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10 Minute Guide to Microsoft Exchange 5.0
- Lesson 13 -
Using Personal Folders
In this lesson, you learn how to create, configure, and use personal folders
to store messages and files.
Personal folders are useful for storing files and messages you want to keep for
your own use. You can collect information from many sources and store it in one place
or in multiple personal folders according to a category sorting scheme that works
for you.
Personal folders are usually stored on your own hard drive, but you can store
them on the server (although doing so reduces the privacy of the folders).
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Server Storage Space Normally, the amount of space that you can use on a server
is limited. If you store large amounts of information on the server in personal folders
and begin experiencing problems when running programs that access the server, you
may need to check if you've used your storage limit on the server.
The capability to have personal folders is not automatic. This feature must be
added to your Microsoft Exchange Client profile. If this feature has already been
established, there is a Personal Folders object in the Folder pane of your Exchange
window. If that object doesn't exist, you will have to add the feature to your profile
(see your system administrator if you need help). This lesson assumes you have the
capability to add personal folders to your system.
Creating a Personal Folder
The Personal Folder object that appears in your Viewer is the container into which
you place all the personal folders you create. There is a plus sign (+) next to the
object, indicating that this container has subfolders. By default, there is a Deleted
Items personal folder, which provides the same function as the Deleted Items folder
in your mailbox: It holds deleted items until you either retrieve them or delete
them permanently. (See Lesson 11 for information about the mailbox's Deleted Items
folder.)
If a personal folder does not appear in your Folder pane, you can create one by
following these steps:
- 1. Select Tools, Services to display the Services dialog box.
2. From the Available Information Services list, select Personal Folders. Then
click OK.
3. Type the name you want for the personal folder file in the File Name box.
Make sure that it has a .pst extension.
4. Select the file location from the Look In box, and then click Open.
5. Click OK to close the Personal Folders dialog box.
6. Click OK again to close the Services dialog box.
You can create as many personal subfolders under the Personal Folders folder as
you need by following these steps:
- 1. Select (highlight) the personal folder object, and then choose File,
New Folder. The New Folder dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 13.1.
2. In the New Folder dialog box, enter a name for the folder and click OK.

Figure 13.1 The name for a personal folder should indicate the items
it will hold.
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Nested Personal Folders You can create personal subfolders under any personal
folder if you want to maintain files and messages in a sorting scheme that requires
it. Just select the parent folder, and then create the new folder while the parent
folder is highlighted.
Using Personal Folders
After you create a personal folder, it's easy to place items into it. For example,
you can add items to a personal folder in any of these ways:
- Put received messages or attachments into a personal folder by highlighting the
item and choosing Copy or Move, and then choosing the personal folder as the target.
- Add files to a personal folder by opening Explorer while the Microsoft Exchange
Client Viewer is open and dragging the file from its original directory to the folder.
(This system works in Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0.)
- Copy or move items from one personal folder to another.
- If you have the necessary rights and permissions, copy items from a public folder
into a personal folder. (See Lesson 14 for information about public folders.)
To view or manipulate any item in a personal folder, just select that personal
folder in the Folder pane, and the items stored in the folder are displayed in the
Contents pane. In the Contents pane, double-click the item of interest to open it.
Managing Personal Folders
You can create as many personal folders as you need. Some reasons for having multiple
folders are to have a separate folder to store messages that you are only copied
on or to have a separate folder for archive messages. Every new personal folder you
create is, by default, named Personal Folder. If you create multiple folders, you'll
need to rename these folders with descriptive names. For example, you may want to
name a folder that is set to receive copied messages only "CC's" and the
one for saving messages "Archives."
You can make the following decisions regarding the configuration and management
functions of your personal folders:
- You can change the name of a personal folder in Microsoft Exchange Client (which
also changes the name of the personal folder object in your Viewer).
- You can password-protect your personal folders (which is useful if you store
them on the server or if other people share the use of your computer).
- You can compact your personal folders file (get rid of blank spaces as a result
of deletions) to save disk space.
To exercise these options, follow these steps:
- 1. Choose Tools, Services to display the Services dialog box.
2. Select Personal Folders, and then choose Properties. The Personal Folders
dialog box appears (see Figure 13.2).
3. Using the options shown here, change the name, add a comment, add or change
your password, or compact the folder file. (The following sections provide more information
about setting passwords and compacting personal folders.)
4. Click OK to complete the configuration process.

Figure 13.2 You can configure the properties of your personal folders
services in the Personal Folders dialog box.
The two most important choices in the dialog box are the password feature and
the compacting utility.
The capability to add comments to your personal folder configuration isn't important
to the way the personal folder feature works. But you may think of some note you
want to write yourself about your personal folders, and you can use the Comment text
box to do so.
Password Protection
When you password-protect your personal folders, you are not applying a password
to any specific personal folder, you are applying a password to the file that holds
all your personal folders. To add a password to your personal folders, follow these
steps:
- 1. From the Personal Folders dialog box, choose Change Password to display
the Change Password dialog box (see Figure 13.3).
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Figure 13.3 When you enter text in this dialog box, you won't see it.
It's a secret, so you'll see only stars (****).
- 2. In the Old Password text box, enter the existing password (if there
is one). If there is not one, press Tab to move to the next field.
3. Type the new password, and then press Tab to move to the next field.
4. Retype the new password in the Verify Password box. If the characters don't
match the new password, you'll be able to re-enter both the new password and the
verify entry.
5. Select Save This Password in Your Password List, if you don't want to type
the password each time you use your personal folders.
6. Click OK when you are finished.
Save Password If you choose Save This Password, your new password is stored
in a password list, and you won't be asked to enter it when you access your personal
folders file. However, if someone with a different name is logged on to your computer,
or if another user attempts to access your personal folder file from a different
computer on the network, the password will be requested.
Compacting the Personal Folder File
Every time you add a new personal folder or place a message or file into a personal
folder, the file that holds the personal folders gets bigger. However, when you delete
an item or move an item to somewhere else on your system, the file doesn't shrink
itself even though there's less in it. Therefore, as you add more and more items
and continue to delete items, the file only gets larger because of the additions
and the empty space left by the deleted files.
You can compact the personal folder file to get rid of the blank spots and reduce
it to the size needed to hold only the current contents. Of course, as you add new
items, it grows again, and it continues to leave behind blank spots when you delete
items. So you'll have to compact it from time to time.
To compact the personal folder file, click Compact Now in the Personal Folders
dialog box. An informational dialog box appears, informing you that the process is
underway and giving you a chance to Cancel if you want to (see Figure 13.4). Compacting
can take a few seconds or a few minutes, depending on how many items you have in
personal folders.

Figure 13.4 Compact your personal folders file to save disk space.
In this lesson, you learned how to create and manage personal folders. In the
next lesson, you'll learn about public folders, what they are, and how you can use
them.
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