How to archive without deleting in Outlook?

Author Kelly Last modified 2024-08-20

As you know, emails will be automatically deleted from the mail folder after you archiving the folder in Outlook. However, sometimes you need to save the emails to your disk and remain them in your Outlook at the same time. Here, I will introduce two solutions to archive without deleting in Outlook.

Archive the whole email account without deleting in Outlook

Archive a certain mail folder without deleting in Outlook

Archive the whole email account without deleting in Outlook

This method will guide you to archive the whole email account without deleting anything in Outlook. Please do as follows:

1. In the Mail view, right click the specified email account on the Navigation Pane, and select Open File Location from the right-clicking menu. See screenshot:

the screenshot of step about archiving the whole email account without deleting in Outlook 1

2. Now the folder containing the PST file of the specified email account is opening. Please close Microsoft Outlook, and copy the PST file to the archive folder. See screenshot:

the screenshot of step about archiving the whole email account without deleting in Outlook 2

3. In the archive folder, please rename the PST file as you need. See screenshot:

the screenshot of step about archiving the whole email account without deleting in Outlook 3

Now you have archived the PST file of the whole email account to the archive folder already.

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Archive a certain mail folder without deleting in Outlook

This method will introduce the Import/Export feature to archive a certain mail folder without deleting any emails in Outlook. Please do as follows:

1. Click File > Open & Export > Import/Export (or File > Open > Import) to open the Import and Export Wizard.

2. In the Import and Export Wizard, please click to highlight the Export to a file option, and click the Next button. See screenshot:

the screenshot of step about archiving a certain mail folder without deleting in Outlook 1

3. Now the Export to a file dialog box opens. Please click to highlight the Outlook Data File (.pst) option, and click the Next button. See screenshot:

the screenshot of step about archiving a certain mail folder without deleting in Outlook 2

4. In the Export Outlook Data File dialog box, please click to highlight the specified folder you will archive, and click the Next button. See screenshot:

the screenshot of step about archiving a certain mail folder without deleting in Outlook 3

5. In the second Export Outlook Data File dialog box, please click the Browse button. See screenshot:

the screenshot of step about archiving a certain mail folder without deleting in Outlook 4

6. In the Open Outlook Data Files dialog box, please open the archive folder you will save the archived PST file into, name the archived PST file in the File name box, and click the OK button. See screenshot:

the screenshot of step about archiving a certain mail folder without deleting in Outlook 5

7. Now you return to the second Export Outlook Data File dialog box, please click the Finish button.

8. Now the Create Outlook Data File dialog box comes out. Please click the OK button directly. See screenshot:

the screenshot of step about archiving a certain mail folder without deleting in Outlook 6

Notes:
(1) If you need to add password for the archived PST file, please type the password into both Password and Verify Password boxes, and then click the OK button.
(2) This dialog box won’t come out in Outlook 2010.
Now you have archived the specified mail folder into the specified archive folder without deleting anything in Outlook.

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