How do I create an archive in Lotus Notes?

Archiving in Lotus Notes is an effective way to manage your mail file size, improve application performance, and organize older communications by moving them to a separate, smaller database.

Initiating an Immediate Archive in Lotus Notes

To quickly archive your mail file based on your pre-configured settings or default rules:

Open your mail file within Lotus Notes.
Navigate to the Actions menu located at the top of the application window.
From the dropdown menu, select Archive.
Choose the option Archive Now.
A confirmation pop-up box will appear. Click OK to commence the archiving process.

Important Note: The archiving process can be quite lengthy, especially for large mail files. During this period, Lotus Notes will be unusable. If you encounter a timeout error message, simply repeat these steps until the archiving is successfully completed.

Configuring Your Archive Settings and Criteria

Before or after performing an immediate archive, it's crucial to define what gets archived and where it's stored. This allows you to customize your archiving strategy.

To set up or modify your archiving rules:

Open your mail file in Lotus Notes.
Go to Actions > Archive > Settings.
The "Archiving Settings" dialog box will appear, offering several tabs to customize your process:
- Criteria: This tab is where you define the rules for which documents should be moved. You can specify archiving based on:
  - Age: Archive documents older than a certain number of days, weeks, or months (e.g., "documents older than 90 days").
  - Size: Archive documents if your mail file exceeds a specific size limit.
  - Folders/Views: Select specific folders or views from which to archive documents.
  - Example: To only archive emails that are more than six months old and are not in your Inbox, you would set the date criteria and ensure your Inbox is excluded (or specific archive folders are included).
- Advanced: This tab offers options like whether to include attachments, delete documents from the main mail file after archiving, and handle read/unread status of archived items.
- Location: Here, you specify the name and location for your archive database, which is typically a .nsf file (e.g., C:\Notes\Data\archive.nsf or a_yourname.nsf). It's recommended to store archives locally on your computer.
- Schedule: If you prefer automated archiving, you can set up a schedule (e.g., daily, weekly) for Lotus Notes to run the archiving process in the background at specified times.
Once you have configured your desired settings, click OK to save them. These settings will then apply to future "Archive Now" actions or scheduled archives.

Benefits of Archiving Your Lotus Notes Mail

Archiving your Lotus Notes mail offers significant advantages:

Improved Performance: Smaller mail files load faster, respond more quickly to actions, and generally enhance your Lotus Notes experience.
Reduced Server Storage: Moving older mail items off the server frees up valuable storage space, potentially leading to better server performance for everyone.
Better Organization: Keeps your active mail file uncluttered, making it easier to manage current communications while still retaining access to historical data.
Data Retention & Compliance: Helps organizations meet data retention policies by ensuring older, less frequently accessed data is preserved in a structured archive.

Accessing and Managing Your Archives

After archiving, your data is stored in a separate .nsf file. You can access this archive database at any time, just like you would open any other Notes application.

To open an archive file:

Go to File > Open > Lotus Notes Application.
Browse to the location where you saved your archive .nsf file.
Select the file and click Open.

You can then browse, search, and retrieve archived emails or documents as needed.

For further details on archiving within IBM Notes, you can refer to the official documentation: Archiving your mail in IBM Notes.