Outlook PST files - more than one?

Dai · 10-02-2009, 11:30

I'm not totally familiar with Outlook so I'm hoping for some confirmation that the following will work.
Scenario: Client has a primary PST file that is pushing close to the max size. He unfortunately needs to keep a load of business emails with massive PDF attachments.

I'm wondering if I can create new 'secondary' PST files, perhaps one for each major customer. If I do this, firstly will Outlook automatically open all of them when it's started and secondly can I just drag folders from the existing primary PST into the new ones?

Presumably once this is done (assuming it can be done) I'd have to compact the original PST to get it back to a safe size.

tia.

Kymmy · 10-02-2009, 11:34

Yes you can drag/drop from PST files to PST files, also Outlook quite happily opens up more than one PST file, in fact all IMAP accounts have thier own PST file as standard..

Once you moved folders from the original yes you will have to compress...

Also be aware of which office version it is..as later versions can have a larger PST file then others...if the original is from an older office it might be worth while importing the data onto a new default PST file that way it'll be all as one..

Dai · 10-02-2009, 11:42

Thanks Kymmy. He's still on Outlook 2000 at the moment and this is just a temporary fix. Later in the year the whole office is to be migrated across to 2003 so I can get everyone on the Exchange server.
Too much other stuff going on just now, so I need a 'quick and dirty' fix to make him safe.

Pog66 · 10-02-2009, 13:17

..but will these PST files be being backed up at all? - if the data's that important this needs to be taken into consideration. I've seen many borked laptops with critical data lost as it wasn't being backed up at all

Dai · 10-02-2009, 19:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pog66

..but will these PST files be being backed up at all? - if the data's that important this needs to be taken into consideration. I've seen many borked laptops with critical data lost as it wasn't being backed up at all

A good thought.

At the moment the individual workstations are backed up to second harddisks each day with Acronis TI.

That's scheduled to kick in during the dinner break. However, the next phase of the job involves a few laptops with remote access, so we need to get Exchange server in place to have email available. That will provide an opportunity to get the whole office email centralised and off the solo PST system.

Got a new office to cable and fit out first. It's turning into quite a challenging (and rewarding) little job...

Kymmy, thanks for reassurance. It all worked very well.

MovedGoalPosts · 10-02-2009, 20:07

Have a look at the size limits of the overall Exchange server database file. If a client is hitting the .pst file limits for an individual mailbox, there could swiftly be issues with a combination of users having similar stuff.

You'll be better off educating users that email isn't really the way to handle regular large attachments. You should be looking at some sort of web sharing ftp process, perhaps a remote access to a central server? You can also look at various mailbox management techniques to ensure deleted files are deleted on Outlook shutdown. I've set up my Outlook users to have a .pst file on a server, from which their outlook clients are set to autoarchive every few days. The .pst thus relieves load of less current documents from exchange, and yet users can still have access from in outlook.

Dai · 10-02-2009, 21:32

Thanks Rob. That's a few useful limits and ideas for me to think on.

This is a bit of a baptism of fire and a whole lot of new learning for me, so these sort of pointers are very welcome.

**Hugh** · 10-02-2009, 23:35

Sharepoint is good for this document sharing (and many other things), and it integrates well with Exchange.

MovedGoalPosts · 11-02-2009, 00:03

If you have less than 75 workstations / computers, I'd actually suggest less than 50 so you are unlikely to run into a future expansion problem for a while, you might want to look at Small Business Server. Advantages of that is Exchange, Sharepoint and a few other toys are all set up as one package. It can be more economic than separate servers and their software.