What archiving does and why you might want it

Archiving in Outlook moves old emails out of your main folders and into a separate storage location on your computer. The emails stay in Outlook — you can still search for them and read them — but they no longer take up space in your active mailbox. This is different from deleting, which removes emails entirely.

You might archive emails to speed up Outlook (a bloated mailbox slows the program down), to stay under your email provider's storage limit, or simply to clean up folders you check regularly. Archived emails sit in a file called an archive folder, usually stored locally on your hard drive.

Outlook has two ways to archive: you can manually move emails to an archive folder, or you can set up automatic archiving that moves old emails on a schedule you choose. The method you use depends on how much control you want and how often you want to do this.

Key Takeaways

  • Archiving moves emails out of your active mailbox into a separate storage file, but keeps them searchable within Outlook.
  • Manual archiving lets you choose exactly which emails move and when; automatic archiving moves emails older than a date you set on a schedule.
  • The archive folder lives on your computer by default, not on the email server, so archived emails do not count toward your provider's storage limit.
  • You can restore archived emails back to their original folders at any time, and you can search archived emails the same way you search active ones.

How to manually archive emails in Outlook

Manual archiving is the fastest way to clean up a specific folder or move a batch of old emails. Open Outlook and go to the folder you want to archive — for example, your Inbox or a project folder. Select the emails you want to move: click the first one, then hold Shift and click the last one to select a range, or hold Ctrl and click individual emails to pick them one at a time.

Once you have selected the emails, right-click on one of the highlighted messages. A menu will appear. Look for an option called "Move" or "Move to Folder". Click it. A window will open showing your folder list. At the bottom of this list, you should see a folder called "Archive" or "Personal Folders" — this is your archive location. Click on it, then click "OK" or "Move". Outlook will move the selected emails there immediately.

If you do not see an archive folder in the list, you can create one. In the folder list on the left side of Outlook, right-click on your account name or on "Personal Folders" and select "New Folder". Name it "Archive" and choose where to store it. Then repeat the move process above.

Setting up automatic archiving to run on a schedule

Automatic archiving moves emails older than a certain date to your archive folder without you having to select them manually. This is useful if you want old emails out of the way regularly. Open Outlook and go to the File menu at the top left. Click "Options" (or "Settings" depending on your version). In the window that opens, look for "Advanced" on the left side and click it.

Scroll down until you see "AutoArchive" or "Archive". Click the button next to it that says "AutoArchive Settings" or similar. A dialog box will open. Check the box that says "Run AutoArchive every [X] days" — the default is usually 14 days, but you can change this number. Below that, you will see a dropdown that says "Default archive folder" — make sure this points to your archive location.

Now set the age threshold: look for a field that says "Archive items older than [X] months" or "Archive items older than [X] days". Set this to whatever makes sense for you — for example, if you set it to 6 months, Outlook will move any email older than 6 months to the archive folder every time the schedule runs. Click "OK" to save these settings. Outlook will now archive automatically on the schedule you chose.

Where archived emails are stored and how to access them

By default, Outlook stores your archive folder as a file on your computer's hard drive, not on your email provider's servers. This means archived emails do not count toward your mailbox storage limit — they live locally. The file is usually called "archive.pst" or similar and sits in a folder on your computer that Outlook manages automatically.

To access archived emails, look at the folder list on the left side of Outlook. You should see your archive folder listed there, often under "Personal Folders" or under your account name. Click on it to open it and browse archived emails just like you would browse any other folder. You can search archived emails using Outlook's search function the same way you search active emails — the search will look in archived folders if you have them selected.

If you cannot see the archive folder in your folder list, it may be hidden. In Outlook, go to View at the top, look for "Folder Pane" or "Navigation Pane", and make sure it is turned on. If the archive folder still does not appear, go to File > Options > Advanced and check that AutoArchive is pointing to a valid location on your computer.

How to restore archived emails back to your active folders

If you need an archived email back in your main Inbox or another active folder, you can move it back. Open your archive folder in the folder list on the left. Find the email you want to restore — you can browse or use the search function. Right-click on the email and select "Move" or "Move to Folder". A window will open showing your active folders. Click on the folder where you want the email to go (usually "Inbox") and click "OK".

The email will move back to that folder immediately and will no longer be in the archive. If you are restoring many emails at once, use the same selection method as manual archiving: select multiple emails using Shift+click or Ctrl+click, then right-click and move them all together.

Troubleshooting common archiving problems

If Outlook is not archiving automatically, check that AutoArchive is actually turned on. Go to File > Options > Advanced, find AutoArchive, and verify that the checkbox next to "Run AutoArchive every [X] days" is checked. If it is unchecked, check it and click OK. Also make sure the archive folder path is valid — if the folder has been moved or deleted, Outlook cannot archive to it.

If you cannot find your archive folder after archiving, it may be stored in a location you did not expect. Go to File > Options > Advanced > AutoArchive Settings and look at the "Default archive folder" field — it will show you the exact location on your computer where archives are being stored. You can also manually browse to this location using File Explorer on Windows or Finder on Mac to see the archive file directly.

If archiving is slowing down Outlook or causing it to freeze, try archiving a smaller batch of emails at a time instead of all at once. Also, make sure your hard drive has enough free space — if your drive is nearly full, Outlook may struggle to create or write to archive files. Check your available disk space and delete unnecessary files if needed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I archive emails to cloud storage instead of my computer?

Outlook's built-in archive feature stores files locally on your computer by default. However, you can manually move the archive file to OneDrive or another cloud service after creating it. Go to File > Options > Advanced > AutoArchive Settings, note the archive folder location, then move that folder to your cloud storage. Update the archive path in Outlook to point to the new location. This way archived emails sync to the cloud.

Will archiving emails delete them from my phone or other devices?

No. Archiving only affects the copy of Outlook on the computer where you archived. If you use Outlook on your phone or tablet, those emails will still appear there unless you delete them separately. Archive folders created on your computer do not automatically sync to mobile devices unless you have set up cloud storage as described above.

What happens if I turn off automatic archiving after it has been running?

Emails that were already archived will stay in your archive folder. Turning off AutoArchive just stops new emails from being moved going forward. Your existing archived emails remain searchable and accessible in Outlook. You can turn AutoArchive back on at any time without affecting emails that are already archived.

Can I archive emails from multiple accounts at once?

You can archive from each account separately, but Outlook does not have a single command to archive across all accounts at once. Open each account's folders, select the emails you want to archive, and move them to that account's archive folder. Each account will have its own archive location.

How much space will archiving actually free up?

The space freed depends on how many emails you archive and their size. A typical email with text is small (a few kilobytes), but emails with large attachments can be several megabytes each. If you archive 1,000 emails with attachments, you might free up 100 megabytes to several gigabytes. Check your Outlook folder size before and after archiving to see the actual difference on your computer.