How to archive mails on an external volume?

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Level 1

1 points

How to archive mails on an external volume?

Hello!

I’m seeking for a way to store/archive mails on an external volume.

How do I prompt MAIL with the path leading to my desired storage location?

MAIL should display my Archive-Mailboxes as soon as the external volume is mounted/connected. In the left column of the MAIL-UI, it would more or less look like this:

…

2011-01_MAIL-ARCHIVE

2011-02_MAIL-ARCHIVE

2011-03_MAIL-ARCHIVE

2011-04_MAIL-ARCHIVE

…

This would systematically free up storage space on my hard disk each time I archive a new period.

Any hints would be much appreciated !

G
( using MAIL 5.3 (1283) on OS 10.7.5 )
( Important: I look for a sleek solution with my current configuration. No trick with further hardware or time-machine workarounds. Thanks! )

ADDRESSBOOK-OTHER, Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Jan 10, 2014 9:03 AM

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Answer 1

gestyle Author

Level 1

1 points

Mar 11, 2014 4:52 PM in response to gestyle

Anyone an idea?

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5769249

⚠ 😀

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Answer 2

msuper69

Level 6

8,689 points

Mar 11, 2014 4:55 PM in response to gestyle

You posted this in the correct forum the first time.

No need to cross-post.

Good luck.

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Answer 3

gestyle Author

Level 1

1 points

Mar 11, 2014 5:00 PM in response to msuper69

Hey Michael,

as nothing happened within two months, I thought it would be worth a try bringing a little action into the threads 😐 😀

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Answer 4

enelge

Level 1

0 points

Apr 30, 2014 11:08 AM in response to gestyle

No answers on how to do this at all? I've been trying to find an answer for the seamingly simple an obvious dilema too.

Is there no way to move or create the/an archive folder on an external drive?! Surely people's email accounts are spilling over on their 128GB MBA drives like mine.

Now I'm getting system errors because my startup disk is full.

I use this mac for work email so yes, there are lots of email and tons of attachements. All of which I need to keep fro record and reference.

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Answer 5

gestyle Author

Level 1

1 points

May 2, 2014 5:44 PM in response to enelge

Hey enelge!

Over a couple of months, I gathered information on this topic. Some people say it works, some other say nope

I’m still searching for a real solution.

Currently, the most promising track seems to be utilizing a symbolic link (Symlink), in order to delocate the e-mails’ storage on an external hard drive. This video-tutorial shows how to implement the symlink on a Mac:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QByRKadjnEE

Unfortunately one point remains unanswered: how to configure MAIL, so that the program will take notice of the symlink. Adding a new MAIL-folder (e. g. 2013-01) in the left column of MAIL should automatically add a new 2013-01-folder on the external volume.

A friend of mine says it works on his machine, as soon as the external drive is connected he can browse through his archived e-mails, but he forgot how he proceeded for the setup. Grrr… Others, some IT-guys say it leads to unconstistancies within the file-structure. I’d really love to find an elegant solution.

My actual workaround is a new hard-disc expanding my machine’s capacity from 200 to 1000 GB – but it’s not a scalable system.

A really cool perspective would be to be able to save e-mails the same way a database is saved externally with iPhoto or iTunes. Select and browse when connected/required.

If anyone’d like to share their experience on that topic…

Best 🙂

G

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