Outlook 2007 does not archive, even when modified date is older

[Hans]

Archive does not archive items where even the modified date is older than the
set "archive items older than" date. All other dates (defer, expires) show
NONE. What to do?

 

[DL]

Is that a typo?
modified date would need to be earlier than archive date

 

[Philip Herlihy]

Archive does not archive items where even the modified date is older than the
set "archive items older than" date. All other dates (defer, expires) show
NONE. What to do?

As I've posted in another thread recently, see the ArchiveAssist
utilities from Cardiffsoft.

Phil, London

 

[VanguardLH]

Archive does not archive items where even the modified date is older than the
set "archive items older than" date. All other dates (defer, expires) show
NONE. What to do?

Where did you check and set the auto-archive options? There is a global
archive option (to enable it) and auto-archive options in a folder (to
enable it on that folder). In a house, you have a master breaker and
wall switches. Turning on the wall switch won't turn on the light if
the master breaker is open, and closing the master breaker won't turn on
the light if the wall switch is open. Both have to be closed. For
auto-archiving to work, BOTH the global auto-archive option must be
enabled and also the auto-archive settings (properties) of a folder.

The global auto-archive setting says when to run. The local (folder)
auto-archive settings only say when an item become *eligible*. Becoming
eligible doesn't mean that is when auto-archiving will occur. It just
means that eligible items will be included whenever the global setting
says to run the archive function. Say you configure a folder to archive
items that are older than 1 year. You configure the global archive
settings for 1-month intervals. Today an item surpasses the 1-year mark
for its age. Does it get archived? No, not until whenever the global
setting says to actually run the archive function, and that could be a
month from now.

If you want any *eligible* items (as defined by the auto-archive
settings for a folder) to get archived the day they become eligible then
configure the global archive interval to run every day. If you
configure the global interval for a week, the eligible items will pile
up during that week and then get archived all together at the end of the
week.

 

[Hans]

Thanks and sorry folks, I was not precise enough. It is not an auto-archive
problem. Here's a more detailed description of the issue: I have one big
archive (call it "current archive") where I move items e.g. from my inbox. I
try to keep it from growing to big, so I used to archive items older than Jan
1st of the current year to an archive relating to last calender year ("last
year archive"). I try to do this by using the archive function. It works but
not reliably. Many last year items are moved to the "last year archive" but
many just stay in the "current archive". This seems to be an issue in
outlook. I've read about the issue. However the explanations always relate to
the "modified date" of an item being in current year, even though the
received date is in last year. However in my case, even items where both the
"modified date" and the "received date" are in last year the item does not
move.
So what???

 

[VanguardLH]

Thanks and sorry folks, I was not precise enough. It is not an auto-archive
problem. Here's a more detailed description of the issue: I have one big
archive (call it "current archive") where I move items e.g. from my inbox. I
try to keep it from growing to big, so I used to archive items older than Jan
1st of the current year to an archive relating to last calender year ("last
year archive"). I try to do this by using the archive function. It works but
not reliably. Many last year items are moved to the "last year archive" but
many just stay in the "current archive". This seems to be an issue in
outlook. I've read about the issue. However the explanations always relate to
the "modified date" of an item being in current year, even though the
received date is in last year. However in my case, even items where both the
"modified date" and the "received date" are in last year the item does not
move.
So what???

Are all archive .pst files currently *loaded* in Outlook? The archive
function cannot operate against files it doesn't know about. .pst files
off somewhere on the disk, network drive, USB thumb drive, or wherever
are just files like any other files. If you want Outlook's archive
function to do anything on a .pst file, you'll have to load it into
Outlook using File -> Open. The current or default message store gets
its .pst file loaded automatically when you load Outlook. All the other
..pst files will need to be loaded in Outlook using File -> Open menu.
Once they are open, they will load again the next time you start Outlook
(i.e., once you open them, they stay opened unless the .pst file cannot
be found).

Is the .pst file for the archives somewhere that Outlook can get access
to them? Outlook demands write access to the .pst files because, after
all, you might be writing into them (and you are writing into them when
moving items into them). .pst files on read-only media, like CD-ROM
discs, are not writable. You'll have to move those to the hard disk or
other writable media (and also remove the read-only attribute after
copying them off the read-only media).

- .pst file must be somewhere that Outlook can find it.
- .pst file must be writable.
- .pst file must be loaded in Outlook (File -> Open).

 

[Hans]

Yes, all archive files have been "loaded" into outlook with the OPEN.
I checked again the "current archive" and it still contains items with a
receive date from 2007 and modified date in 2008. And those do not get
archived into the 2008 archive either.

 

[VanguardLH]

Hans wrote (on Fri, 12 Jun 2009 09:01:01 -0700):

Yes, all archive files have been "loaded" into outlook with the OPEN.
I checked again the "current archive" and it still contains items with a
receive date from 2007 and modified date in 2008. And those do not get
archived into the 2008 archive either.

No archiving performed if you run the archive manually (under File
menu)?

Are the items with modified timestamp in 2008 actually over whatever
interval you specified when items become eligible for archiving? If,
for example, you set auto-archiving to move items over a year old, those
items in 2008 would need a modified timestamp that was before today's
date but a year ago. Items before June 11, 2008 would become eligible
but items after that date aren't a year old yet.

You said, "archive items older than Jan 1st of the current year". You
don't pick a date as of when items become eligible for archival. You
pick an interval. How long is the interval?

 

[Hans]

Hi,
still I've the strong feeling that the issue is not clear.
I do not work with auto-archives at all!

I do: File -> Archive
then select: "Archive this folder and all subfolders" and chose the archive
which to archive,
then under "Archive items older than: " I chose the date (e.g. Jan 2nd, 2009,
then I chose the "Archive file", which already exists.

Then by pressing OK the archiving process starts. and it does not archive
the items older than the date set.

 

[Doug]

Hans,

I'm having the exact same issue with the manual Archive. Wondering if
you'd found a solution...

Thanks,

-Doug

 

[chary]

Hans,

I'm having the exact same issue with the manual Archive.  Wondering if
you'd found a solution...

Thanks,

-Doug

I have the same issue.
I do manual Archiving, (just as described above by Hans). It works on
the inbox, but doesn't archive the subfolders. None of the sub folders
have "Do not Archive" flag set. I also ensure "Archive items marked
with Do not Archive" is selected.

Any help will be highly appreciated.

regards.
Chary.