Microsoft Outlook
Make sure favorite folders always appear
Also and especially if they're not in your default mailbox!
- Enable Developer menu
- right-click a menu item and choose Customize the Ribbon...
- in the right column, under Main Tabs, check the Developer item
- Choose Developer > Visual Basic
- the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications windows is opened
- click the plus signs in front of Project1 > Microsoft Outlook Objects > !ThisOutlookSession
- By putting your code in this location
- and by naming your procedure Application_Startup(),
it will be executed every time you launch Outlook (see the procedure below)
- double-click ThisOutlookSession (or right-click it and choose View Code)
- make sure macros are enabled in Outlook:
- Developer > Macro Security
- choose Enable all macros (...)
- 2 x OK
- close and re-open Outlook
- et voilĂ
And then the procedure itself:
Private Sub Application_Startup()
Dim objNamespace As NameSpace
Dim objInbox As Folder
Dim objPane As NavigationPane
Dim objModule As MailModule
Dim objGroup As NavigationGroup
Dim objNavFolder As NavigationFolder
On Error GoTo ErrRoutine
' First, retrieve the default Inbox folder.
Set objNamespace = Application.GetNamespace("MAPI")
' default folders
' Set objInbox = objNamespace.GetDefaultFolder(olFolderInbox)
' Set objSentMail = objNamespace.GetDefaultFolder(olFolderSentMail)
' folders from shared mailbox or Outlook Data File (.pst and .ost)'
' Simply use the readable names of the mailbox and the folders in the below lines:
Set objInbox = objNamespace.Folders("My old mailbox").Folders("Postvak IN")
Set objSentMail = objNamespace.Folders("My old mailbox").Folders("Verzonden items")
' Get the NavigationPane object for the currently displayed Explorer object.
Set objPane = Application.ActiveExplorer.NavigationPane
' Get the mail module from the Navigation Pane.
Set objModule = objPane.Modules.GetNavigationModule(olModuleMail)
' Get the "Favorite Folders" navigation group from the mail module.
With objModule.NavigationGroups
Set objGroup = .GetDefaultNavigationGroup(olFavoriteFoldersGroup)
End With
' Add the folders you have selected above, to the "Favorite Folders" navigation group.
Set objNavFolder = objGroup.NavigationFolders.Add(objInbox)
Set objNavFolder = objGroup.NavigationFolders.Add(objSentMail)
EndRoutine:
On Error GoTo 0
Set objNavFolder = Nothing
Set objGroup = Nothing
Set objModule = Nothing
Set objPane = Nothing
Set objNamespace = Nothing
Exit Sub
ErrRoutine:
MsgBox Err.Number & " - " & Err.Description, _
vbOKOnly Or vbCritical, _
"AddToFavoritesFolder"
End Sub
Export to an Outlook Data File (.pst)
Every 10 years (...) I make a backup of my mailbox.
Nowadays, I check my mail through webmail, but I still have an
email account configured in
Outlook, of the
IMAP/SMTP type.
If you want to export your mailbox, no problem:
- launch Outlook
- File > Open & Export > Import/Export
- Import and Export Wizard window:
- Choose an action to perform: Export to a file
- Next >
- Create a file of type: Outlook Data File (.pst)
- Next >
- Select the folder to export from, check the Include subfolders checkbox if wanted
- Next >
- Save exported file as: E:\nter\The\Desired\FileName.pst
- Finish
- Create Outlook Data File window:
- You can enter a password, if wanted
- OK
- Wait for the export to complete and you'll find your .pst file in the indicated location.
Now, the
tricky part is reading the .pst file.
- again, in Outlook
- File > Open & Export > Open Outlook Data File
- choose your .pst file
- in the Folder Pane, an Outlook Data File item appears
- uncollapse this item and choose a message folder (e.g. Inbox), you'll always see: We didn't find anything to show here.
Apparently, that's because you exported an IMAP type mailbox, then the
messages marked for deletion are hidden...
- So, with a message folder selected, click the View menu > Change View
- instead of 'Hide Messages Marked for Deletion', choose Preview
- the messages in the folder now appear
- if there are subfolders, however, they'l still state We didn't find anything to show here
- Now return to the message folder you've already corrected, and in the View menu, now choose once again Change View
- now choose Apply Current View to Other Mail Folders...
- check all desired message folders and check the Apply view to subfolders checkbox if necessary
- now check the subfolders again, and you'll see the messages.
That's it!
2010-2020
With the above procedure, I created a backup of my Telenet mailbox 2010-2020, but I didn't clean my mailbox.
On 27/07/2023, the webmail started to show a red bar, indicating my mailbox was over 85% full.
Then I searched for mails sent before 01/01/2020, and deleted them (to the recycle bin).