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Mail Archive Tool Recommendation

Apple Mail is missing an archive tool like Microsoft Outlook’s wherein the user chooses a date and all emails prior to that date are removed from Outlook and placed in a separate PST file. This greatly reduces the size of the current PST file and makes Outlook faster.
Since Apple Mail is not designed to perform such a process. Are there external apps available that can? Or would you recommend moving to another email program?
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Ron Melzer

Comments: 4 Responses to “Mail Archive Tool Recommendation”

    11 years ago

    I don't have a recommendation because I've never used a third-party tool for this.
    First, I would consider what type of email I was using. If I was using IMAP or Gmail, or iCloud, then I wouldn't treat email as something I need to archive locally. Gmail, in particular is excellent at saving everything. The idea with modern email is that you are using a client like Mail to access the email on a server, like you would access a web page with a browser.
    So the email is really on the server and you are just viewing it. I can search my Gmail database of email all the way back to the day I started using it. And it is faster, way faster, than if I had an archive on my local drive.
    Now if I was using older email (POP) or I just wanted a local copy of my messages, then Mail has built in function for this. So I'm not sure what you mean by "Apple Mail is not designed to perform such a process."
    Use the Mailbox, Export Mailbox function to export the messages. The way I would do that is to create a new mailbox, maybe call it "Archive DATE" and then move all the messages you want to archive there. Then Use Mailbox, Export Mailbox to export it. Then delete the mailbox.
    You get a standard file format too, mbox, with this method. I don't think Outlook uses a standard format (PST files are just for Outlook, I think).

    Ron Melzer
    11 years ago

    Gary, thanks for the reply.

    I am using a POP email server provided by the ISP.

    You are correct PST files are Outlook exclusive.

    I understand the process you described for exporting and deleting from Mail. However, I require to be able to search the exported MBOX for a particular email and then take action on it (print, forward, or perhaps reply to) and send. How do I do that? Even Mac OS doesn't know what to do with the file because it opens MBOX with TextEdit.

      11 years ago

      First, I encourage you to check out this video: http://macmost.com/five-reasons-not-to-use-your-isp’s-email-service.html
      Second: So you want to search the email, but you want to archive it too. Seems to me that if you want to search, then you shouldn't be archiving it. Kinda like getting a storage locker for you stuff at home but going there all the time to get some of it. It isn't the right approach.
      I would say that this might be the case if you had business-grade email needs, like 100s or 1000s of emails per day. But if that was the case you wouldn't be using ISP email.
      So many back to my first point: If you get a lot of email, and you want to be able to handle it easily, then switch away from your ISP's email -- especially if they are so backward that they still think POP email is a good idea.

    markmohan
    11 years ago

    Hello,

    You can use a third party converter tool which convert MBOX to PST Files,There are several software available which do this very easily one of them is Kernel for MBOX to PST Converter tool you can try this.

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