This guidance applies only to staff who are part of the Outlook email archiving pilot group. 

If you are unsure whether you are included in the pilot, please contact modernworkprogramme@port.ac.uk before taking any action.

Auto Archiving is an Outlook feature that helps manage your mailbox by automatically moving older emails into an archive area. This allows you to keep emails for reference without cluttering your main mailbox, which can help improve mailbox performance and make Outlook easier to use.

When Auto-Archive is applied to an email or folder, the content will move to your In-Place Archive folder. This folder appears in the left-hand Outlook pane, below your usual mailbox folders.

Before you begin

Before applying an archive policy, check that your archive mailbox is visible in Outlook.

  • If you are using Outlook on the web, look for In-Place Archive in the folder list on the left-hand side.
  • If you are using the Outlook desktop application, look for Online Archive in the folder list on the left-hand side.

If you cannot see your archive mailbox, or are unsure whether archiving is available to you, please contact modernworkprogramme@port.ac.uk before continuing.

 

Assigning Auto-Archive in Outlook

Archiving an email:

  1. Open Outlook (both Desktop & Web applications support this feature).
  2. Right-click the email that you wish to archive.
  3. From the list, select Advanced Actions, then choose Assign Policy. This will display the available policies.
  4. Choose Auto-Archive. Once applied, the content will be moved to the archive mailbox.

 

Archiving a folder:

  1. Right-click the folder that you wish to archive.
  2. From the list, select Assign Policy. This will display the available policies.
  3. Choose Auto-Archive. Once applied, the content will be moved to the archive mailbox.

Note: When a policy is applied to a folder, the folder structure will be replicated in your archive mailbox.

 

When will my emails move?

The retention policy runs automatically in the background, so emails and folders will not move immediately after a policy is applied.

Once applied, content should move to the archive mailbox within approximately 7 days. The exact timing may vary depending on when Outlook next processes the policy.

 

Additional information:

  • The archive mailbox appears as a separate mailbox in the Outlook folder list.
  • Emails stored in the archive mailbox do not count towards your primary mailbox storage quota.
  • Archived emails can be searched by selecting All Folders when performing a search in Outlook.
  • The archive mailbox has an initial capacity of 100 GB and can automatically expand in 100 GB increments up to a maximum of 1.5 TB.
  • Email should not be used as a permanent records management solution. The University of Portsmouth provides dedicated systems for storing and managing official records.

 

Need some extra support?

If you need further support with managing your emails or understanding retention and archiving, you can contact the Modern Work Programme for additional guidance.

Email Modern Work Programme

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