full folder path for emails

[xthamcore]

i USE WINDOWS xp AND OUTLOOK 2003

when I create a column "folder path"
then, for documents it shows the full path like : [b]C:\documents and users\user\my docs\folder\file[/b]

however for email it does NOT show the full path, only starting at something like: [b]\folder\path[/b]
This is OK when only one PST file is opened in outlook but not when X! was instructed to index more .pst files (I use one .pst file for every year, starting a new one at the beginning of the new year and keepig the older ones as archives)

Hence what I woulD really like is a FULL FOLDER PATH FOR EMAIL JUST THE SAME AS IT IS FOR DOCUMENTS AND FILES
a path that would look like:
C:\DOCUMENTS AND SETTINGS\USER\MY DOCS\OUTLOOK ARCHIVE 2005\OUTLOOK.PST\FOLDER[/i]

[Kenward]

Is there a problem with the "capslock" on your keyboard? It is all over the place.

When you ask for the path to your PST, can you explain what you want to achieve in more detail?

If you want to know where the PST file is on your disk, then you may be out of luck.

Then again, if you look at all of the columns available you may find some clues.

Actually, this is a new request to me. I can't think of any reason why I would want to know where the PST files are. I know that. I put them where they are. Nor do I really care which archived PST they sit in. I just want to find the email.

I guess I am missing something, so if you can say a bit more about what it is you are trying to achieve, someone might come up with some more profound thoughts than I can offer.

[Arbor1]

I have same issue (I think) , I want the In Folder in Out look to show full path because I log my emails by country /region and the default display only gives the end folder name
Is there a way to change the display in Outlook Pro 10 to display full Outlook path ie mailbox name \any subfolders\* ?

Appreciate any help with this

[Kenward]

I don't think Outlook lets you do this.

If you are seeking a way to refine an email search in X1, then it might work if you categorised email messages.

So, everything in the "country" branch gets a "country" label, then the next layer down also gets a "region" label. Then you can build up an X1 search with "country" "region" and so on.

If Outlook files incoming messages automatically using a rule, then the rule can automatically add the category.

Another option might be to create a nested array of "saved searches".

Inbox
......Country
..........Region

And so on.

In this way you can have X1 emulate what you want.

[Chris Wheaton]

Each of you should try adding the following columns to your email display in X1:

Path (you can use Folder Path too, but Path may provide additional data)
Profile/Pst

Path will show you essentially which mailbox the item is in which then helps make a bit more sense of the data shown in Folder Path.

Profile/Pst can show you which PST the particular result was found in and if you're looking for something and only want to see valid results from your MY2010PST - you can use the Profile/PST to refine your search to a specific PST simply by typing the profile name in the column.

With all these columns combined you can end up with searches that show

profile \ mailbox \ folder path which should help you determine that the item you're looking at is in fact the item you're searching for.

[Kenward]

I have that one in there already. It doesn't do what the user wants, as I interpret it.

Outlook does not allow a "breadcrumb" trail of the sort that you get with Explorer.

In email, "Path" just tells you the Mailbox. Path/PST is equally coarse in its information.

As I understand it, the question is about isolating a search based on the "Folder" that it inhabits in Outlook.

If, like me, you have loads of cascading folders, there is no way to filter on that at the moment.

If X1 offered a "Folder" filter in Outlook as it does in Explorer, that would be great.

[xthamcore]

thanks. for me "path" resolved my problem

[Kenward]

You have obviously found another way to organise your email. Are you shunting it into an array of PST files?

Here I have no way of drilling down into "Folders" in Outlook 2010.

[Jeffrey Levine]

I found this discussion thread while facing a similar problem. I don't see a resolution that works for me.

I have two mail accounts under the same Outlook profile. They are both active IMAP mail accounts, and each resides (of course) in its own .pst file.
The inbox for both is named "Inbox", and Outlook will not allow this to be changed. Thus, the two inboxes appear identical in the "Folder Path" (which is "\Inbox") and the Folder Name (which is "Inbox"). I can see no way to distinguish which is which.

I have lots of duplicate emails that were sent to both addresses simultaneously.
I wanted to use X1 to select and delete one set of them, in one of the two Email accounts.
Is there a column heading that would enable the contents of one Inbox to be distinguished from the contents of the other??

--JRL

BTW... In reply to a previous dialog w/ X1 Support.... X1 works fine manipulating the contents of IMAP folders; however, Outlook needs to be Offline.
The folders then resync when reconnected.

[Kenward]

Jumping in in the middle of a long discussion makes it hard to know which of the various tricks you have tried, so I'll begin at the beginning.

Have you added the column "Profile/PST" to see if you can differentiate the PSTs there?

While I do not use exchange, my system has some of the attributes that you describe.

I have one profile with a handful of PSTs attached to it. I have another profile with just one PST.

The "Profile/PST" column lets me pick between the Profiles. The "Path" column (not the folder path) then lets me differentiate between the PSTs attached to the "multiples" profile.

The "Path" column shows that name of the PST file as set up in Outlook. While Outlook may not let you rename the inbox, it will let you change the description of PST files. If possible, you could adjust the names of your PST files to enable you to differentiate between them. You may not need to do this as the names may already differ in some way.

You can then filter or sort on these adjusted names.

[Jeffrey Levine]

First and foremost, thank you for your response. It's taken me a while to get back to this.

At least I can see now what I need to do.

I have two currently active IMAP mail accounts, each in its own .pst, and 6 or so additional .pst files, containing archived emails. All of the .psts are indexed in X1
I used X1 frequently for searching for past communications on various topics.
(I've already 'complained' that I've had to migrate BACK to Outlook from Thunderbird, after discovering that the indexing capabilities of X1 for T-bird are quite limited.)

Certain folder names, such as "Inbox" and "Sent Items" are repeated many times, and there is no easy way I can see to distinguish among them within X1.

I can see two possible work-arounds. I was starting to do #1, when I thought of #2.... which is simpler and better.

Option #1) Create multiple profiles, as you suggested, so that I can use the Profile/PST field to distinguish which .pst file each folder belongs to.
I can use the name of the Archive .pst file as the name of the profile.
One of the disadvantages of this method is that I need to create a "Dummy" mail account for each profile.
(In doing so, I assume there is no such URL as pop.dummy.com or smtp.dummy.com ...but it doesn't really matter if there is or not, as I'm not actually using it!)
Add my new profiles to X1, and re-index.

Option #2) Say I have a .pst file named "Archive #1.pst". Within the main folder heading for this account in Outlook, I create a new folder named "Inbox-Archive#1".
Then, move the entire contents of the "Inbox" (for Archive #1) to the newly named folder.
Do the same thing for "Sent Items"

Option #2 is much better, as it can be done entirely within Outlook (i.e. without having to exit to change profiles),
It also avoids having to set up all those dummy mail accounts, and allows all my archive .psts to be accessible at all times within a single profile.

This is probably a good idea in any case, but wouldn't be necessary if X1 offered some other means of distinguishing among the .pst files it is indexing.

Thanks again for your suggestion, I continue to advance in a "kenward" direction.

[Kenward]

Option #1) Create multiple profiles, as you suggested, so that I can use the Profile/PST field to distinguish which .pst file each folder belongs to.
I can use the name of the Archive .pst file as the name of the profile.
One of the disadvantages of this method is that I need to create a "Dummy" mail account for each profile.

This is not necessary. My "spare" profiles are not associated with any email accounts.

[pluviosilla]

I have over 5 GB of Outlook mail spanning more than 10 years of use. I organize my mail in multiple PST files and with an extensive folder hierarchy. Why else should anyone use Outlook? If you just want to do searches for your mail, then switch to GMail.

Anyway, I am going crazy with this infuriating limitation of Outlook that searches tell you the folder where you get the hit in column "In Folder" BUT NOT THE PATH. I don't mean the file path; I mean the Outlook hierarchy path. I have hundreds of Outlook folders. I like that way of organizing my data, but it just can't work if not supplemented with an effective search functionality that gives *full* *information* about the location of a search result. I can't always remember where I put things 6 years ago.

Right now, I want to store some data in an old folder and I can't find the dang thing!!

I do searches on each individual PST and get nothing.
I do searches in "All Folders" and viola, hundreds of hits!!!!!!!

But I can't find them! This is insane. Maybe I'm an idiot to stick with this old friend Outlook. It is supposed to be the most suitable alternative for Enterprise customers with lots and lots of data. I am starting to have my doubts.

[Kenward]

I also have a bunch of PST files, nearer 20GB. I know what you mean!

Have you investigated all of the columns that you can add to X1?

Many of these aren't there by default, you have to add them. "Folder path", for example, can help in locating email messages.

I am not sure that I understand your reference to "path", as in "Outlook hierarchy path". If you mean folders in different PSTs, then you should be able to create a set of searches that home in on what you want.

Maybe an example would help.

[pluviosilla]

I see no option for a "Folder Path" in the Field Chooser dialog.

I choose the "All Mail Fields" option from the dropdown box at the top of the Field Chooser dialog, and I get a fairly long list, including "Outlook Data File" (which, btw, I learned about from the discussion above, *thank* *you* very much), but I do not see a "Folder Path" option. All I see is the familiar (and almost useless) "In Folder".

[Kenward]

Which version of X1?

I have the latest, 6.7.4 Build 4054 eu ,and this is what I see:



To get it, "right click" at the top of the Email search in X1 and then look at "Columns".

You seem to be looking in Outlook. That will not tell you much about what you can put into X1.

[pluviosilla]

I see that this is an X1 forum! My apologies for taking you off topic. I found this discussion while searching on Google for help with Microsoft Outlook.

[Chris Wheaton]

pluviosilla - In reading through this discussion I get the sense that you're looking for search help with the Outlook default search and not with the X1 Search software. This forum is devoted to serving the needs of the community of X1 search users.

Now if I'm wrong and you are speaking about X1 lets continue trying to get you to a result that makes your searches better.

If I'm right, and you do not currently use X1 you should give it a try: www.x1.com - download a 15 day trial and see what you think.

As shown in Kenward's screen shot we have columns to display the Path, Folder Path, Profile/PST name, and many more...

[Kenward]

I see that this is an X1 forum! My apologies for taking you off topic. I found this discussion while searching on Google for help with Microsoft Outlook.

Well, at least you now know that there is a possible solution to your problem. And not too expensive at that.

You could give X1 a trial run and see if it meets your needs. With that much email to track, Outlook isn't likely to fill the bill.

[Jeffrey Levine]

I reiterate my previous postings. Contrary to the responses by Chris Wheaton and Kenward, the information provided in the X1 index is not sufficient to unambiguously identify the location of the email items.

X1 does provide the folder name, but if you have multiple folders having the same name in different .pst files (e.g. "Inbox" or "Sent Items"), there's no way to distinguish which pst file they occur in. The Profile/PST field is deceptively named, and for me essentially useless. It does provide the Profile name, but unless you have multiple profiles, all the values are the same. It does not provide the name of the .pst file, as one would hope.

I listed two workarounds in my previous posting (http://forums.x1.com/posting.php?mode=reply&f=4&t=3953#pr16383, and Kenward pointed out that it's not necessary to create a mail account for each profile, but it would be really nice if X1 would provide actual name of the .pst file in its index.

This is one of three main "pet peeves" I have regarding X1... the other two being the inability to purge "dead" index entries, and the unpredictable behavior of "Move to Folder" when working with IMAP folders.

That said, I continue to be an avid user of X1. I couldn't get by without it.... and by the way (to Mr. pluviosilla), whatever Outlook's indexing and search capabilities might be... it wont incorporate all your .pdf, Word, excel, .ppt etc. etc. in one fast, powerful index.

[Kenward]

...unless you have multiple profiles, all the values are the same...

I have "multiple profiles", and a folder naming scheme that means that I have never been at a loss as to where to find a message.

Maybe I am just sloppy in my housekeeping.

[Jeffrey Levine]

Not sloppy housekeeping...

...Perhaps a case of Multiple Profile Disorder??

[Chris Wheaton]

Jeffrey - You would be correct; where you have multiple folders of the same name the Folder Name column would be an insufficient bit of information. That is why we also offer a column called Folder Path. This will expose the folder and sub-folder depths within Outlook to show you more specifically where that item is located. Add the Folder Path column to your X1 Email search display for greater details about the items location.

[Kenward]

Not sloppy housekeeping...

...Perhaps a case of Multiple Profile Disorder??

Highly likely.

I can't remember why I got into multiple profiles. I think it goes back to my early days with X1.

Another user suggested a strategy whereby you have one profile for your main activity, and another, or several, for things like archives. The "Archive" Profile needs no associated email accounts, so you just add PSTs to it.

This was probably a strategy designed to get round a now non-existent shortcoming in X1, but I have learned how to work with MPD and its suits me fine.

[askwong]

Older versions of MS Outlook also had the 2 GB limit for *.PST files, some users had MS-induced "MPD" because of this
(Some users had huge email files)

Not sure about Kenward though

[Kenward]

Not sure about Kenward though

#
Who is? Certainly not me.

I'm on Outlook 2010, but I don't see any need to rush to the next version.

By the way, talking of new versions, Adobe has just shoved out Reader X1! Now, there's a coincidence.

You probably can't copyright Roman numerals but there is nothing against climbing on the bandwagon.

[Jeffrey Levine]

I believe Askwong saying he's unsure whether your Multiple Profile Disorder had its origins in Redmond Washington, or maybe a ill-considered head-first dive out of your crib at age II. (That's a Roman numeral 2, by the way. I'm guessing you were no longer in a crib at age 11. )

But speaking of untidy housekeeping... (Full disclosure.) A good deal of my problem with the X1 index has to do with the fact that I have made such a mess of my email archives... with many duplicated emails amongst numerous archive .pst files. It's hardly fair to lay the blame for this anywhere else but at my own feet. Maybe I'll get it all sorted out and cleaned up some day.

But I doubt it.

[askwong]

[quote="Kenward"]
Who is? Certainly not me.
...I'm on Outlook 2010...[/quote]


Hi Kenward,

Sorry it was a good-natured jest; no offence was intended!

If you seriously use email, it is quite easy to exceed this (old) 2 GB *.PST file limit.
My own Thunderbird email is total 10 GB in size, and this is after an email pruning/filing diet!

[Kenward]

Sorry it was a good-natured jest; no offence was intended!

None taken, I took it as a joke.

My own email folder is 19GB. My largest PST file is nearly 7GB.

I recently did some housekeeping on the PST on my laptop. I keep it synchronised with my main PC, but I use it rarely for real work and don't put any effort into clearing out rubbish. I couldn't understand how it had swelled to 15GB! Telling it to archive old rubbish, and then running "Compact Now" has, so far, cut it down to <3GB. It takes days to do the job on a low-spec laptop.

Outlook is supposed to do that housekeeping as a routine process, but clear it has to be able to get at the PST file for that to happen. Looks like my MPD was getting in the way there. It can't have been good for X1 trying to wade through that rubbish.

[Jeffrey Levine]

I would regard addressing this problem as entailing two steps:

#1) Recognizing that there is actually is a problem (rather than insisting that there is already adequate information in the X1 index.)
and
#2) Actually doing something to fix it.

We might never get to #2, but even getting to Step#1 would represent a significant accomplishment.

Unfortunately, based on Chris Wheaton's response of October 16th, http://forums.x1.com/posting.php?mode=reply&f=4&t=3953&sid=cb05011abe64bcaa6994a246fe4dbc52#pr18595, it seems we can't even get this far.

Adding the Folder Path field accomplishes no benefit.... It's nearly as useless as adding the Profile name. The biggest reason why it accomplishes no benefit is that X1 does not even utilize the highest level folder name, let alone the name of the .pst file. I have renamed all of upper level folder names from the Outlook default of "Personal Folders". Otherwise, they all appear the same in Outlook. (You can do this either when creating a new .pst file, or by right-clicking the main folder, selecting "Properties", then "Advanced" button.) In any case,THESE NAMES DO NOT APPEAR IN THE "FOLDER PATH" FIELD IN X!. if they did, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

This is critical, because there are certain folder names, e.g. "Inbox" that not only cannot be renamed, but cannot be moved, (if the folder is associated with a mail account).

WHY DO I CARE ABOUT THIS:

I would ALWAYS like to know--at a glance--which folder (or .pst file) my mail item occurs in.

I've undertaken a project recently to migrate all of my emails out of my IMAP folders into local .pst folder, specifically so I can organize and index them in X1. The problem is that I have probably a dozen or more Archive folders that have various collections of emails, both Sent and Received. There is lots of duplication, and I'm trying to get it all sorted out. There are 10s of thousands of communications involved. Moving them around, renaming folders, having to re-index every time I change something etc etc takes a GREAT deal of time, and I've run out of patience, which means I'm inclined to get a bit feisty about it. I admit its a mess of my own making, but I simply didn't know then what I know now.

I've spent the last few days struggling with this, and it's all the more frustrating because of the unwillingness to recognize it as a problem. Can we not make it to Step #1??? I'd feel better.

[Kenward]

I really don't think there is going to be an answer that will satisfy you. And I apologise for adding yet another message to a discussion that has dived off in different directions as folks have introduced completely different issues. But here is how I work with multiple PSTs.

My approach allows me to isolate a message to a particular PST and a folder in it. Of course, X1 cannot cope with scenarios that the designers never considered, because they were down to eccentric behaviour like mine. But here goes.

I have two Profiles in my Mail. One (Mail) has all of my email accounts and my current Outlook activity. The other Profile (Archive) has no email accounts and points to half a dozen PST files.

The Archive PSTs are populated by Outlook's archive rules, which, after the required interval, shunt email into the appropriate PST. (As an aside, I find Outlook's automatic archive system to be eccentric, as it does not appear to work from the date on a message, but how long it has sat around since being last "touched," so there are some old messages sitting there even though the rules say they should have moved.)

Each PST file has its own name. For example, one is called "Press" to hold the many thousands of press releases that I have gathered over the past decade or more. In X1, these show up in the "Path" column as "Archive Press". Archive from the Profile, Press from the PST name.

In all, my email folder contains just under 20GB of PST files. X1 tells me that I have more than 2 million email messages. (I know, I know.)

I have added the PSTs to X1 through the two Profiles. They are not added as individual PSTs.

In X1, I can "drill down" to individual PSTs by using the Profile/PST column to separate out current stuff from truly old email. So, if I pick "Mail" and an appropriate folder name, it will show only Press Releases that have yet to be archived. If I pick "Archive" then all I see will only old press releases.

The "Path" slot in X1 also allows me to narrow the search. For example, in that slot my old press releases are in the file that shows itself up as "Archive Press." Here, "Archive" represents the Profile name and "Press" is the PST file attached to that archive.

Where my system falls over is that it probably cannot handle folders with the same name in multiple PSTs. For example, "Inbox" or "Sent Items". But my way of work means that there are really only two "Inbox" folders that matter, Mail and Archive .

When it comes to finding duplicate messages, I don't bother. Disk space is not important to me. The 20 GB of email sits on a disk that is 2TB in size. If I come across an obvious duplicate through using X1, I can, if I feel like it, delete the one that I now reckon is in the wrong place.

The bottom line here is that I can trace a message back to its PST file and the folder within it. But this only works thanks to my quirky mess a filing system. It is the electronic equivalent of the "deep litter" filing system for the paper that surrounds me. I doubt if it will do much to solve the challenges raised here, nor is this intended to solve those problems. I just throw it in in case someone wants to try this approach on their system.