Old emails take up unnecessary space on your server and can slow down outlook. If you want to free up space but also keep the emails for future review you can opt to archive old emails. This can increase your servers speed and free up space for more emails.

Run Archive Manually

Archiving compresses old emails into a separate file, letting the inbox be more responsive when viewing new emails while maintaining access to the old, archived emails.

Click the File tab.

Click the Mailbox Settings Tools button.
Click Clean Up Old Items.

The Archive dialog box appears.
Adjust the settings.
Select whether to archive all folders or select a folder from the list. Select a date to start the archive, then select a location for the archive file.
Click OK.

The archive system runs in the background and the emails older than the specified date are moved to the archive file.

Set up AutoArchive

The AutoArchive feature will periodically scan your mailbox and automatically move certain items into the archive file.

Click the File tab.

Click Options.

The Outlook Options dialog box appears.
Click Advanced.
Click the AutoArchive Settings button.

The AutoArchive dialog box appears, letting you control whether AutoArchive runs, and how it works when enabled.
Adjust the settings.
You can specify how often AutoArchive runs, and you can choose whether to receive a notification before it runs. You can choose whether to delete items or move them to the archive, specifying an age they must be older than and choosing a location for the archive file.
Click OK twice.

Now, AutoArchive will periodically scan your mailbox, automatically remove any emails older than the designated date, and add them to the Archived Inbox file.

Adjust Folder Settings

When AutoArchive is enabled, you can set custom AutoArchive settings for each folder to overrule the global settings.

Select a folder.
Click the Folder tab.
Click the AutoArchive Settings button.

Adjust the settings:
- Do not archive items in this folder: Items in this folder won’t be archived.
- Archive items in this folder using the default settings: This folder will follow the global AutoArchive settings.
- Archive this folder using these settings: This folder will AutoArchive using the settings you set here, and not the global settings.
Click OK.

The AutoArchive settings for the folder are updated.

Access Archived Items

If you need to see something that has already been archived, you can easily access it.

Click the File tab.

Select Open & Export.
Click Open Outlook Data File.

A file browser window opens.
Select the archive file.
Click OK.

The archive file is loaded and will appear as a folder in the Folder list.
Click the Archives folder.