A few weeks ago, I developed an email preservation guidelines template for distribution to records creators. The document aimed to assist them in managing email to make it ‘archives-ready’. Looks like I’ll need to add a new recommendation, specific to MS Outlook.
As I noted in my original post, Outlook includes a number of frustrating features that work against digital preservation best practice, such an auto-archive function that writes files to a proprietary non-standard but documented format (edited 7/29; see comment below) and deletes what it assumes to be unnecessary messages. Here is another one: If you follow the default settings and configure Outlook to read a Gmail account, it will delete all email from the Google server and transfer it to your desktop in the .pst format–as the screenshots below illustrate.
Unless you go into advanced settings–which 99% of users won’t do–you can’t set outlook up to connect to Gmail’s IMAP Server. But wait, it gets worse–the tool that Outlook uses to configure the connection sets it up so that the POP server does not leave message on Gmail’s server!
Sure, it’s possible to set it up for IMAP connection, which I did, but how many average users are going to do this???
Bottom line: if your uncle Harry were to use this, he’d find all of Gmail erased from his server and downloaded automatically to his desktop computer! Strike Two against MS for email preservation.
Tools ->Account Settings -> New
POP3 Account Appears!
Two Layers Deep into Advanced Settings: "Leave Messages on Server" unchecked by default
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#1 by heycarey on July 29, 2010 - 10:03 am
I read recently that microsoft finally published the Open Specifications for .pst files this year.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff385210.aspx
#2 by Chris Prom on July 29, 2010 - 11:45 am
Thanks, that is really useful information.