OL2000: How to Maintain a Private Message Store in Outlook

MORE INFORMATION

Use the Rules Wizard to move messages to a hidden Personal Folder.

Creating a private message store involves three steps:

• Create a new Outlook Personal Folder (PST).
• Set a rule to move mail to the PST.
• Remove the PST from the Folder List.

The following example procedures assume that you receive mail from Acme Inc. and you want to keep it confidential. Use these procedures to prevent this mail from being read by anyone but yourself.

Create a New Outlook Personal Folder

To create the Acme PST and a mail folder to store messages from Acme Inc., follow these steps:

1. On the File menu, point to New, and click Personal Folder File (.pst).
2. In Create Personal Folders, select a folder location, and then enter the name Acme for the PST. Click Create.
3. In Create Microsoft Personal Folders, type Acme for the new folder. Click OK.
   
   NOTE: If you choose to use a password, you may enter it at this point. You will be asked to provide the PST password when you restart Outlook.
4. In the Folder List, right-click the new PST you created and on the shortcut menu, click New Folder.
5. In Create New Folder, ensure that Mail Items is selected in Folder Contains. Type Acme in the Name box.

Set a Rule to Move Mail to the PST

The Rules Wizard uses an address book entry to identify the recipient. If you have not added the recipient to the address book, do so before continuing with these steps.

To create the rule to move mail to the private store, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Rules Wizard, and then click New.
2. In "Which type of rule to you want to create", click to select the "Check messages when they arrive" check box. Click Next.
3. In "Which condition(s) do you want to check", click to select the "From People or Distribution List" check box, and then in Rule Description, click the underlined words, "People or Distribution List."
4. In the Address Book click the Acme recipient address. Click From to place the recipient entry in the "Specify the address of the sender" list. Click OK and then Next.
5. In "What do you want to do with the message," click to select the "move it to the specified folder" check box, and then in Rule Description, click the underlined word, "Specified."
6. In Choose a Folder, click the Acme mail folder in the Acme PST you created in the section "Create a new Outlook Personal Folder." Click OK and then Finish.

Remove the PST from the Folder List

To remove the Acme PST from the Folder List, follow these steps:

1. Right-click the Acme PST in the Folder List.
2. Click Close Acme. The Acme folder will no longer be displayed.

When mail arrives from the Acme recipient, the Rules Wizard will move messages to the folder that is now hidden from the Folder List.

To view the messages in the private message store, follow these steps:

1. On the File menu, point to Open, and then click "Personal Folders File (.pst)."
2. Select the Acme PST, and then click Open. The PST and the mail items folder will display in the Folder List. When you have read the private mail, right-click the Acme PST and then click "Close Acme."