Does the Outlook 2010 data file hold all the data I need to backup

[Abby]

I have windows 7 with outlook 2010 and I always backup my outlook files folder containing the Outlook data file. Is this all I need to restore my outlook if anything went wrong with my laptop.

I have hundreds of emails in different folders that I have set up, hundreds of contacts. I have dozens of email rules, calendar appointments and tasks and quicksteps.

Are these all stored in the outlook data file or do I need to back up other files as well. Should I be exporting the calendar and contacts separately or is it ok to just back up the data file.

I just want to make sure that I am backing up all the right stuff.

[Simon H]

I recently restored outlook 2010 to a new win 7 computer and the data file contained all the emails, mail folders and folder structure, contacts, rules, calendar appointments, tasks, quicksteps and even the list of suggested names that drops down as you type an email address.

One issue I had with the rules was that they had lost their links with the folders that they were delivering mail to. I just edited the rules to point them towards the correct folder again. Perhaps this issue could have been overcome by exporting the rules as RShores suggests but I haven’t checked this. It certainly wont hurt to export them just in case.

Other stuff you need to export is the safe senders, safe recipients and blocked senders. You will also need to export the ribbon customisation file if you have customised the ribbon.

If you have signatures and stationary they are stored in separate folders named signatures and stationary at C:>Users>User_Name>AppData>Roaming>Microsoft

[Abby]

I recently restored outlook 2010 to a new win 7 computer and the data file contained all the emails, mail folders and folder structure, contacts, rules, calendar appointments, tasks, quicksteps and even the list of suggested names that drops down as you type an email address.

One issue I had with the rules was that they had lost their links with the folders that they were delivering mail to. I just edited the rules to point them towards the correct folder again. Perhaps this issue could have been overcome by exporting the rules as RShores suggests but I haven’t checked this. It certainly wont hurt to export them just in case.

Other stuff you need to export is the safe senders, safe recipients and blocked senders. You will also need to export the ribbon customisation file if you have customised the ribbon.

If you have signatures and stationary they are stored in separate folders named signatures and stationary at C:>Users>User_Name>AppData>Roaming>Microsoft

 

Thanks I will defo export the blocked senders and ribbon customisations and no signatures to back up

[Abby]

I know that there are a few different exports (and manual backups) you can do that will ensure that you can get everything back, but I'm not certain about backing up just the directory structure.

You can export it manually from the "File" menu, then "Import" (even for the export function). You can select to back up your calendar and contacts to the same PST file there.

Your rules will not be backed up there, you'll have to back them up through the "Rules and Alerts" dialog box.

The addresses that you've used in the past (your typedown list) will not be backed up either; that file is at C:\Users\User_Name\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\RoamCache\, with the name containing "Autocomplete" (the rest of the name can all be different, so I can't give you your exact filename).

Hope this helps - sorry I don't have the exact answer for your question, but maybe this will help you out!

 

Thanks I now have my rules exported and the whole RoamCache folder backed up. But how would I go about restoring the autocomplete file to Outlook if I had to. Would it just be a case of copying it to the same location on a new computer?

[Simon H]

I know that there are a few different exports (and manual backups) you can do that will ensure that you can get everything back, but I'm not certain about backing up just the directory structure.

You can export it manually from the "File" menu, then "Import" (even for the export function). You can select to back up your calendar and contacts to the same PST file there.

Your rules will not be backed up there, you'll have to back them up through the "Rules and Alerts" dialog box.

The addresses that you've used in the past (your typedown list) will not be backed up either; that file is at C:\Users\User_Name\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\RoamCache\, with the name containing "Autocomplete" (the rest of the name can all be different, so I can't give you your exact filename).

Hope this helps - sorry I don't have the exact answer for your question, but maybe this will help you out!

 

No, like RShores says the file names are never going to be the same. You would need to rename the backup copy to the same name as the one being used by your new Outlook profile.Then you can copy it to the corresponding location on the new computer and chose overwrite file.