How can I set auto-archive settings recursively on existing a new subfolders
within a folder in my mailbox?
I want my default auto-archive settings for my Inbox to stay at 3 months.
My Client Asset folder includes assets, so I want to archive it and all the
subfolder every month to keep mailbox size down. New subfolders are created
all the time.
Is there any way to do this that doesn't involve changing the properties of
each folder, one-by-one?
Re: Non-default autoarchive settings recursively on subfolders? [message #470530]
Mon, 19 January 2009 16:17
VanguardLH Messages: 8593 Registered: September 2007
Senior Member
dcWoodstock wrote:
> How can I set auto-archive settings recursively on existing a new subfolders
> within a folder in my mailbox?
>
> I want my default auto-archive settings for my Inbox to stay at 3 months.
> My Client Asset folder includes assets, so I want to archive it and all the
> subfolder every month to keep mailbox size down. New subfolders are created
> all the time.
>
> Is there any way to do this that doesn't involve changing the properties of
> each folder, one-by-one?
The 2 choices that I know of:
- Global archive configuration options where you find "Apply these
settings to all folders now".
- Local archive property on a folder (which are the properties only for
that folder).
"VanguardLH" wrote:
> The 2 choices that I know of:
>
> - Global archive configuration options where you find "Apply these
> settings to all folders now".
> - Local archive property on a folder (which are the properties only for
> that folder).
>
From the research I've done, those appear to be the two choices that have
existed since 1999 or so.
I want new child folders to take on the Auto-Archive settings of the parent
folder, not the mailbox, and to be able to push Auto-Archive settings from a
parent down onto its subfolders. Both without changing Global settings.
This should work the same, as least from a UI perspective, as changing
permissions on your MyDocuments folder for example. You can push the changes
recursively onto all of the subfolders. You don't have to change properties
on each subfolder in turn.
Re: Non-default autoarchive settings recursively on subfolders? [message #470594]
Mon, 19 January 2009 18:06
VanguardLH Messages: 8593 Registered: September 2007
Senior Member
dcWoodstock wrote:
> "VanguardLH" wrote:
>> The 2 choices that I know of:
>>
>> - Global archive configuration options where you find "Apply these
>> settings to all folders now".
>> - Local archive property on a folder (which are the properties only for
>> that folder).
>>
>
> From the research I've done, those appear to be the two choices that have
> existed since 1999 or so.
>
> I want new child folders to take on the Auto-Archive settings of the parent
> folder, not the mailbox, and to be able to push Auto-Archive settings from a
> parent down onto its subfolders. Both without changing Global settings.
>
> This should work the same, as least from a UI perspective, as changing
> permissions on your MyDocuments folder for example. You can push the changes
> recursively onto all of the subfolders. You don't have to change properties
> on each subfolder in turn.
>
> Thank you
There are no "folders" inside of Outlook's message store which is a
*database*. That hierarchy is shown only to provide organizational
structure to the records in the database. While records can be
associated to a "folder", that is a grouping of those records that
hasn't a clue about the hierarchy that you see. After all, you can also
move those folders around wherever you want in the tree list of folders
inside of Outlook's message store.
What if you had a parent folder marked to "not archive" and then assumed
the same for all child folders. Then you move a child folder under a
different parent folder that did have archive enabled. So should that
moved folder keep the archive setting for its old parent or change to
use the archive settings for its new parent?
Folders in Outlook are not the same as folders in the file system for
the OS. There are no folders in Outlook's database, just a group
association for a set of records. Just because one program (the OS)
performs some function, like permissions, on some object doesn't mean
some other program will do the same in its emulation of the same object
that is merely used to show some structure to its data.
You would somehow have to add some code to Outlook which replaces the
"New Folder" context menu item. Instead of simply creating a new group
association (that is emulates a folder only in the UI of the program),
it would instead create the new "folder" but also capture the archive
settings for the object (i.e., folder) for which the context menu was
activated (i.e., the parent object). I don't believe this is something
that can be done with add-ons or COM plug-ins to Outlook as this
replaces internal code to Outlook; however, perhaps an add-on could add
another context menu entry, like "New Folder & Inherit Achive Settings".
Someone over at http://www.outlookcode.com/ might be able to help you
come up with some code, or someone over in the microsoft.*.vba groups.
> There are no "folders" inside of Outlook's message store which is a
> *database*. That hierarchy is shown only to provide organizational
> structure to the records in the database. While records can be
> associated to a "folder", that is a grouping of those records that
> hasn't a clue about the hierarchy that you see. After all, you can also
> move those folders around wherever you want in the tree list of folders
> inside of Outlook's message store.
>
> What if you had a parent folder marked to "not archive" and then assumed
> the same for all child folders. Then you move a child folder under a
> different parent folder that did have archive enabled. So should that
> moved folder keep the archive setting for its old parent or change to
> use the archive settings for its new parent?
>
> Folders in Outlook are not the same as folders in the file system for
> the OS. There are no folders in Outlook's database, just a group
> association for a set of records. Just because one program (the OS)
> performs some function, like permissions, on some object doesn't mean
> some other program will do the same in its emulation of the same object
> that is merely used to show some structure to its data.
>
> You would somehow have to add some code to Outlook which replaces the
> "New Folder" context menu item. Instead of simply creating a new group
> association (that is emulates a folder only in the UI of the program),
> it would instead create the new "folder" but also capture the archive
> settings for the object (i.e., folder) for which the context menu was
> activated (i.e., the parent object). I don't believe this is something
> that can be done with add-ons or COM plug-ins to Outlook as this
> replaces internal code to Outlook; however, perhaps an add-on could add
> another context menu entry, like "New Folder & Inherit Achive Settings".
>
> Someone over at http://www.outlookcode.com/ might be able to help you
> come up with some code, or someone over in the microsoft.*.vba groups.
> There is no such facility (unless you write the code yourself). There
> really is no such thing as parent/child folders in Outlook. It just looks
> that way. You can have mail subfolders of Contacts, Calendar subfolders of
> mail, and other combinations as well. A folder is a folder, as far as
> Outlook is concerned and none inherit anything from the "parent". Position
> in the hierarchy bestows nothing special.
> --
Thanks, Brian.
I just get frustrated as I have several categories of emails and I want to
be able to create rules to automatically set archive settings on the folders
that contain them.
Some things I need to have access to on the server for longer periods of
time than others.
Outlook mail is folder-based. Whether this is or is not the case in its internal database is irrelevant.
Outlook presents a folder structure to the user, therefore Outlook mail is folder-based.
I think it is absurd to make excuses for the lack of an "apply these archive settings to all subfolders" option. I just migrated to a new domain and now I will have to waste time tediously editing archive settings on every subfolder I had created? Unbelievable.
This feature does not exist in Outlook because Microsoft have dropped the ball. I found discussions on the lack of this feature going back 10 years. Unbelievable.
Re: Non-default autoarchive settings recursively on subfolders? [message #630943]
Sat, 30 January 2010 16:59
ChrisBedford Messages: 1 Registered: July 2007 Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Junior Member
@ npgall: Hear, hear.
The previous posts do a great job of "explaining" why something can't be done, but the excessive rationalisation does start to sound a lot like "excuses, excuses" - Outlook has had the ability to set *folder*-level archive (and other) properties for so long, and yet no mechanism for propagating or inheriting.
As you say, unbelievable. Still not available in version 2007, and 2010 is in beta - I don't have the bandwidth to download it, can anyone report if this serious omission has been corrected in that release?
And this is just ANOTHER reason why Outlook's use of a single database for the mail backend is a BAD choice. Not only can you lose EVERYTHING if that database gets corrupted, but apparently user functionality is diminished.
I still think this is for the lock-in effect of Outlook. Very hard to get data in and out to use in other programs if you wanted to migrate away from Outlook.
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Re: Non-default autoarchive settings recursively on subfolders?
Hear, hear.
