How to export and delete your archived mail
Download your old messages year by year, keep them wherever you like and free up the space they take on the server. All from Intrabase, without losing a single email.
What archived mail is
The Archive folder in your mailbox holds the messages you moved out of the inbox but never deleted. Over the years it tends to be the largest folder of all, and it counts towards your hosting storage just like everything else.
Your desktop mail program often does not show its real size, which is why it comes as a surprise: a mailbox that looks small can be hiding tens of gigabytes.
1. Sign in to Intrabase
Open workspace.intrabase.app and sign in with the address and password of the account you want to clean up. Go to the Mail app: the left-hand column lists every folder in the mailbox, Archive included.
2. The archive is already sorted by year
There is nothing to set up: inside the Archive folder there is one subfolder per year, and within each year the mailbox's original folder structure is preserved. Automatic archiving creates them as it moves mail across.
You decide how it works for each account, in the mail preferences, under "Message archiving":
- Automatic archiving — turns archiving on or off for that account.
- Archive messages older than — how old a message has to be before it is moved to the archive, in days or years.
3. Export the folder
Right-click the folder you want to take away and choose "Export this folder". A window opens telling you how many messages it holds and how much they take up, and lets you choose:
- Format — one file per message (.eml), the most compatible option, or a single .mbox file if you want to open it with Apple Mail or Thunderbird.
- Subfolders — tick this if you want the folders inside it included too.
- Link expiry — how many days the file should stay downloadable.
Press "Prepare export". If the folder is large it may take a while: you can close the window and carry on working, because we will let you know when it is ready.
4. Download the file and keep it safe
When the export is ready you will get the download link. Save the file somewhere safe: your computer's disk, an external drive or your Drive.
Before you go on, check that:
- the file downloaded in full and opens correctly.
- the messages you expected are in there.
- you have more than one copy, if this is mail you are legally required to keep.
5. Delete the mail from the server
Only once you have checked the download, right-click the folder again and choose:
- Empty folder — deletes the messages and keeps the folder.
- Delete — deletes the folder itself, not just its contents. Handy once you have taken away a whole year.
Then empty the trash to free the space for good. Used space is recalculated every night, so the figure on the dashboard updates the next day.
What if I would rather keep everything on the server?
Then what you need is more storage, not less mail. With an Intrabase licence each user adds their own storage on top of the hosting plan, with no change of hosting plan and no mailbox to move.
How to get more email storage with IntrabaseStill need help?
If you still have problems after following these steps, our support team will help you.
Go to the support center