How to Archive Mailboxes Before Deletion
An archive is a set of protected backup documents saved for the purpose of retrieval in case they are needed for future use. When you archive mailboxes, you consider these email messages important, although not current. It is different from simply deleting an email, wherein you permanently remove data from your mailbox. With all of the free space that Gmail and other email accounts provide, deleting email is virtually unnecessary. Gmail recommends archiving the message instead, which takes the message out of the inbox to keep the set labels intact.
- Difficulty:
- Moderately Easy
Instructions
Things You'll Need
- Computer with Internet connection
- Gmail account, Microsoft Outlook or any email account with an archiving feature
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1
Log in to your Gmail account or create one if you have not signed up yet (see Resources section). Wait for the interface to load until you see your messages.
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2
Select the check box next to messages that you wish to archive or select one of the six links on top after the "Select:" text to choose groups of messages based on a certain criteria.
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3
Click the "Archive" button on top to archive the selected messages before deleting.
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4
If you are using Microsoft Outlook, archiving works as a backup. You can archive folders by clicking the "Go" menu, clicking "Folder List," selecting the folder containing the messages that you wish to archive and then going to the "File" menu and clicking "Archive."
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Tips & Warnings
If your keyboard shortcuts in Gmail are turned on (accessible in "Settings"), you can alternatively press "e" on your keyboard to archive the checked messages.
Another way to individually archive messages in Gmail is by clicking on the mail to open it and then clicking the "Archive" button on top.
It is also possible to automate the archiving by creating a filter. Click the "Create a filter" link to the right of the search box and fill up any of the five text boxes there to serve as your criteria. For example, you can tell Gmail to auto-archive any messages that contain the subject "Test" by typing "Test" in the "Subject" box. Click "Next Step" to see the matching results and check the "Skip the Inbox (Archive it)" check box. If there are search results below, you can check the "Also apply filter to ## conversations below" if you want the filter to activate now. Even if there are no matching results, any future messages that have the word "Test" will be archived automatically.
