There are a variety of ways that you can archive mail information on your computer. It is a *good* idea to have back-ups. At the same time, leaving mail on the server can have its advantages, including the fact that you need to leave the mail on the server in order to access it through Outlook Web Access or Outlook Mobile Access.
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Simple Strategy |
One strategy is simply to keep everything on the server, and add additional disk space as needed. This is the simplest strategy, and ensures that all email is accessible from any location. |
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Moving Folders |
If you have folders that you are no longer using and would like to keep on your computer, you can simply drag them from your mailbox folder to your personal folder. This removes them from the server. |
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Copying Folders |
If you want to make a quick local backup of a folder on the server, you can right click on a folder in your mailbox, and choose the copy function. |
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Rules-based Backup |
If you want to have Outlook automatically backup every incoming email, you can create a folder for backups in your Personal folder (ex: "Backups"), and then you can set up a Rule to automatically make a copy of each incoming email in the specified folder. (Outlook: Tools > Rules) |
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Auto-Archiving |
Outlook has a powerful ability to automatically back up outdated files on a regular basis and remove them from the server to free up space. One archived, the files will still be available in your personal folder. See Outlook Help: "About backing up or deleting items using AutoArchive" |
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Archiving Manually |
Instead of having Outlook do it automatically, you can click on a folder and archive it yourself as needed. This Web page includes a basic tutorial in manual archiving: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011216101033.aspx |
Also, there are a variety of resources on the Microsoft Web site, such as this course in backing up data:
http://office.microsoft.com/training/training.aspx?AssetID=RC010265551033