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Outlook Online Archive

The Microsoft 365 Outlook email Online Archive is a special mailbox where older messages are stored. 

This article applies to: Email @ Cornell , Outlook for Mac , Outlook for Windows , Outlook on the Web

About the Email Online Archive

Currently, the Online Archive has only been rolled out to a limited number of Cornell IT staff accounts. Others can request to have it activated using the form linked below.

The Microsoft 365 Outlook Online Archive is a special mailbox where older messages and other Outlook items get archived. Because this mailbox is located in the cloud rather than on your device, it saves space and improves the performance of your primary Outlook mailbox.

Once activated, archiving messages is mandatory and cannot be reversed. 

How Long Will Content Be Kept Before Archiving?

The Online Archive will move all messages, calendar appointments, notes, and tasks that are older than your retention policy period to the Online Archive folder. The retention policy determines how long your content will be kept in your main Outlook Inbox before being moved to the Outlook Online Archive. 

When the Online Archive is enabled for all Cornell accounts, it is currently planned to use a default retention time of four (4) years.

A self-service form to request changes to your Online Archive policy is available at Online Archive Policy form. IMPORTANT: only the owner of the Cornell email account can request changes to the account's Online Archive policy.

Use the form to activate our Online Archive now, if it is not yet activated, or to request a shorter retention period than 4 years. The form allows retention periods of 1, 2, 3, or 4 years.

For CIT staff and pilot phase volunteers in 2025, Outlook content was set to be archived if it was older than one (1) year. While accounts that already have the Online Archive activated can use the request form to change their retention period going forward, their already archived content will remain in the Online Archive.

Find Archived Outlook Items in the Online Archive

The Online Archive is found in Cornell-provided instances of Outlook for Mac, Outlook for Windows, and Outlook on the Web (sometimes called OWA). 

In Outlook on the Web, the online email Archive is labeled In-Place Archive - <your name>.

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If you do not use the Outlook desktop client to read email, but instead use another app such as Apple Mail or Thunderbird, access email in your Online Archive through Outlook on the web (link will launch app).

Automated Message Archiving

All email messages and other Outlook items older than your retention period will automatically be moved from your Inbox to the Online Archive mailbox. 

Archived folders, sub-folders, and messages will retain their organizational structure from the Inbox.

Removing (deleting) an empty or unwanted folder from your active Inbox folders will not delete the corresponding folder and mailbox items in your Online Archive mailbox.

Search for Archived Email and Other Outlook Items in the Desktop App

Email messages, Notes, and Tasks older than your retention period will be found in the Outlook desktop app's Online Archive. This content can be searched as easily as messages located in your primary Inbox. Only archived email messages are available when using the web or mobile versions of Outlook.

To search for messages that may be either in your primary Inbox or the Online Archive, in the Search bar drop-down, select All Mailboxes. Or use All Outlook Items to search for any type of Outlook content, including Calendar items, Notes, and Tasks.

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View Archived Calendar Items in the Windows Desktop App 

In the Outlook desktop client for Windows, archived meetings and appointments more than four (4) years old are archived to a calendar named Calendar - Online Archive - <your NetID email address>.

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For Outlook on the web, Outlook mobile apps, and Outlook for the Mac, only archived email items are accessible in the Online Archive (called “In-Place Archive” in web and mobile clients). Archived non-recurring calendar items are not available in non-Windows Outlook apps. 

To view or search for archived non-recurring calendar items, view or search for them using the Windows desktop app. 

View Archived Notes and Tasks Items in the Windows Desktop App

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To find archived notes or tasks in Windows Outlook desktop client, it may be easiest to switch to the Folders view in Outlook. 

To do this, select Folders from the Outlook Quick Access toolbar (usually a series of icons located to the left of your Inbox). The Folders view gives a complete list of Outlook folders and items in your account, both for your active mailbox and the Online Archive mailbox.

In Folders view:

  1. Scroll down to show the Online Archive.
  2. If you have archived Notes or Tasks items, you can select the folder to show a list of the archived items of that type.

If you didn't have any Notes or Tasks items, folders for those item types will not appear in the Online Archive.

In Outlook on the web, Outlook mobile apps, and Outlook for the Mac, only archived email items are accessible in the Online Archive (called “In-Place Archive” in web and mobile clients.) Archived notes and task items are not available in these versions. 

To view or search for archived notes or tasks, use the Windows desktop app.

Manually Move Messages to the Online Archive

Drag and drop messages or folders that you wish to manually archive into the Online Archive mailbox. 

Alternatively, manually archive a message by right-clicking the message and selecting Move, then Online Archive. 

The contents of an entire email folder can be manually archived by right-clicking the folder name and selecting Move Folder. Then choose Online Archive and click OK.

The "Online Archive" Versus the Local "Archive" Folder

The Online Archive mailbox should not be confused with any local Archive mail folders that might already exist in your Outlook Inbox. The Archive button in the Outlook desktop app's ribbon will archive messages to the old-style Archive folder—NOT to the new Online Archive mailbox.

Outlook email folders panel showing both the Archive folder and the email Online Archive mailbox.

However, be aware that any items you have previously archived to the Archive folder in your active Inbox that are older than one year will be found in the Online Archive in a folder called Archive.

Screen capture of Outlook client ribbon showing Archive button (white rectangle with green "lid").

 

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