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General discussion

Outlook Express 6.0..Find..Folder...Compact and Compact All Folders

Dec 19, 2003 10:12PM PST

OSME IE6sp1
In a google search I had done, I came across instructions to check off Compact All Folders.
Can someone explain what either Compact or Compact All Folders accomplishes and what is the difference between the two.

Happy Holidays,
Lee

Discussion is locked

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Re:Outlook Express 6.0..Find..Folder...Compact and Compact All Folders
Dec 20, 2003 12:47AM PST
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Thanks...this is a very informative link...don't have newsgroups messages, so my question doesn't apply to me....NT
Dec 20, 2003 1:13AM PST

.

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Re:Outlook Express 6.0..Find..Folder...Compact and Compact All Folders
Dec 20, 2003 5:39AM PST

Lee,
I don't understand the tech-no reasons for this stuff but windows seems to suffer from what I call the squirrel syndrome. Meaning it hides lots of food/data just in case.

Do a start-find-files/folders-*.dbx

You should now be looking at your OE folders.

Note the size of each folder.

Open each folder and do a little browsing, it may be a little cryptic but you might see stuff that you thought was gone a long time ago. (squirrel effect)

Now open OE select file-folders-compact all folders.

Close OE and go back to find-*.dbx

Note the size of each folder. Did some get smaller?

Open each folder and browse, notice some of that old stuff is gone?

As for the compact/compact all--I just use the compact all (I'm lazy). I suspect the compact would allow you to select a folder.

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Bob...thank you and yes to both of your questions. Is it safe to say delete
Dec 20, 2003 11:53AM PST

the sent and deleted folders from the search? ....Do they at some time disappear anyhow?
I'm sure it builds up again though.
This was amazing to see....sheesh.

Lee

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Re:Bob...thank you and yes to both of your questions. Is it safe to say delete
Dec 20, 2003 11:56PM PST

Bob...thank you and yes to both of your questions. Is it safe to say delete
the sent and deleted folders from the search?
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Are you referring to when you did a find on *.dbx?
If so then 'no'.
Leave the folders there and use the compact feature every so often to keep them slim.


Do they at some time disappear anyhow?
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I doubt it their part of OE.


I don't use ME so if your getting some sort of msg asking if you want to delete something y/n it's not something I see.

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Re:Outlook Express 6.0..Find..Folder...Compact and Compact All Folders
Dec 21, 2003 12:34AM PST

Hi,

I see that Bob headed you in the right direction (as did Bill but since it mentioned newsgroups you assumed it didn't apply).

Outlook Express stores ALL messages (email and news) in data base files for retreval and viewing. A typical database file does not actually delete a record when it is deleted, it just deletes the pointer to the record--the record is still filling space in the file.

To get the files (records) removed from the database one must COMPACT the database.

The way OE functions it allows a choice of only compacting SPECIFIC FOLDERS or of compacting the entire database.

Before compacting one can actually access e-mails that you can no longer see because you deleted them because they are deleted from viewing but are not actually gone.

You SHOULD make it a practice to compact ALL FOLDERS as an uncompacted database is slower and more prone to errors.

IN OE click on HELP and search for COMPACT and read up on it.

IS IT SAFE? Yes it is safe and STRONGLY recommended.