archive email messages

Archiving Email Messages to Other Media

Kenyon operates an IMAP email system, which means that your message files are stored in your account directory on the mail server in the LBIS machine room. LBIS backs up these data routinely, but you may prefer to create archives of your messages locally. Doing so will give you control over and instant access to your important messages. After creating your archives, you may want to delete these messages from your folders, which will lower the total amount of disk space that your account occupies.

There are several possible methods for archiving messages, each with advantages and disadvantages. The methods presented here make use of some of the more popular email clients in their current stable versions (Outlook Express 6, Mozilla 1.6, and Netscape Messenger 7.02). However, Outlook Express (OE) is by far the easiest client to use when archiving messages. LBIS does not generally recommend using Outlook Express because of the numerous security issues associated with this client, but in this case you can think of OE as an archiving tool. In other words, use OE to archive messages, but keep your computer and your data safe by using another client to read your messages on a regular basis.

Two similar and fairly quick and easy methods are presented first. These methods use Outlook Express and MozillaNetscape 7.+, respectively. A second fairly simple method using Outlook Express is given next, followed by several more difficult procedures using Outlook Express and Netscape Messenger. These more difficult methods are given for thoroughness and because they have their merit, especially if you will need to refer back to the messages and want to search for information using the email client's search capabilities. I suggest that you test several of these methods and determine which you prefer and which is best for your purposes.

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Method #1: Using Outlook Express to save a group of email messages as separate files in a Windows folder

1. Open up My Computer or Windows Explorer and create a new folder, giving it a name that categorizes the messages you want to archive (use the email folder name that contained the messages). Open this new folder.
2. Open Outlook Express (OE) and arrange the OE window and the new folder window so that they both fit on your monitor. (Right-click task bar and select Tile Windows Vertically).
3. In Outlook Express open the folder you wish to archive and highlight all the messages in the message list. Left-click on the highlighted messages and hold the mouse button down as you drag the messages from the list and drop them into the new folder window. The messages will be copied into the folder as separate .eml files, and the name of each individual file will be the subject line of the original message. NOTE: all messages must be marked as open for this to work. You may need to click on each individual message to open it before copying.
4. To expedite the process of opening each message click on Tools | Options, then select the Read tab. For the option "Mark messages as read after __ seconds", set this to 0 (zero) seconds. You may now click on messages for zero seconds (depending upon the message's size, of course) to open it. Repeat this step for each folder of messages you wish to archive.
5. Copy the new folder(s) containing the .eml message files to disk, Zip disk, or CD-ROM, etc. to create your archive. You can now remove the messages from your Kenyon account.
6. To view the archived messages: double-click any of the .eml files to open the message. The message should open in an Outlook Express window. Attachments, if any, will also be available. If the individual messages do not open in a separate Outlook Express window go to next step and follow instructions. You may also open the messages using any browser other than Internet Explorer (e.g., Netscape or Mozilla). NOTE: attachments may not be available if you are using a browser.
7. To open the .eml files in a separate Outlook Express window, you will need to tell your computer how to open .eml files. To do so, click on Tools | Folder Options, then click on the File Types tab. Find and highlight the EML extension, then click the Advanced button. Highlight the word Open under Action, then click on the Edit button. In the Application used to perform action: box, type the full path of the Outlook Express executable file (msimn.exe) and add the following /eml:%1 to the end of that path . (Note, you need a space before the "/" but you do not need the period "." after the numeral 1. For example:
   C:\Program Files\Outlook Express\msimn.exe" /eml:%1

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Method #2: Using Mozilla or Netscape 7+ to save a single email message to a file

1. Open up My Computer or Windows Explorer and create a new folder, giving it a name that categorizes the messages you want to archive (use the email folder name that contained the messages). Open this new folder.
2. Open Mozilla/Netscape. Arrange the Mozilla window and the new folder window so that they both fit on your monitor. (Right-click task bar and select Tile Windows Vertically).
3. In Mozilla/Netscape, open the folder you wish to archive and highlight one message in the message list. Click File | Save As | File on the menu bar. The Save As window appears so that you can save it to the drive/folder of your choice. When saved, the message will be copied into the folder as a separate .eml file, and the name of the file will be the subject line of the original message. NOTE: Messages must be marked as open for this to work. You may need to click on a message to open it before copying. Repeat this step for each message you wish to archive.
4. When finished saving the messages you want to archive, you can copy the new folder(s) containing the .eml message files to disk, Zip disk or CD-ROM to create your archive. You can now remove the messages from your Kenyon account.
5. To view your archived messages, get back into My Computer or Windows Explorer and double-click any of the .eml files to open a message. While Mozilla/Netscape will save messages as .eml files, they will not open these files, so the messagewill open in an Outlook Express window. Attachments, if any, should also be available via Outlook Express. If the individual messages do not open in a separate Outlook Express window, go to the next step and follow instructions.

   You may also open the messages using any browser other than Internet Explorer (e.g., Netscape or Mozilla). NOTE: attachments may not be available if you are using a browser.

6. To open the .eml files in a separate Outlook Express window, you will need to tell your computer how to open .eml files. To do so, click on Tools > Folder Options, then click on the File Types tab. Find and highlight the EML extension, then click the Advanced button. Highlight the word Open under Action, then click on the Edit button. In the Application used to perform action: box, type the full path to the Outlook Express executable file (msimn.exe) and add the following to the end of that path /eml:%1. NOTE: you need a space before the "/" but you do not need the period "." after the numeral 1. For example:
   C:\Program Files\Outlook Express\msimn.exe" /eml:%1

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Method 3: Using Outlook Express to save messages as attachments in a new message, then save message to a file

1. Open Outlook Express and then open the Create a New Mail message window. Enter the name you want for the archive in the subject line.
2. Arrange the Outlook Express window and the New Message window so they both fit on your screen. (Right-click task bar and select Tile Windows Vertically).
3. In Outlook Express, open the folder you wish to archive and highlight all the messages in the message list. Left-click on the highlighted messages and hold the mouse button down as you drag the messages from the list and drop them into the text area of the New Message window. The messages will be added as attachments to this new message. NOTE: all messages must be marked as open for this to work. You may need to click on each message to open it before copying.
4. In the New Message window, click on File in the toolbar and select Save As from the pull-down menu. The default name for the file will be the same as the subject line of the message, and the file will have the .eml file extension. Save the file in any folder you choose on your hard drive. You may now close the New Message window.
5. Open Windows Explorer (or My Computer) and find the .eml file that you have just saved. Copy this file to disk, Zip disk, or CD-ROM for your archive.
6. To view the individual messages in the archived file, simply double-click the .eml file to open it. This should open the message (with its many attachments) in an Outlook Express window. (If not, go to next step and follow instructions). Double-click on any attachment to view the associated message. You may also select any or all of the attachments and drag them into an Outlook Express mail folder to view them; this will copy the messages to the folder, and you may view the messages directly from Outlook Express.
7. To open the .eml files in a separate Outlook Express window, you will need to tell your computer how to open .eml files. To do so, click on Tools | Folder Options, then click on the File Types tab. Find and highlight the EML extension, then click the Advanced button. Highlight the word Open under Action, and then click on the Edit button. In the Application used to perform action: box, type the full path of the Outlook Express executable file (msimn.exe) and add the following to the end of that path /eml:%1. NOTE: you need a space before the "/" but you do not need the period "." after the numeral 1. For example:
   "C:\Program Files\Outlook Express\msimn.exe" /eml:%1

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Method #4: Using Outlook Express to save a group of email messages to folder in Local Folders

1. Under the Local Folders list create a sub-folder called, for example, "Archive." To create a local folder, click on File in the toolbar and select New and then Folder from the pull-down menus. Type in the name of the folder you wish to create, but make sure you are adding the folder to your Local Folders list.
2. Copy the messages you wish to archive from your Kenyon email account to the local folder you just created. You can do this easily by highlighting the messages and dragging them into the new folder.
3. Determine the location of your Outlook Express "store" folder. To do so, click on Tools in the menu bar and select Options from the drop-down menu. Select the Maintenance tab and then click on the Store Folder button. The directory path to your store folder will appear; this is a long path, including a very long GUID or Global Unique Identifier. Carefully write down the full path. Close Outlook Express.
4. Open Windows Explorer or My Computer from the desktop and navigate to your "store" folder on your hard drive (see path above). Browse through sub-folders until you find the file archive.dbx. Copy the file "Archive.dbx" (in our example) from that folder to your backup medium (i.e., copy the file to a disk or Zip disk, or burn the file to a CD). You may now remove the messages from your Kenyon mail account.
5. Open Outlook Express and delete the "Archive" folder. NOTE: this step is not necessary as you may want to keep the messages stored in the store folder on your hard drive.
6. To restore the folder of messages: Create a new local mail folder in Outlook Express called, for example "Archive." Open this folder once, and then close Outlook Express. (Note: before closing, make sure you know your store folder's location (see above)
7. In Windows Explorer, navigate to the location of your store folder and browse through sub-folders until you find the file the .dbx file associated with the folder you just created (i.e., "Archive.dbx"). Delete this file.
8. Copy the "Archive.dbx" file from your backup medium to your Outlook Express store folder; this file replaces the one you have just deleted.
9. Open Outlook Express and go to the new local folder to read your restored messages.

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Method #5: Using Netscape Messenger/Mozilla to save a group of messages to folder in Local Folders

1. In Netscape Messenger, local mail folders are saved as text-based files on your hard drive. To archive the contents of a folder (i.e., a folder on your Kenyon email account) follow these steps:
2. Under your Local Folders list create a sub-folder called, for example, "Archive." To create a local folder, click on File in the toolbar and select New then Folder from the pull-down menus. Type in the name of the new folder you wish to create in the upper portion of the New Folder window. In the lower portion of the New Folder window, select Local Folders to make the folder a sub-folder of your local account.
3. Open the folder you wish to archive in your Kenyon email account, found in your folders list. Highlight the messages in this folder and copy them to the local folder that you have just created.
4. Determine the location of your local mail folders, by clicking on Edit > Mail & News Groups Account Settings then clicking on Local Folders in the left-hand column; your local directory will appear at the bottom of the window. Open Windows Explorer or My Computer and browse to this folder. In it you should see a file named "Archive" (in our example; you may ignore the similarly named file with the .msf file extension). Copy this file (without the file extension) to your backup medium.
5. You can now delete the local folder that you created in Local Folders as well as the newly backed up messages from your Kenyon account. Note: It is not necessary to delete these messages in the local folder as you may want to keep them on your hard drive. You can use the archived copy on a Zip disk or CD as a failsafe way for restoring the messages if needed in the future (see next steps).
6. To view the archived messages on your hard drive, Zip disk or CD, you can simply open the archive file in any text editor (e.g., Notepad or Wordpad) or through a word processing application. The messages will appear in that file one after another in chronological order. (However, you will not be able to read or view attachments in this manner.)
7. If you want to read the messages via Netscape Messenger or Mozilla , you must first re-create a folder in your email Local Folders list with the same name as the archive file (e.g., "Archive" in our example). Open this folder once then exit the folder. Now, go to the location (on your hard drive) of your local mail folders (see above for help finding this location). In that folder on your hard drive, delete the files in it that are named archive*. (Note: Be careful not to delete any existing folders in your Local Folders email account (such as, Sent, Trash,Drafts, Template, Unsent Messages!) Then copy the archived file on your backup medium over to that folder. Open Netscape Messenger or Mozilla and go to the new local folder to read your restored messages.

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