As a leading email provider, with millions of users worldwide, Outlook (formerly known as Hotmail) lets you archive your important emails without much ado.
All you need to do is select the email in your inbox and click the archive option in the top toolbar to move it to the archive folder.
Once done, you can easily access all your archived emails in the archive folder situated on the left panel.
Similarly, since Microsoft Outlook is largely used by businesses and professionals, it also comes with the option of bulk archiving.
What is Bulk Archiving?
Bulk archiving, in the sense of electronic/e-mail, is the process of storing multiple older or newer important emails from your mail inbox to the archive folder for easy access.
Just like you would collect and move your paper mail or letters from your main home mailbox and store/organize them depending on their type and urgency for quick retrieval.
When it comes to email, the purpose of archiving is the same, but the process is a bit different.
Before we get into that, let’s quick understand the many benefits of bulk email archiving, for both businesses and end-users.
Benefits of Bulk Email Archiving in Outlook
As a sophisticated email management platform for businesses and enterprises, Microsoft Outlook offers numerous advantages to its users.
- Space optimization of the primary storage.
- Improved efficiency and productivity for users and employees.
- Data protection and governance for customers and clients.
- Regulatory compliance with industry-specific standards.
- Seamless integration into Microsoft products, such as Office 365.
- Automation for automatically archiving emails in bulk.
- Cost reduction.
With benefits like these, it’s no surprise why the email platform continues to appeal to larger organizations, especially those who have to deal with a lot of sensitive emails on day-to-day basis.
To put that into perspective, about 4 million companies in the world use Microsoft Outlook as their main Email Management tool as of 2025, which is expected to grow in coming times.
Making bulk archiving easier for businesses and consumers alike, is Microsoft Outlook with its easiest of steps.
Steps to Bulk Archiving Emails in Outlook
Step 1: Open Outlook and go to your inbox.
The first step is to open your Outlook mailbox, whether you are accessing it on the mobile app or the web.
Step 2: Choose the emails/folders that you want to archive.
Once you have your Outlook opened, you will be able to locate your main inbox with all the latest emails at the top with older ones at the bottom and other important folders on the left.
To choose the right folder, just click on that.
Now, to move your emails in bulk from your main inbox or a different folder, all you need to do is select the emails.
Here’s how you can do it:
- On Mac: Hold the Command key and click on each email that you want to archive to select and archive them all at once.
- On Windows: Hold the Control key and repeat the above process to select and archive emails in bulk.
You can also archive an entire folder by clicking on it.
Now, since Outlook is also available as a mobile app, it also allows mobile users to archive their emails in bulk.
To bulk archive your emails in Outlook on the go, here’s what you need to do:
- Bulk archiving emails on Outlook Mobile App: Select all the emails that you want to archive on your Outlook mobile app. Hold and tap on the selected emails to pop up the archive option.
Step 3: Click the archive button at the top toolbar.
Now, once you have selected all the emails that are needed to be archived, simply click on the archive option, which is usually located at the top toolbar or at the bottom of the screen depending on your software or device. Or you can right-click on selected emails and choose the archive option.
Either way, it’s the best way to bulk archive emails in Outlook manually.
Apart from manual bulk archiving, Microsoft Outlook also lets you configure it to automate the same.
How to Automate Bulk Email Archiving in Outlook?
As a smart and AI-powered email management tool, Microsoft Outlook comes with AutoArchive feature for businesses and individuals alike.
To automate bulk archiving in Outlook, follow these steps:
1.Open Outlook.
2.Go to settings.
3.Locate the AutoArchive option.
4.Click on AutoArchive settings.
5.Choose the schedule for AutoArchiving by selecting how often or what kind of emails you want to archive by setting up your rules and conditions.
6.Select the Archive folder as Outlook also allows users to create different Archive folders depending on the type of emails or content for better email management.
You can also change the AutoArchive settings for each individual folder by right clicking on it and selecting the “Properties” option, which will take you to the AutoArchive tab where you can change its AutoArchiving settings.
Tips to make the most of Bulk Email Archiving
As an Enterprise-grade email solution, Bulk Archiving in Microsoft Outlook can be a great way to optimize your data management and storage while maintaining a secure and accessible ecosystem for all users.
- Develop an email archiving and backup strategy.
- Integrate your Outlook with other enterprise solutions like Microsoft 365.
- Educate and train your employees about the importance of email archiving.
- Ensure regulatory compliance with industry-specific standards.
- Have robust cybersecurity measures in place at all times.
- Hire professionals if needed.
With that said, new trends and technologies continue to shape the true potential of Outlook as a pioneer of modern email management software.
Future Trends in Outlook
Some of the recent improvements in Outlook include:
- Third-party integration with Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud, and IMAP support.
- AutoArchive by the sender or subject line.
- Drag and drop options to move/archive an email to a folder.
- Offline functionality.
Recap
As you can see, Microsoft Outlook comes with multiple easy ways to bulk archive your emails for quick access.
When running an online business, a fast retrieval of important emails can make all the difference.
The importance of bulk archiving becomes all the more important if you have to handle a continuous bombardment of emails for business operations.
Luckily, Outlook also provides users with full customization and automation of their email archiving, whether in bulk or individually.
Apart from saving time, it can help you save a lot of money otherwise spent on data storage and management.
On that note, when dealing with non-stop emails on a daily basis, it’s better to go for bulk archiving than manually selecting and archiving each email separately.
