Use the AutoArchive feature to manage the size of your Exchange mailbox. The AutoArchive feature moves the data off of the server and to a local .pst (Personal Folder File) file on your hard drive. The Export feature (covered below) creates a copy of your mailbox data, and creates a local .pst file of that data.

NOTE: Apptix recommends that you set your AutoArchive options via the Tools menu, which propagates your designated options as the default options for all of your Outlook folders and subfolders.

To set default AutoArchive options via the Tools menu:

1. From the Tools menu, choose Options….
   
   The Options dialog displays.
   
   



2. Click the Other tab (shown above).
   
   The Other tab displays.
   
3. In the AutoArchive section, click the AutoArchive… button (shown above).
   
   The AutoArchive dialog displays.
   
   


4. Set your archiving properties.
   
   
   NOTE: Apptix recommends that you set AutoArchive to clean items every 1-2 months (shown in red above).
   
   
5. Click OK.
   
   Your AutoArchive settings are saved.

1. In your Outlook folder list (left column), right-click the folder you want to archive, and choose Properties.
   
   The Properties dialog for that folder displays.
   
2. Click the AutoArchive tab.
3. Click a radio button to choose one of the following archiving options:


• Do not archive items in this folder
• Archive items in this folder using the default settings (the settings you designated above using the Tools menu)
• Archive this folder using these settings (change the settings for each individual folder)
4. Once you have finished setting your AutoArchive features, click OK.
   
   Your AutoArchive settings are saved.
   
   
NOTE: In addition to setting the default AutoArchive options (above), Apptix recommends that you archive the following folders: Inbox (and other mail folders), Sent Items, and Deleted Items. You do not need to archive "reference" items, such as Calendar, Notes, or Tasks.

To view the archive in Outlook:

1. To view your archived data (.pst file), go to the File menu and choose Data File Management.
2. Click Add…, select the archived .pst file from your PC’s hard drive or network, and click OK.
3. Navigate through the available .pst files, choose the file to access, and click OK.
   
   The Personal Folders dialog displays.
   
4. Ensure that you have selected the correct file, and click OK.
5. All archived .pst files can be located in your Outlook folder list (left column). In the example below, the archived .pst file is named Personal Folders-Backup.
   




NOTE: Archiving works on “modified date,” so if you set the archive parameter to one month, and you started a Task five weeks ago but it was modified three weeks ago, the Task remains in the Server mailbox—and is not archived because the modified date does not meet the archiving parameter date of one month.

The Export feature creates a copy of your mailbox data, and creates a local .pst file of that data. The AutoArchive feature (covered above) moves the data off the server to a local .pst file on your hard drive.

It is good practice to set up an AutoArchive to manage your mailbox size, however AutoArchive does not select Contacts data (Exchange does not remove Contacts from the server). Therefore, it is a good idea to periodically export your Contacts to a local .pst file to maintain a good backup of your Contact list (this applies to other mailbox folders, as well, but we refer to Contacts as they are important to many users, and are not covered by AutoArchive).

To export data from your Exchange mailbox to a local .pst file:

1. Open your Outlook mailbox.
2. From the File menu, choose Import and Export....
   
   The Import and Export Wizard displays.
   
   



3. Choose Export to a file, and click Next.
   
   The Export to a File dialog displays.
   
   



4. Choose Personal Folder File (.pst), and click Next.
   
   The Export Personal Folders dialog displays.
   
   



5. Choose Mailbox - <Your Display name> to export the entire mailbox (top option above), or choose the Contacts folder (bottom option above). To export all subfolders associated with the selected item, click the Include subfolders checkbox.
6. Click Next.
7. In the resulting dialog, type a name for the .pst file and select the file creation options desired.
8. Click Finish.
   
   Outlook creates a copy of your mailbox data as a local .pst file.
   
   
NOTE: This action could take some time to complete, depending upon the size of the data being exported.

Resources are mailboxes, with some automated calendar processing, that are used to manage a company’s assets. Assets can be anything shared among employees: conference rooms, projectors, company cars, etc.

To set up a Resource:

1. In the Admin console, create the Resource mailbox.

Example:
• Display Name: Conference Room#1
• Email Address: conf1@yourdomain.com
• Userlogin: Conference.Room1
• Password: letmein
NOTE: You must provision a full mailbox for the Resource function.




• Designate a Resource administrator: set up a Profile that connects to the resource mailbox
• Post the Resource calendar to those in your domain who require access to the Resource
• Set the auto-processing properties of the Resource calendar (Tools/Options/Calendar Options/Resource Scheduling)
2. Check/uncheck the three available options, as needed.
3. Set permissions for those to have access to the Resource.
   
   The Resource is now available for scheduling via Outlook.

To reserve a Resource as part of a meeting request:

1. In the left pane of your Outlook window, switch to your Calendar view.
2. Click the New button, and choose Meeting Request.
   
   The Meeting Request window displays.
   
   



3. Choose a time for the appointment.
4. To add attendees and Resources, click the To… button (shown in red above).
   
   The Select Attendees and Resources window displays.
   
   



5. To invite attendees, search for the attendee’s name and click either the Required or Optional buttons to add them to the meeting request.
6. To add a Resource, search for the Resource and click the Resources button (shown in red above) to add it to the meeting request.
7. When you are finished setting up your attendees and Resources, click OK.
   
   The Meeting Request window redisplays.
   
8. To book the meeting and Resource, click Send.
   
   The Resource is booked.
   

That said, your machine is not part of the Active Directory domain within the hosted Exchange environment. As such, you cannot save the password in your Outlook profile. In a hosted environment, you are basically authenticating to an external forest. Outlook does cache the last user login used so that you only need to enter your password each time.

What if Outlook doesn’t prompt me for my password?

If Outlook fails to prompt you for your username and password prior to opening, it is an indication that Outlook may have failed to close properly the last time you used it. As such, you may have trouble using Outlook in your current session.

To fix this problem:

1. Use the Task Manager to close any prior Outlook.exe sessions, and then relaunch Outlook.
2. Press Ctl-Alt-Delete to open Windows Task Manager.
3. Click Task Manager.
   
   The Windows Task Manager dialog displays.
   
4. Click the Processes tab, and click the Image Name field to sort alphabetically.





5. Select all Outlook.exe sessions, click End Process, and then restart Outlook.
   
   You should be prompted to enter your username and password to successfully authenticate and access your mailbox.

For Apptix customers on the Exchange 2007 Server environment, Microsoft requires an extra DNS entry (autodiscover CNAME) in order to implement many of the collaboration features of Exchange.

Missing the autodiscover CNAME entry will not affect the sending and/or delivery of email, but it will generate various "synch errors" within Outlook, and can cause features—such as free/busy and updates to the Global Address List—to fail.

To resolve this issue, you need to access your DNS records and add a new CNAME record called autodiscover. This will create the record autodiscover.yourdomain.com. This record should "point" or "resolve" to:

• MailStreet: autodiscover.mseX.exchange.ms (where “X” is the number of your hosted Exchange environment)
• Apptix onDemand: autodiscoverredirect.collaborationhost.net

We cannot provide explicit instructions for how to change this for your DNS interface, but you need to create this autodiscover CNAME record for any domains you have routing to our Exchange environment. Updates to your DNS should take 1-4 hours to post to the Internet once the changes have been made.

Back to top of Tips & Tricks

Back to top of page