Local folders for IMAP users

How can I keep the size of an IMAP email inbox down?

First you need to see the difference with IMAP over POP3:

• POP3 = Most household email is POP3 type. POP3 will "pop" a copy of incoming emails from the server over to outlook ... then after a set period Outlook removes it off the server, while keeping the copy on outlook.
• IMAP = Synchronizes all server content with outlook.

Make a change in outlook, and at the next synchronization cycle the same change is made on the server (eg: delete and email, edit a draft, etc)

Q, Why would anyone use IMAP as you need a really large inbox to do this?

A, Industrys where you have a shared inbox for a company.

Say: SharedAccountingInformation@ThisCompany.com or something like that, where the manager and accounts staff all share the one inbox.

What can you do.

Outlook allows you to have Local folder; that is folders on your computer.

Here's a guide: https://support.office.com/en-au/article/Manage-your-mailbox-III-Move-or-copy-messages-to-Personal-Folders-cd22baf5-49aa-4d74-88d2-a00aec798d9d

You can create a local folder and regularly move old emails over to it.

That way the synchronized folder will get smaller on outlook and on your server inbox ... and all you old emails are safely stored on you local folder (on you hard drive as a pst file).

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