Q: In Outlook 2011 and Entourage, how do I archive my mail?

In Outlook 2011 and Entourage, you can archive mail, contacts, and calendar events in order to make a backup of your information.

Export all mail or other items to a local file

1. From the File menu, click Export.
2. Select the kind of export you want. Outlook exports Outlook Data File format as .olm files; Entourage exports Entourage archives in .rge files.
3. Check the item types you want to include in the export, and then click the right arrow to continue.
   • Note: This will export all your mail, or all your calendar items. For help exporting a smaller number of items or just one folder, see below.
4. Choose whether or not you want to delete the items you are exporting, and then click the right arrow to continue.
   • IS&T recommends that you do not delete the items you're exporting unless you are deliberately trying to reduce the size of your mailbox on the MIT server
5. Enter a name for the archive file and a location to store it, and then click Save.
6. Keep a separate backup of this file.

For more information on archiving your data, use the Help menu to search for backup or export.

Import a local file to Outlook 2011

1. Click File, and then click Import.
2. Select Entourage information from an archive or earlier version or Import information from an Entourage archive, and then click the right arrow to continue.
3. Select the kind of file you need to import, then click the right arrow to continue.
   • Outlook 2011 adds the ability to import data from Windows Outlook .pst files.
   • You can also import mail and other data from other mail applications.
4. Locate the file or folder you want to import, and then click Import.

Export just one folder or just certain messages

Sometimes you want to export just one folder or just certain messages, but the import/export instructions above will export all mail folders or all calendar items.

To export just one folder or just certain messages, do the following:

1. Create a folder on the desktop of your Mac.
2. In your Outlook program, select the messages you want to export.
   Note: do not select the folder, select the messages in the folder.
3. Drag them messages from Outlook and drop them into the desktop folder you created
   This will create .eml mail files in the desktop folder, one file per message.

To import .eml mail files into Outlook:

1. Drag the .eml files from the Finder window and drop them into a folder in the Outlook window.
   This will make new email messages in the Outlook folder, one message per .eml mail file.