data to the .pst file. So, I'm archiving everything that is 90+ days old. I really don't need anything older than that in my primary mailbox folders.
With Outlook 2003, accessing archived folders is one click away. I don't remember it being that way in 2000. And I wasn't managing the volume of email then that I am today.
Jim
[edited by: jdMorgan at 1:33 am (utc) on Aug. 4, 2006]
Do you save email?
Spam is never kept, inconsequential email is usually nuked.
For how long?
As short a time as possible.
How BIG is your pst file?
pst? *cough, splutter* ;) 36Mb, maildir format. Far too big.
Do you Auto-Archive?
No, I delete.
How frequently?
About every month or so I have a clean out. I try to be as ruthless as possible, I need to have a reason to keep it rather than a reason to delete it.
How far back?
I have a few emails from 2001, but there is little left more than 12 months old.
Do you use Rules?
No, mostly manual filtering into categories, some (eg. emails from my mother) are emptied regularly, others hang around longer. Recently I deleted whole categories of email from former clients, I don't need it anymore. I didn't keep a backup.
Overall, I'm just not a hoarder. I'm careful to note vital information and track addresses, but the overwhelming majority of email received (and sent) is of little or no long-term value.
The above is for home and home business. At work, I should add that my current employer has similar policies to those mentioned by jdMorgan, so there I have about 40 to 50 emails in total which I have kept.
>For how long?
Forever, well since 1998, I have every received and sent email filed.
>Do you Auto-Archive?
No, prefer to do it manually.
>How far back?
8 years and counting.....at least 5 machines in that time also! Switching PC's is a pain!
>Do you use Rules?
Yes, but, more for spam elimination than "auto-filing". I prefer to eliminate the junk and manually file the good stuff.
My biggest wish is that clients and certain family members would follow a similar "organizational process". If I had a dime for every time I sent a client a copy of an old email I would be a billionaire!
Typical example....domain name renewals, every year from every client they ask the same question, and I send the same reply. If you have a bad memory learn to file your dang emails!
Google is my friend.
Am I worried about privacy issues? Please don't even reply to this thread with that nonsense/paranoid talk - NO, I'm not worried.
