A Notes mail archive allows you to save old mail, or mail that meets certain criteria, to an archive database, saving space in your inbox. For example, you can archive documents based on the number days since the documents were last read, last modified, last accessed, and/or marked as expired. You can also use archiving to avoid reaching your mail quota; if the quota is reached, simply archive messages and documents to free up space. You can still access messages after archiving them.

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Before you can archive messages, you must create an archive database. From your inbox, select Actions -> Archive -> Settings -> Criteria. The criteria will tell Notes which documents to archive, and what to do with those documents.

Screen displays a Notes inbox with several mail items, some older than 6 months. Select Actions -> Archive -> Settings -> Create Criteria from the menu. The Archive Settings dialog box displays.

For this example, we will create a new criteria to archive all mail in your inbox older than six months. Select the Create button.

Click Create; the Create Archive Criteria dialog box displays.

Now, set the criteria for your archive:

1. First, provide a meaningful name.
2. Next, click the Selection Criteria button, and specify that mail in your inbox will be archived when it is older than 6 months.
3. Make sure to select the option Copy documents into my archive application specified here, then clean up this application. If you want, you can also specify a different name and location for your archive.
4. If you want to leave a summary of archived documents in your inbox, select Reduce the size of documents in this application and make a selection from the corresponding drop-down list.
   

In the Create Archive Criteria, complete the following steps:

1. Type Older than 6 mos. in the "Descriptive name of these archive criteria" field.
2. Click Selection Criteria, then select "older than" from the drop-down menu in the first field, type 6 in the second field, and select months from the drop-down menu in the third field. Click the Only in these views or folders radio button, and select "Inbox."
3. Check the Copy documents into my archive application specified here, then clean up this application radio button. Accept the default archive name and location.
4. Check the Reduce the size of documents in this application radio button. Select "Remove attachments, leave summary" from the drop-down menu.
   

After creating your criteria, be sure to select the Enable this criteria checkbox for the archive to work.

Check the Enable this criteria option near the top of Create Archive Criteria dialog box. Click OK. The Archive Settings dialog box displays.

If you have access, click the Schedule tab to schedule when to run archiving. You must leave your computer on at the time you schedule.

Click the Schedule tab. Select the Schedule archiving option, then specify 4:00 PM in the "Run at" field, and Monday in the "On these days" field. Click OK. The Archive Settings dialog box displays.

If you want to archive immediately, select Actions -> Archive -> Archive Now.

Select Actions -> Archive -> Archive Now to create the archive database.

To open your archive, expand the Archive view in the mail navigation pane, and then select the name of the archive you just defined.

From the inbox, click the plus sign (+) to expand the Archive view. Select the Older than 6 mos. archive database you just created.

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