Outlook Personal Folders (.PST) for Email - Office 2010

Please note that Personal Folders (PST) are no longer supported or required.  Outlook Online Archiving is now implemented on all accounts and provides greater accessibility, security and convenience.  PST folders should not be created and only used as a last resort. Please contact Computer Services by phone, email or Online Request Form before creating a PST folder.

Are you looking for instructions suitable for Office 365/2016/2019?  If so, please go to this page instead.

To open an existing Personal Folder:

In Outlook, click File --> Open -->  Open Outlook Data File

...  and then browse to find the file you seek.  Click on the file name and then click Open.

The PST file will be added to the list of things you see on the left hand side of your Outlook application.  If there are messages in the PST, you should see them immediately. 

This PST will stay connected unless you choose to disconnect it by right clicking on it, then clicking on Close.

To add a new Personal Folder:

• In Outlook, make sure the Home tab is selected at the top of the window and select New Items --> More Items --> Outlook Data File...
  
  

• A new window will open.  Leave the default type as Outlook Data File (*.pst)
• Navigate to the folder where you want to save your new Personal Folder (.pst) file (or where your existing file exists).  The default location is on your C: drive, however we do not back up your C: drive so if your computer crashes you lose all those emails.  We strongly suggest that you save your PST files on your Z: drive (relevant to those who joined RRU before December 5, 2023) or other network drive which ARE backed up every evening.
• Type in the name of the file (or select the existing file).  You can leave the default name if you want.
• Click OK. 

Additional Tips and Information

• The new personal folder will appear in alphabetical order in the updated Folder List in relation to the Inbox.  Just click on the \+\ sign to expand the folder.
• Since the folders are in alphabetical order, you need to rename the folder if you want it in a different place in your list
• Right-click on the Personal Folder and select Data File Properties
• Click on the Advanced button
• Change the Name field to be whatever you want.  If you want your personal folders to be at the top, add AA- before the name.  You want them in a certain order, add 01-, 02- before the name.  You want them at the bottom, add ZZ- before the name (ect.)
• Once the file is properly named, click OK and OK again to close the windows.
• You may be required to Exit and re-open Outlook for the personal folder to move into place.

• To add sub-folders to your new Personal Folder, right-click on the new Personal Folder you just created from the folder list, select New Folder from the menu options, enter a name for the sub-folder and click OK.
• To move messages from your Inbox to your new folder, position your target folder and your messages so that you can easily see them in the same screen. Click the left mouse button on the message and drag and drop in your new folder.
• You can also move multiple messages by holding down the Shift key for highlighting consecutive messages and holding down the Ctrl key for non-consecutive messages.
• You can also right-click on the selected message(s) and select Move --> [Selected folder] or Move --> Other Folder and then select where you want to move it to.
• If you have a large number of emails to move, we suggest you copy them, and then delete the originals when they are done copying.  In some cases, a large move can freeze the computer and if you interrupt a move, it makes it very difficult to continue on after the interruption.
• The personal folders are not available on webmail, however they are available through Sentinel (staff only).  Please note that they must be added as instructed above once before they will be available.
• Personal Folders also has size limitations too.  Many people will create a new Personal Folder each year in January to avoid passing Microsoft's recommended maximum size limit for a personal folder (800mb).