Using Rules

Rules, also known as filters, enable your client to perform actions on your incoming messages automatically based on criteria--such as who sent the message, the subject of the message, or the importance of the message. These actions can include sorting messages into folders, deleting them, or changing their importance.

Space Limitations

Exchange accounts have 200 MB (200,000 KB) of storage space allocated. If your space allocation reaches 180 MB, you will receive warning messages reminding you to clean up your mail folders each night. At 200 MB, you will no longer be able to send mail or schedule appointments. At 233 MB, in addition to not being able to send messages, you will also no longer be able to receive messages or be scheduled for appointments. People sending messages to you will receive a return to sender message saying that your mailbox is full.

To check the current size of your Exchange Mailbox in Outlook 2003, select Tools | Mailbox Cleanup, click on the View Mailbox Size button, and then click on the Server Data tab. You will see your server space listed under Total size (including subfolders) towards the top of this screen. Notice that your mail folders, calendar entries, contacts, etc. all count against your space allocation. The Mailbox Cleanup section is a great place to start when trying to reduce your mailbox size. It gives you some easy ways to find excess space you may be not aware of. List servs you subscribe to, Sent Items, Junk E-mail and Deleted Items folders are generally good places to find unneeded messages.

To check the current size of your Exchange Mailbox in Entourage 2004, look at the folder list on the left side of Entourage.  In the list, find the entry with your name in bold and single-click to select it.  From the drop-down menus, select Edit | Folder Properties and then click the Storage tab.  You will notice that your mail folders, calendar entries, contacts, etc. all count against your space allocation.  This window is a great place to start when trying to reduce your mailbox size.  It will help you identify where your largest amount of data exists and possible folders to clean. List servs you subscribe to, Sent Items, Junk E-mail and the Deleted Items folders are generally good places to find unneeded messages.

Maximum Message Size

The Exchange server has the maximum receive message size (and optional attachment) set at 50 MB. Keep in mind that most users have a space limit on the Exchange server of 200 MB. This is an increase over our old e-mail system which only allowed 5 MB messages.

NOTE: A copy of large messages you send is kept in your sent items folder. If you send a 50 MB message and send a copy to yourself, this counts as 100 MB towards your Exchange Mailbox size.

Exchange Account Management

Unlike the POP server, which removes your mail from the server when you check it, the Exchange Server stores all of your data (messages, attachments, appointments, contacts, etc.) on the server until you explicitly remove them by moving them to Personal Folders (.pst files), which can be stored on a network drive (H:) or on your hard drive (C:). If you store Personal Folders (.pst files) on your hard drive, you will want to make sure you regularly back them up to a CD or to a network drive.

Transfer read messages from your Inbox on the Exchange server to other mail folders or delete those that you don't need to keep. To create a new mail folder, right-click on "Mailbox - your name" and select New Folder, type a name for the new mail folder (e.g., Faculty), in the Folder contains field: select Mail and Post Items,and click OK. To transfer a message to the new mail folder, select the message and drag and drop it into the mail folder you wish to transfer it to (e.g., Faculty).

Note: Use your Inbox for new incoming messages only--not as a storage area for all of your messages. This method described above does not free up space in your Exchange Mailbox.

In Outlook 2003, you can also create Outlook Personal Folders (.pst files). To create a new Outlook Personal Folder (.pst) file, select File | New | Outlook Data File... and choose Office Outlook Personal Folders File (.PST). Select the location you would like the file to be stored in and give the file a name (i.e. 2004-05 archives.pst). You will be prompted to label the file and this name is the name you will see in the Outlook Navigation Pane folder tree (a common name is the "Academic Year 2004-2005").

Delete or transfer copies of messages that you have sent (stored in the Sent Items mail folder) to other mail folders. If you don't automatically empty the Deleted Items folder, you will manually need to do that on a regular basis.

You may wish to set up rules for any Listserv mail to route those messages directly to a predefined mail folder.

Archiving

The most effective way to manage your Exchange Mailbox size is by regularly deleting or archiving your data. Archiving saves space by moving your messages from the Exchange server into an archive folder in one of the following locations:

1.Your computer (e.g., C: drive)--this archive folder, and the data it contains, will only be accessible from the computer it is stored on and should be regularly back up so that you do not lose the data it contains.
2. Your personal network drive (e.g., H: drive where the data is automatically backed up for you).

Each Exchange client handles archiving differently. Some can be configured to automatically archive items of a certain age; others must have their archive process run manually. See our documentation page for more information on your particular e-mail client.

Outlook 2003 will allow you to manually or automatically archive data. Documentation on the manual (our recommended) method can be found at http://www.ups.edu/x10857.xml.

Entourage does not have an equivalent feature, however you can move data from the server to your local computer by simply dropping and dragging messages to the "Folders on My Computer" folder tree.

Outlook Web Access (Webmail) does not have a native archiving feature. You will need to utilize an e-mail client to archive Webmail data. Outlook and Entourage are the supported clients on campus comuters; however, there are free client options available to students and home users such as Outlook Express or Apple Mail.

Deleted Items

When you delete an item using an Exchange client such as Outlook, Entourage or OWA (Webmail), the item is not removed from the server, but is move to the "Deleted Items" folder. This means that the item is still using part of your Exchange Mailbox size. It is recommended that you frequently empty your Deleted Items folder.

In Outlook 2003, you can configure Outlook to empty this folder when you exit the client. Choose Tools | Options | Other and select Empty the Deleted Items folder upon exiting.

In Outlook Web Access (Webmail), right click on the Deleted Items folder and select Empty Deleted Items.

In Entouarge 2004, control+click on the Deleted Items folder and select Empty Deleted Items.

Multiple Exchange Accounts (e.g., Departmental/Shared Accounts)

If your department has a "departmental/shared" e-mail account (e.g., ois@ups.edu or clubs@ups.edu) that several people will access, you can set up an Outlook mailbox on the Exchange server to archive data from that account.