How to Reduce Outlook Mailbox Size without Deleting?
Microsoft Outlook is one of the most popular and widely used email applications for personal and professional communication. Over time, your Microsoft Outlook mailbox size grows due to a large number of emails, attachments, and other data. A large mailbox can affect your Outlook application in multiple ways.
But the good news is that you do not have to delete your emails and other data to reduce Outlook mailbox size. In this blog, we will explain simple ways to manage and reduce Outlook mailbox size without deleting.
Why Does Microsoft Outlook Mailbox Size Increase?
There are several reasons why the Outlook mailbox size increases:
- Due to large email attachments
- Old email messages saved for years
- Multiple folders and subfolders
- Due to cache data and temporary files
- PST or OST files growing with time
Managing mailboxes size regularly helps keep the Outlook application fast and error-free.
Why It Is Important to Reduce Outlook Mailbox Size?
It is helpful for several reasons:
- Improves overall Outlook performance
- Avoid mailbox full errors
- Reduce the risk of PST/OST file corruption
- Ensures smooth and quick backup and migration
Best Methods to Reduce Outlook Mailbox Size without Deleting
Below, we are going to mention some popular ways to compress Outlook mailbox size without deleting.
Method 1: Use Outlook Mailbox Cleanup Tool
Outlook provides a built-in feature that helps users find large emails with attachments.
Simple Steps
- Open your Outlook application
- Click the File menu and Info
- Select the Mailbox Cleanup feature
- View mailbox size and find large items
This option will help you to identify which emails are consuming a lot of space so you can easily manage them.
Method 2: Save Email Attachments Outside Your Outlook
We all know that attachments are one of the most common reasons for mailbox size growth. You can save your attachments to your computer or cloud storage while keeping the email in your Outlook application.
Steps
- Open the email containing an attachment
- Right-click on the attachment
- Select the Save As option
- Choose the required folder on your computer or cloud storage to save the attachment file.
Benefits
- You don’t need to delete emails
- Significant mailbox size reduction
- Easy access of your email attachments whenever you needed
Method 3: Archive Emails Instead of Deleting
The archiving process moves old email messages to a separate PST file while keeping them accessible in your Outlook account.
Simple Steps
- Click the File menu and choose the Info option
- Click the Tools and select Cleanup Old Items
- Choose the folders and date-range
- Click the Ok button to start the archiving process
Advantages of this Method
- It helps keep the mailbox clean
- Preserves old email messages
- Improves your Outlook speed
You can use the AutoArchive or manual archiving as per your needs.
Method 4: Limit the Cached Exchange Mode
For Exchange Server and Microsoft 365 users, Outlook application stores a local cached copy of complete mailbox data. You can reduce the local mailbox size by limiting the amount of data stored offline.
Simple Steps
- Go to the File menu and choose Account Settings
- Select the Exchange Account and click Change
- Move the slider to download emails from a shorter time period
- Click the Next button and restart your Outlook application
Method 5: Reduce Outlook Mailbox Size using 4n6 Software (Recommended)
For users with very large mailboxes, manual methods may not be effective. In such cases, using a professional software like the 4n6 Email Compressor is the best and most reliable option.
This software is designed to compress Outlook mailbox emails and attachments without deleting them.
Firstly, it is recommended to download the free version of the software to test its functionality. Once satisfied, purchase the licensed version.
Key Features of the Software
- Compress Outlook mailbox size without facing any issues
- Reduce Outlook mailbox file size without deleting data
- Maintains original structure and quality at all times
- Supports bulk compression of Outlook emails and other data
- Supports all the editions of Windows Operating system
- Saves time and manual efforts in compressing Outlook mailbox size
- Comes with a simple and intuitive graphical user interface
How to Reduce Outlook Mail File Size without Deleting?
- Step 1: Run the software and click the Open button.
- Step 2: Choose the Email Data Files option from the given options.
- Step 3: Now, select Outlook PST/OST files and select Open Outlook Configured Accounts.
- Step 4: The software load Outlook mailboxes on the left panel.
- Step 5: Click the loaded mailboxes and preview your Outlook emails in different modes.
- Step 6: Click the Compress and Save option and choose the required saving.
- Step 7: Choose the required filters and click the Save button to begin compression.
The software starts reducing Outlook mailbox size without deleting anything.
Conclusion
A growing Outlook mailbox is a very common issue, but deleting emails is not the right solution all the time. By using Outlook’s built-in cleanup feature, archiving, and using professional 4n6 software, you can easily reduce Outlook mailbox file size.
