Introduction to Personal Archive

Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 accounts can be set up with an Personal Archive by your Exchange administrator.This is a specialized Exchange mailbox in addition to your primary Exchange mailbox. In Microsoft Outlook 2010, the Personal Archive appears in the Navigation Pane beneath your primary Exchange mailbox folders.

Note: There are Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Exchange Server license requirements for this feature. For more information, see License requirements for Personal Archive and retention policies.

Unlike Outlook Data Files (.pst) that are only accessible on the computer where the file is saved, items in the Personal Archive are available in Outlook from any computer that you use or in Outlook Web App (OWA).

If you previously archived messages to an Outlook Data Files (.pst), you can open those archives and move messages from that file into the Personal Archive. This makes all of your messages accessible online with Outlook Web App (OWA) or from other computers where you use Outlook 2010.

Benefits of Personal Archive

Messages from your Exchange account can also be moved to the Personal Archive automatically with archive polices, which reduces your mailbox size. In addition, retention policies apply to the e-mail messages in the Personal Archive as well, which ensures compliance with regulatory or organization retention rules.

• Reduce the size of your Exchange Server account   Items in the Personal Archive don't count against your Exchange mailbox size quota. Your Exchange administrator can tell you what the storage size limit is for both your primary Exchange mailbox and your Personal Archive.

• Archive policies automatically move items    Archive policies can apply to specific messages, conversations, or folders in your Exchange Server account. For example, a message can be tagged with an archive policy so that it is automatically moved to the Personal Archive after a specified amount of time. These policies vary by organization.

• All of your day-to-day and archived items are immediately accessible   Both your primary Exchange mailbox and the Personal Archive are saved on the server running Exchange. This means that you have access to all of your items from any computer that you use with Outlook 2010. Also, all of your items are available in Outlook Web App. Previous archive solutions using an Outlook Data File (.pst) restricted access to only the computer where the file was saved; no access to an Outlook Data File (.pst) is available in Outlook Web Access (OWA).

• Use search across all messages   In Outlook 2010 or OWA you can use search to find a message regardless of whether it is in your Exchange mailbox or the Personal Archive.