Backup and archiving emails?

Hi all,

I do a lot of emailing for my job. I would like to create
a directory in oe for each job and when it is finished,
backup that directory and all subs in it to a file or directory
that I can copy to a cd. That way if there are any questions
years later I can pull it out and say, "this is what transpired".
Is this possible? Just backing up all of oe at one time is no
good to me if I can't subdivide me emails by project/person.

thanks for any feedback,
charles.....

Each OE folder is a DBX file. Whether it's a subfolder or not, it's
still a separate DBX file. Look at Tools, Options, Maintenance, Store
Folder for the location of the DBX files.

You can manually backup individual DBX files. To read the DBX file,
you'll need to restore it to OE.

Backing Up, Recovering and Restoring Outlook Express versions 5 & 6
Files and Settings
http://www.oehelp.com/backup.aspx
http://www.insideoe.com/backup/index.htm

How to import a single mail folder (*.dbx)
http://www.insideoe.com/faqs/how.htm#importdbx
For an alternate description, see the last paragraph he
http://www.oehelp.com/backup.aspx


What may be a better route would be to convert the messages to EML files
(one message per file). These can read without restoring them to OE.
You can even read them directly from CD. Just double click the file and
it will open in an OE message reading window. Any attachments will be
accessible for opening/saving.

And even if you don't have OE, you can still read EML files in any word
processor, since they are simple text files. They might not be pretty
to read in a word processor and you'd need a 3rd party decoder to access
attachments in that case. But they'll still me accessible.

You can use Drag-and-Drop to save multiple e-mail messages at a time.

- Open the Windows File Explorer to the folder (directory) that you
want to save the messages to (e.g. C:\EML-TEMP). For minimal confusion,
the folder should be empty or only used for saving mail messages.
- In Outlook Express highlight the desired messages (Ctrl-Click or
Shift-Click)
- While holding down the Left mouse button, drag the messages to the
Explorer window. If the Explorer window is not visible, drag to the
Taskbar button for Explorer, keep holding the left mouse button down
until Explorer moves to the front, then complete the drag to the
Explorer window and then release the Left mouse button.
- Complication: Messages are saved as *.EML files where the first part
of the file name is the message's subject. If you save multiple
messages in one drag-and drop operation, OE will automatically number
the subsequent messages with identical subject to make the name unique.
But if you later save additional messages with the same subject it will
start the numbering process over again and you will get a "Confirm File
Replace" dialog for the duplicate names. When this happens, leave the
confirm dialog and switch to the Windows File Explorer. Rename the
first file (e.g. rename "The Subject.EML" to "The Subject-1.EML"). Then
switch back to the Confirm dialog and click on YES. The new message
will get saved with the original name and the previous message will
still be there with the new name.

- As an alternative to Drag-and-Drop you can use a program to extract
the contents of an mail folder file to individual *.EML files. These
programs automatically generate unique names for the *.EML files
- DBXtract - http://www.oehelp.com/DBXtract/Default.aspx
- DBXpress - http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/Default.aspx
- DBXtend - http://www.oehelp.com/DBXtend/Default.aspx
- OEX Enhancements - Import/Export/Resend/Duplicates/Attachments,
etc.
http://www.oehelp.com/OEX/Default.aspx


--

Mike - http://pages.prodigy.net/michael_santovec/techhelp.htm


"***** charles" wrote in message
t...
Hi all,

I do a lot of emailing for my job. I would like to create
a directory in oe for each job and when it is finished,
backup that directory and all subs in it to a file or directory
that I can copy to a cd. That way if there are any questions
years later I can pull it out and say, "this is what transpired".
Is this possible? Just backing up all of oe at one time is no
good to me if I can't subdivide me emails by project/person.

thanks for any feedback,
charles.....

Thanks for the response. Several questions:

1. can I copy a DBX file, not backup, to a cd and then copy it to
another computer and use it in another OE? same version?

2. does the backup process change the file format in its' backup
configuration?

3. if I backup the DBX file of a folder, do I have to import
it into OE at a later time to use the info/emails in it?

later,
charles......


"Michael Santovec" wrote in message
...
Each OE folder is a DBX file. Whether it's a subfolder or not, it's
still a separate DBX file. Look at Tools, Options, Maintenance, Store
Folder for the location of the DBX files.

You can manually backup individual DBX files. To read the DBX file,
you'll need to restore it to OE.

Backing Up, Recovering and Restoring Outlook Express versions 5 & 6
Files and Settings
http://www.oehelp.com/backup.aspx
http://www.insideoe.com/backup/index.htm

How to import a single mail folder (*.dbx)
http://www.insideoe.com/faqs/how.htm#importdbx
For an alternate description, see the last paragraph he
http://www.oehelp.com/backup.aspx


What may be a better route would be to convert the messages to EML files
(one message per file). These can read without restoring them to OE.
You can even read them directly from CD. Just double click the file and
it will open in an OE message reading window. Any attachments will be
accessible for opening/saving.

And even if you don't have OE, you can still read EML files in any word
processor, since they are simple text files. They might not be pretty
to read in a word processor and you'd need a 3rd party decoder to access
attachments in that case. But they'll still me accessible.

You can use Drag-and-Drop to save multiple e-mail messages at a time.

- Open the Windows File Explorer to the folder (directory) that you
want to save the messages to (e.g. C:\EML-TEMP). For minimal confusion,
the folder should be empty or only used for saving mail messages.
- In Outlook Express highlight the desired messages (Ctrl-Click or
Shift-Click)
- While holding down the Left mouse button, drag the messages to the
Explorer window. If the Explorer window is not visible, drag to the
Taskbar button for Explorer, keep holding the left mouse button down
until Explorer moves to the front, then complete the drag to the
Explorer window and then release the Left mouse button.
- Complication: Messages are saved as *.EML files where the first part
of the file name is the message's subject. If you save multiple
messages in one drag-and drop operation, OE will automatically number
the subsequent messages with identical subject to make the name unique.
But if you later save additional messages with the same subject it will
start the numbering process over again and you will get a "Confirm File
Replace" dialog for the duplicate names. When this happens, leave the
confirm dialog and switch to the Windows File Explorer. Rename the
first file (e.g. rename "The Subject.EML" to "The Subject-1.EML"). Then
switch back to the Confirm dialog and click on YES. The new message
will get saved with the original name and the previous message will
still be there with the new name.

- As an alternative to Drag-and-Drop you can use a program to extract
the contents of an mail folder file to individual *.EML files. These
programs automatically generate unique names for the *.EML files
- DBXtract - http://www.oehelp.com/DBXtract/Default.aspx
- DBXpress - http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/Default.aspx
- DBXtend - http://www.oehelp.com/DBXtend/Default.aspx
- OEX Enhancements - Import/Export/Resend/Duplicates/Attachments,
etc.
http://www.oehelp.com/OEX/Default.aspx


--

Mike - http://pages.prodigy.net/michael_santovec/techhelp.htm


"***** charles" wrote in message
t...
Hi all,

I do a lot of emailing for my job. I would like to create
a directory in oe for each job and when it is finished,
backup that directory and all subs in it to a file or directory
that I can copy to a cd. That way if there are any questions
years later I can pull it out and say, "this is what transpired".
Is this possible? Just backing up all of oe at one time is no
good to me if I can't subdivide me emails by project/person.

thanks for any feedback,
charles.....

Copied from www.oehelp.com

To backup and restore a single OE5 or 6 mail folder, save the appropriate
dbx file. To restore, create a new folder in OE5 or 6 (call it archiv1, for
example) and access it once. Then close OE and find archiv1.dbx and delete
it. Make a copy of the folder you want to restore and rename it to
archiv1.dbx. Then copy that file into the directory where the previous file
was deleted. Open OE and the messages you wanted to restore will be
accessible via opening that archiv1 folder.
--
Jim Pickering
MVP-Windows Mail applications
Please reply only to the newsgroup.


"***** charles" wrote in message
t...
Thanks for the response. Several questions:

1. can I copy a DBX file, not backup, to a cd and then copy it to
another computer and use it in another OE? same version?

2. does the backup process change the file format in its' backup
configuration?

3. if I backup the DBX file of a folder, do I have to import
it into OE at a later time to use the info/emails in it?

later,
charles......


"Michael Santovec" wrote in message
...
Each OE folder is a DBX file. Whether it's a subfolder or not, it's
still a separate DBX file. Look at Tools, Options, Maintenance, Store
Folder for the location of the DBX files.

You can manually backup individual DBX files. To read the DBX file,
you'll need to restore it to OE.

Backing Up, Recovering and Restoring Outlook Express versions 5 & 6
Files and Settings
http://www.oehelp.com/backup.aspx
http://www.insideoe.com/backup/index.htm

How to import a single mail folder (*.dbx)
http://www.insideoe.com/faqs/how.htm#importdbx
For an alternate description, see the last paragraph he
http://www.oehelp.com/backup.aspx


What may be a better route would be to convert the messages to EML files
(one message per file). These can read without restoring them to OE.
You can even read them directly from CD. Just double click the file and
it will open in an OE message reading window. Any attachments will be
accessible for opening/saving.

And even if you don't have OE, you can still read EML files in any word
processor, since they are simple text files. They might not be pretty
to read in a word processor and you'd need a 3rd party decoder to access
attachments in that case. But they'll still me accessible.

You can use Drag-and-Drop to save multiple e-mail messages at a time.

- Open the Windows File Explorer to the folder (directory) that you
want to save the messages to (e.g. C:\EML-TEMP). For minimal confusion,
the folder should be empty or only used for saving mail messages.
- In Outlook Express highlight the desired messages (Ctrl-Click or
Shift-Click)
- While holding down the Left mouse button, drag the messages to the
Explorer window. If the Explorer window is not visible, drag to the
Taskbar button for Explorer, keep holding the left mouse button down
until Explorer moves to the front, then complete the drag to the
Explorer window and then release the Left mouse button.
- Complication: Messages are saved as *.EML files where the first part
of the file name is the message's subject. If you save multiple
messages in one drag-and drop operation, OE will automatically number
the subsequent messages with identical subject to make the name unique.
But if you later save additional messages with the same subject it will
start the numbering process over again and you will get a "Confirm File
Replace" dialog for the duplicate names. When this happens, leave the
confirm dialog and switch to the Windows File Explorer. Rename the
first file (e.g. rename "The Subject.EML" to "The Subject-1.EML"). Then
switch back to the Confirm dialog and click on YES. The new message
will get saved with the original name and the previous message will
still be there with the new name.

- As an alternative to Drag-and-Drop you can use a program to extract
the contents of an mail folder file to individual *.EML files. These
programs automatically generate unique names for the *.EML files
- DBXtract - http://www.oehelp.com/DBXtract/Default.aspx
- DBXpress - http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/Default.aspx
- DBXtend - http://www.oehelp.com/DBXtend/Default.aspx
- OEX Enhancements - Import/Export/Resend/Duplicates/Attachments,
etc.
http://www.oehelp.com/OEX/Default.aspx


--

Mike - http://pages.prodigy.net/michael_santovec/techhelp.htm


"***** charles" wrote in message
t...
Hi all,

I do a lot of emailing for my job. I would like to create
a directory in oe for each job and when it is finished,
backup that directory and all subs in it to a file or directory
that I can copy to a cd. That way if there are any questions
years later I can pull it out and say, "this is what transpired".
Is this possible? Just backing up all of oe at one time is no
good to me if I can't subdivide me emails by project/person.

thanks for any feedback,
charles.....

1) Yes. Actually, it doesn't have to be the same version of OE. Any
versions 5 through 6 use the same DBX file format. (version 4 used
MBX/IDX file pairs instead of DBX files.

2) OE doesn't have any "backup" process. All the back procedures that
I've heard of just copy the DBX files (plus other settings).

3) You generally have to restore a DBX file in order to read it.
How to import a single mail folder (*.dbx)
http://www.insideoe.com/faqs/how.htm#importdbx
For an alternate description, see the last paragraph he
http://www.oehelp.com/backup.aspx

The alternative to restoring a DBX file would be to use a program that
can extract DBX files to EML files. I talked about those in my
previous reply (see below). However, if you are going to go that route,
it may be better to do that up front and store the EML files on CD.

--

Mike - http://pages.prodigy.net/michael_santovec/techhelp.htm


"***** charles" wrote in message
t...
Thanks for the response. Several questions:

1. can I copy a DBX file, not backup, to a cd and then copy it to
another computer and use it in another OE? same version?

2. does the backup process change the file format in its' backup
configuration?

3. if I backup the DBX file of a folder, do I have to import
it into OE at a later time to use the info/emails in it?

later,
charles......


"Michael Santovec" wrote in message
...
Each OE folder is a DBX file. Whether it's a subfolder or not, it's
still a separate DBX file. Look at Tools, Options, Maintenance,
Store
Folder for the location of the DBX files.

You can manually backup individual DBX files. To read the DBX file,
you'll need to restore it to OE.

Backing Up, Recovering and Restoring Outlook Express versions 5 & 6
Files and Settings
http://www.oehelp.com/backup.aspx
http://www.insideoe.com/backup/index.htm

How to import a single mail folder (*.dbx)
http://www.insideoe.com/faqs/how.htm#importdbx
For an alternate description, see the last paragraph he
http://www.oehelp.com/backup.aspx


What may be a better route would be to convert the messages to EML
files
(one message per file). These can read without restoring them to OE.
You can even read them directly from CD. Just double click the file
and
it will open in an OE message reading window. Any attachments will
be
accessible for opening/saving.

And even if you don't have OE, you can still read EML files in any
word
processor, since they are simple text files. They might not be
pretty
to read in a word processor and you'd need a 3rd party decoder to
access
attachments in that case. But they'll still me accessible.

You can use Drag-and-Drop to save multiple e-mail messages at a time.

- Open the Windows File Explorer to the folder (directory) that you
want to save the messages to (e.g. C:\EML-TEMP). For minimal
confusion,
the folder should be empty or only used for saving mail messages.
- In Outlook Express highlight the desired messages (Ctrl-Click or
Shift-Click)
- While holding down the Left mouse button, drag the messages to the
Explorer window. If the Explorer window is not visible, drag to the
Taskbar button for Explorer, keep holding the left mouse button down
until Explorer moves to the front, then complete the drag to the
Explorer window and then release the Left mouse button.
- Complication: Messages are saved as *.EML files where the first
part
of the file name is the message's subject. If you save multiple
messages in one drag-and drop operation, OE will automatically number
the subsequent messages with identical subject to make the name
unique.
But if you later save additional messages with the same subject it
will
start the numbering process over again and you will get a "Confirm
File
Replace" dialog for the duplicate names. When this happens, leave
the
confirm dialog and switch to the Windows File Explorer. Rename the
first file (e.g. rename "The Subject.EML" to "The Subject-1.EML").
Then
switch back to the Confirm dialog and click on YES. The new message
will get saved with the original name and the previous message will
still be there with the new name.

- As an alternative to Drag-and-Drop you can use a program to
extract
the contents of an mail folder file to individual *.EML files. These
programs automatically generate unique names for the *.EML files
- DBXtract - http://www.oehelp.com/DBXtract/Default.aspx
- DBXpress - http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress/Default.aspx
- DBXtend - http://www.oehelp.com/DBXtend/Default.aspx
- OEX Enhancements - Import/Export/Resend/Duplicates/Attachments,
etc.
http://www.oehelp.com/OEX/Default.aspx


--

Mike - http://pages.prodigy.net/michael_santovec/techhelp.htm


"***** charles" wrote in message
t...
Hi all,

I do a lot of emailing for my job. I would like to create
a directory in oe for each job and when it is finished,
backup that directory and all subs in it to a file or directory
that I can copy to a cd. That way if there are any questions
years later I can pull it out and say, "this is what transpired".
Is this possible? Just backing up all of oe at one time is no
good to me if I can't subdivide me emails by project/person.

thanks for any feedback,
charles.....