Backup Outlook emails and settings Summary: This article explains how to backup Outlook emails and settings. This backup article refers to Microsoft Outlook, not Outlook Express (for Outlook Express, Backup4all has a predefined backup option that will select automatically all files to be backed up and the tutorial is here: Outlook Express Backup). On this page: How to configure a backup for Outlook in Backup4all How to find the locations of MS Outlook files Backup limitations for locked or open files Details: MS Outlook emails are stored in .pst files. In order to have a complete backup of MS Outlook data, it is not enough to back up only the .pst files, but the following items too: MS Outlook shortcuts Personal Address Book Rules Signatures Stationery Menu or toolbar customizations Nicknames Also, for MS Outlook 2003 and 2007, you need to backup some additional items: Navigation Pane settings (this file includes Shortcuts, Calendar, and Contact links). Dictionary Templates Send/Receive settings Print styles Custom forms Registered Microsoft Exchange extensions How to configure a backup for Outlook in Backup4all Starting with Backup4all 4.1 a new plugin for Microsoft Outlook was created. The plugin is automatically installed with Backup4all. Here are the steps to follow to create a new backup job using the Microsoft Outlook plugin: 1. Open Backup4all and select File->New Backup (Ctrl+N). 2. On the first page enter a name for the backup in the Name field. 3. Select a backup destination and press Next. 4. From the drop-down list, select Microsoft Outlook. Press Next. 5. Select the backup type. Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) 6. Press Save. The new backup job will appear in the backup list. 7. Press Backup (F6) to start backing up Microsoft Outlook. MS Outlook data is stored in “.pst” files. For each mail folder defined in MS Outlook a .pst file is assigned. These files get quite large if you exchange lot of emails, thus when a small change occurs in a file (e.g. a new email has been received), the entire .pst will be marked as “modified”. When running the backup, the whole file will be backed up as you cannot backup only the changes inside the .pst file. That's why it is recommended to do a full or mirror backup (and not differential or incremental). Also, it is recommended to limit the number of backups in order to save disk space. For Backup4all 4.0 or older versions, use the steps bellow: 1. Open Backup4all and select File->New Backup Wizard (Ctrl+N). 2. On the General page enter a name for the backup in the Name field. Click Next. 3. On the Sources page, add the files and folders locations as described in the How to find the locations of the MS Outlook files section. Click Next. 4. On the Destination page, select a destination for the backup. Click Next. 5. On the Type page, select the backup type. Full or Mirror is recommended. If you select the Full type: o Set (check) the Limit maximum number of stored backups to option. o Enter a number of maximum backups to be stored. o Clear (un-check) the Merge stored backups to maintain the maximum limit option. o Click Finish. The new backup job will appear in the backup list. 6. Press Backup (F6) to start backing up MS Outlook. The backup job can be scheduled to run at a specific date and time. You can read an article about how to schedule a backup job at this address: “How to use the scheduler” How to find the locations of MS Outlook files For each version listed bellow, is presented the default location of the MS Outlook files. MS Outlook 2000 MS Outlook 2003 MS Outlook 2007 MS Outlook 2000 Personal folders (.pst file) - if there is a single Outlook user: C:\Windows\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) - if there are multiple Outlook users: C:\Windows\Profiles\<Current User>\ Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Note: <Current User> is your Windows name account. Outlook shortcuts (.fav file) - if there is a single Outlook user: C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook - if there are multiple Outlook users: C:\Windows\Profiles\<Current User>\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Menu or toolbar customizations (Outcmd.dat file) - if there is a single Outlook user: C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook - if there are multiple Outlook users: C:\Windows\Profiles\<Current User>\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Rules (.rwz file) - if there is a single Outlook user: C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook - if there are multiple Outlook users: C:\Windows\Profiles\<Current User>\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Nicknames (.nick file) - if there is a single Outlook user: C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook - if there are multiple Outlook users: C:\Windows\Profiles\<Current User>\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Signatures (.rtf, .htm, .html, or .txt file) Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) - if there is a single Outlook user: C:\Windows\Application\Data\Microsoft\Signatures - if there are multiple Outlook users: C:\Windows\Profiles\<Current User>\Application Data\Microsoft\Signatures Stationery (if you have created) - if there is a single Outlook user: C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Stationery - if there are multiple Outlook users: C:\Windows\Profiles\<Current User>\Application Data\Microsoft\Stationery Personal Address Book (mailbox.pab) C:\Windows\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook MS Outlook 2003 Outlook data files (.pst) drive:\Documents and Settings\<Current User>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Note: <Current User> is your Windows name account. <drive> is the location where the OS is installed. Personal Address Book (.pab) drive:\Documents and Settings\<Current User>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Command bar and menu customizations (.dat) drive:\Documents and Settings\<Current User>\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Navigation Pane settings (.xml). drive:\Documents and Settings\<Current User>\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.xml Registered Microsoft Exchange extensions (.dat) drive:\Documents and Settings\<Current User>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) Outlook contacts nicknames (.nk2) drive:\Documents and Settings\<Current User>\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Rules (.rwz) drive:\Documents and Settings\<Current User>\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Print styles (Outlprnt with no extension) drive:\Documents and Settings\<Current User>\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Signatures (.rtf, .txt, .htm) drive:\Documents and Settings\<Current User>\Application Data\Microsoft\Signatures Stationary (.htm) drive:\Documents and Settings\<Current User>\Application Data\Microsoft\Stationary Custom forms drive:\Documents and Settings\<Current User>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Forms Dictionary (.dic) drive:\Documents and Settings\<Current User>\Application Data\Microsoft\Proof Templates (.oft) drive:\Documents and Settings\<Current User>\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates Send/Receive settings (.srs) drive:\Documents and Settings\<Current User>\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Message (.msg, .htm, .rtf) drive:\Documents and Settings\<Current User>\My Documents MS Outlook 2007 Personal Folders file (.pst) Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) - Windows Vista drive:\<Current User>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook - Windows XP, Microsoft Windows Server 2003 drive:\Documents and Settings\<Current User>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Note: <Current User> is your Windows name account. <drive> is the location where the OS is installed. Personal Address Book (.pab) - Windows Vista drive:\<Current User>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook - Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 drive:\Documents and Settings\<Current User>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Command bar and menu customizations (.dat) - Windows Vista drive:\<Current User>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Outlook\outcmd.dat - Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 drive:\Documents and Settings\<Current User>\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\outcmd.dat Navigation Pane settings (.xml). - Windows Vista drive:\<Current User>\AppData\Roaming\Outlook\profile name.xml - Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 drive:\Documents and Settings\<Current User>\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\profile name.xml Registered Microsoft Exchange extensions (.dat) - Windows Vista drive:\<Current User>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook - Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 drive:\Documents and Settings\<Current User>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) Outlook Contacts nicknames (.nk2) - Windows Vista drive:\<Current User>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Outlook - Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 drive:\Documents and Settings\<Current User>\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Rules (.rwz) - Windows Vista drive:\<Current User>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Outlook - Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 drive:\Documents and Settings\<Current User>\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Print styles (Outlprnt with no extension) - Windows Vista drive:\<Current User>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Outlook - Windows XP,