HT204093: Use Mail on your Mac
Learn about Use Mail on your Mac
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Helpful answers
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Mar 14, 2015 9:58 AM in response to Juan Manuel Ruizby jeremy_v,Hello Juan Manuel Ruiz,
Thanks for visiting Apple Support Communities.
It sounds like you're wondering if it's necessary to archive old email messages outside of the Mail application to prevent files from becoming unusable.
It's not necessary to archive old messages, although it is always a good idea to have backups of your data in case anything unexpected happens.
If you're not already, here are two methods to back up your Mail:
You can export the mailbox(es) containing the messages, and store them on an external hard drive for safekeeping. See this article for the steps to export a mailbox:
Mail (Yosemite): Import or export mailboxes
You can also use Time Machine to backup your Mac, which will allow you to go back and recover Mail messages if necessary. See these links for more information on setting up and using Time Machine:
Mac Basics: Time Machine backs up your Mac - Apple Support
OS X Yosemite: Restore items backed up with Time Machine
All the best,
Jeremy
