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Attn: The Michigan Medicine email (lvl2 Outlook account) will be limited to a 2-year retention starting Feb 28th. This means all emails older than 2 years will be deleted from your account. Michigan Medicine advises that you make preparations to backup important emails manually to prevent them from being purged.

What Is The Purpose Of This How-To-Guide?

The purpose of this guide is to provide directions on how to backup all email in a Michigan Medicine Outlook account to Dropbox, in a format that is searchable and retains folder structure and attachments.

Read Before You Start
Step 1
- Download Mailbox
Step 2
- Verify Mailbox Downloaded
- Export PST File
Step 3 (Skip this step if you do not have a shared mailbox)
- Downlod Your Shared Mailboxes
Step 4
- Restoring Your Backup
Conclusion
- How to Confirm Your Mailbox Backup Is Working
- Resource Links
Get Help

Read Before You Start

Configure Dropbox

This process will heavily rely on the Dropbox Desktop application (not the web site version).

If you do not have the Dropbox app installed be sure to follow these directions to configure it.

Directions For Mac Users

We are recommending that Mac users sign into a School of Nursing WINDOWS laptop in order to proceed with the backup process.
If you have data that you need to backup, please schedule a time with Nursing IT (Nursing-Help@umich.edu) to begin the process.
If you are backing up shared mailbox accounts, please allow for extra time during your IT session.

Video Tutorial

Step 1

*Important Notes:

This process in total could take several days per the size of your mailbox. We recommend starting ASAP
This process should take place on your assigned UMSN Workstation (unless you are borrowing one of our loaners because you have an Apple Device)

Download Your Shared Mailboxes

Verify that the DROPBOX app is running on your machine
- If it is not, SEARCH for, and OPEN the application
Open Outlook CLASSIC
Click FILE
Click ACCOUNT SETTINGS
Click ACCOUNT SETTINGS again
On Email tab, highlight youraccount@med.umich.edu
Click CHANGE
Move slider all the way to the RIGHT until it says ALL
Click NEXT
Click DONE
CLOSE Outlook and then RESTART Outlook
WAIT for Outlook to download all of your email
- If you see the message ‘UPDATING INBOX’ you must wait. Depending on how much email is being downloaded, this can take awhile. Leave Outlook open while it is downloading stored emails.
- When you see the message ‘ALL FOLDERS ARE UP TO DATE’ proceed to the next step

Before you proceed any further, please make sure all of your emails are downloaded to your computer!

Emails will begin to download locally to your computer over an extended amount of time as long as you have the Outlook application open.
Depending on the size of your mailbox this could take 1 hour - 3 Days.
The next step will show you how to check the status of the download.

Step 2

Verify Mailbox Downloaded

To VERIFY that your mailbox file is fully downloaded prior to exporting it, please do the following within Outlook:
RIGHT CLICK the mailbox you want to verify, and click DATA FILE PROPERTIES

On the GENERAL tab, click the FOLDER SIZE button at the bottom of the window

Locate and click the SERVER DATA tab at the top of the screen
- This tab will take a few seconds to properly load
- Note the TOTAL SIZE line at the top of the screen

Click on the LOCAL DATA tab
- Note the TOTAL SIZE line at the top of the screen

If the TOTAL SIZE lines are close in value(as seen in above screenshots), AND you no longer see UPDATING INBOX at the bottom of your Outlook, then please proceed with the guide

Export PST File

Click FILE
Click OPEN & EXPORT (On the left menu)
Click IMPORT/EXPORT
Click/Highlight EXPORT TO A FILE
Click NEXT
Click/Highlight OUTLOOK DATA FILE (.pst)
Click NEXT
Click/Highlight youraccount@med.umich.edu
- Make sure INCLUDE SUBFOLDERS is checked
Click NEXT
Click BROWSE
In the browse window, click your NAME under the UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN DROPBOX folder (On the left menu)
Name the file: " [Your Uniqname] - backup"
Click OK
Leave ‘REPLACE DUPLICATES WITH ITEMS EXPORTED’ selected.
Click FINISH
You will be given the option to PASSWORD PROTECT your backup. This is OPTIONAL
- Leave BLANK and click OK
Leave Outlook Running until export is completed. This can take an extended period of time based on the amount of data being exported

Step 3 (Skip this step if you do not have a shared mailbox)

Shared Mailboxes

Verify that the DROPBOX app is running on your machine
- If it is not, SEARCH for, and OPEN the application
Open Outlook CLASSIC
Click FILE
Click OPEN & EXPORT (On the left menu)
Click IMPORT/EXPORT
Click/Highlight EXPORT TO A FILE
Click NEXT
Click/Highlight OUTLOOK DATA FILE (.pst)
Click NEXT
MINIMIZE/COLLAPSE any open Top Level Folders
HIGHLIGHT/SELECT the SHARED MAILBOX to export
- Make sure INCLUDE SUBFOLDERS is checked
Click NEXT
Click BROWSE
In the browse window, click your NAME under the UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN DROPBOX folder (On the left menu)
Name the file
Click OK
Leave ‘REPLACE DUPLICATES WITH ITEMS EXPORTED’ selected
Click FINISH
You will be given the option to PASSWORD PROTECT your backup. This is OPTIONAL
- Leave BLANK and click OK
- A status box will appear showing export/download progress
- Leave Outlook Open during this process. It can/will take awhile for each shared mailbox to be properly downloaded/saved. You will likely see the message in the below screenshot

Step 4

Restoring Your Backup

Verify that the DROPBOX app is running on your machine
- If it is not, SEARCH for, and OPEN the application
Open Outlook CLASSIC
Click FILE
Click OPEN & EXPORT (On the left menu)
Click OPEN OUTLOOK DATA FILE
In the browse window, click your NAME under the UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN DROPBOX folder (On the left menu - Assuming file is saved here)
SELECT the file
Click OK