Reducing the size of your Outlook data file
You can greatly speed up email migrations by doing a little "pruning" prior to the changeover. Here are some quick things you can do to clean up and compact your Outlook email:
It isn't so much about the number of emails you have, but the attachments that you receive that create unnecessary bulk.
- In Outlook (2007 & later), scroll to the bottom of the Mail Folders (where your main inbox/directory tree is shown) and click on Search Folders,
- then click on Large Mail. Start by deleting the largest files first!
Figure out which folders are taking up the most space.
- At the top of your Mail Folders/Inbox tree, right-click on top icon that has a little house on it and is usually labelled "Personal Folders", choose Properties.
- Click on the Folder Size button. This will list all your folders and how big each one is in total.
- Make a note of the top 3 or 4 largest folders, click Close then OK.
- Go to each folder and sort by Size (click on the header, if it isn't there then Right-Click on a header like From, click on Field Chooser, then drag n' drop Size from the list to beside the other headers). Delete unnessary files, starting with the biggest ones first.
Archive old email
- Outlook can automatically move old emails into an Archive File (PST), based on age. In Outlook, go to Tools > Options > Other > Auto Archive
- You should modify where the archive file is stored, usually its good to keep it in your Documents folder so that it can be backed up with other important files.
Empty your Deleted Items/Trash
- Right click on your Deleted Items (sometimes also labelled Trash) and choose Empty "Deleted Items" Folder.