Use Rules to Archive Messages in Outlook on Macintosh


While CUIMC email accounts have 100GB of storage space, Mac users who need more space can use folders designated as On My Computer within Outlook. These folders and messages or other items stored in them sit on the Mac's hard drive and do not count against your CUIMC account's storage space.

A bulk move of information via Exporting and Importing may be preferred if you want to store items from an account that is being disabled.

Items moved to On My Computer folders will not appear in Web Outlook or when accessing your CUIMC email on a different computer or mobile device, however you can manually move (drag and drop) or copy them back if needed. Outlook may not show them by default, if so see steps to View On My Computer Folders.

Set Up an Archive Using Rules

Setting up a rule allows you to move messages that fit a certain criteria, such as their age, to another location such as the On My Computer folders.
NOTE: Rules in Outlook for Mac are only run when a new message comes in. Due to this, a rule based on a message's age will NOT automatically archive old messages, however you can set up the rule and run it when needed to perform a quick, bulk move of old messages.

  1. With Outlook open, select Tools from the uppermost menu, then Rules from the drop down that appears. Outlook Tools drop down menu
  2. Click on Exchange under the On My Computer heading in the left column of the window to highlight it, then select the + (plus) sign at the bottom of the window to add a Rule. Outlook Rules for Exchange
  3. In the Rule Name field of the next window, type in a description for the rule you are creating. This will appear in the Outlook Rules window (shown above) if you need to review, modify or delete it in the future. Outlook Rule to move messages older than 180 days
  4. Set additional criteria for the rule. To have all messages that are older than 180 days (approximately 6 months) moved from your account on the server to your Inbox on the computer, select the following:
    1. In the When a new message arrives: section, change the first drop down to Date Received; the next to Is Greater Than; and type 180 in the days old field.
    2. If you have more than one email account configured in Outlook on your computer, click the + (plus) button to the right of days old to add the next rule condition and set it for Account - is - <name of your CUIMC email account>.
    3. In the Do the following: section, select Move Message - Inbox (On My Computer).
      NOTE: if there is another folder on your computer you prefer to use it is ok to select this, just make sure it is labeled (On My Computer). Folders not labeled as such are on the mail server and will still count towards your quota.
    4. If there is an additional row for rule criteria, select the - (minus) button to its right to remove.
  5. Make sure Enabled in the lower left of the window is checked and click the OK button.
  6. Click the red button in the upper right corner of the Rules window to close it and return to your Outlook mail.
  7. To run the rule you must Select All messages in the desired folder. Click any message in the folder you'd like to archive, then click Edit - Select All from Outlook's topmost menu (or press the Option - a keys on your keyboard to Select All). Select All messages in the current folder
  8. When all the messages in the folder are selected (highlighted), click Messages from Outlook's topmost menu, then Rules - Apply - 180 Day Automatic Archive to run the rule. Depending on how many old messages you have it may take a few minutes to complete the archive. Applying the Archive Rule
  9. Archived messages will now appear in the On My Computer folder selected in step 4c above.

To use the rule in the future, start at step 7 above. You will not need to create the rule each time.