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Difference Between Archive Folder and in-place Archive

Summary: When the space in Outlook is not enough. Then you can use the in-place archive and archive folder to make space in Outlook. Here you will find a detailed discussion on the difference between archive folder and in-place archive.

As per the continuous usage of Microsoft Outlook, sometimes Outlook becomes heavier. When the primary mailbox is getting full, it creates several problems while sending and receiving emails. There are two different solutions that you can opt which are the Archive folder and in-place archive. You can pick anyone as per the requirement because there is a huge difference between an Archive folder and in-place archive. Let’s elaborate on the brief of both first.

Archive Folder

It is provided by Microsoft to store the emails. It is the same as the other folders such as sent, inbox, and others. Basically, it is not reducing the size of the primary mailbox. It is just a separate folder to store all the emails which are not in use now.

Online Archive or In-place Archive

This feature is used to make extra space in the primary mailbox by storing the older data in another folder. There is a space of 1.5 TB to store the archive data but it is not provided in one go. The admin allocates the space in batches of 100 GB whenever required.
Archive Folder vs Online Archive
There are many difference between archive folder and in-place archive. Let’s start with each one in detail.

1. Location - When you decide to archive the emails which are not in use. Then there are two different options as we discussed Archive folder and Onlne archive. But the locations of both the archives are different. If you choose the Archive folder by clicking on the Archive option. Then the data moves to a separate folder which uses the primary mailbox storage. It does not reflect any changes to the storage. If you choose the Online archive then the old emails are stored in a different location.

2. Storage - When the old emails are stored in the archive folder the storage of the primary mailbox is not affected. Because the data is stored in another folder but using the space of the primary mailbox. But when you choose the Online archive, more space is created in the primary mailbox. Due to this, the upcoming issues get resolved that creates because of the large mailbox size.

3. Access - In the continuity of archive folder vs online archive. When the data moves to the archive folder you can access the archived data just by logging the email in any device. If the data is stored in the Online Archive then you can also access the data through any device but it is quite slower than accessing the primary mailbox.

4. Security - By using the Archive folder to store old emails, the security is the same as the primary mailbox because it is a part of the primary mailbox. But in the case of an Online Archive, the data is stored on a separate server, then security is different from the primary mailbox and the data is more secure.

5. Retention Policies - In the online archive there are different retention policies to archive data such as 1 year, 2 years, 5 years, and never on the basis of which you can archive the data after a particular period of time.You can setup archive policy in Office 365. But this is absent in the Archive folder.

6. Enabling - The archive folder is not required to enable. You can directly use the option given on the toolbar just by clicking on it. But in the case of, Online archive it is not enabled by default. You need to enable online archive Office 365. This is possible with the help of PowerShell commands or by using the Exchange Admin Center manually. This is also a huge reason for choosing between archive folder vs online archive.

“Have you ever wondered how to increase the amount of space in Outlook if you have data stored in the in-place archive? You don't have to be concerned about the circumstances. This is how it's done.“

Store in-place archive to Create more space in Outlook

You can move emails to in-place Archive Office 365 data to the PST file and access it offline. Due to the more space created in the in-place archive, you can move more items to it. It is possible with the Professional Office 365 Export Tool. This tool is able to export all data from an in-place archive to PST files efficiently. There are distinct steps that you need to follow.

Step 1. Download and select Office365 archive as source and Outlook as destination.
Step 2. Select the items and apply the Date Filter.
Step 3. Enter the source credentials.
Step 4. Complete the destination credentials in the destination window.
Step 5. Load the users and click on the Start Export button.

Conclusion

Both options for an archive either is archive folder or an in-place are different. Now you know the complete difference between archive folder and in-place archive. You can choose anyone as per the requirement.