hamedina

Q: Move Old Mac Mail Data

Hi all,

I have a Mac Mail user with a mail data of 100GB, and I need to do backup weekly to that data. Is there a way create a kind of profile where I can put the old messages? because sometimes the user need to consult old messages. I made a folder and I moved old messages, but the folder was created on the same location, so when I run a backup the old messages get copied too. What alternative do I have?

 

Regards!

Amedina

MacBook Pro

Posted on Oct 15, 2015 10:37 AM

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Q: Move Old Mac Mail Data

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  • by jeffd55,

    jeffd55 jeffd55 Oct 15, 2015 2:08 PM in response to hamedina
    Community Specialists
    Oct 15, 2015 2:08 PM in response to hamedina

    Hello hamedina,

    Thank you for using Apple Support Communities. 

    I see you are looking for a way to archive older mail messages so they are available, but not included in a regular backup. 

    Without knowing what you are using for backup, you might see if it is possible to select which folders within Mail that you want to backup, while exluding the old emails. 

    Alternatively, you can collect the old emails in a mailbox and then export that mailbox (Mailbox Menu > Export Mailbox). See this article for reference - Mail (Mavericks): Export mailboxes. Note while the article title says it is for a later operating system, the process is the same for Mountain Lion. 

    This will save the emails and they would be outside of the backup. The downside is that they are not as readily available for reference, they would have to be reimported before you could access them. 

    Regards

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Oct 16, 2015 8:42 AM in response to hamedina
    Level 9 (71,155 points)
    iTunes
    Oct 16, 2015 8:42 AM in response to hamedina

    If you are using Time Machine to backup, if you export the mailbox as Jeff has posted, then you can go to System Preferences/Time Machine/Options and add the exported folder there.