Has anyone developed or know of a good way to archive project related e-mail messages and other electronic documents without keeping in your browser software program?
Over time with new computers and new browsers, I find that my old project archivable materials are scattered all over. I dont want to print out any of these documents. The only hard copy I keep from a project [after 5 years] is the actual project manual. I find that when I start moving messages around between browsers it just adds to the clutter. Is there a program that messages can be archived and still be easily retrivable?
Thanks, Ron
Microsoft Exchange Server does this. All you need is a ‘public’ folder on the server. Then, your I.T./I.S. people or person should have a system for backing up.
It works for us (40 people).
Ron,
I just did a test on this method.
I selected several email messages in Outlook. Did no open them, just looking at them in the list of messages.
I then selected the print command.
Rather than printing them, I have then selected the option to create a pdf file. My version is entwined with acrobate so anything I bring up to print, I can choose a button, create a pdf file.
It created a pdf file of the text of the selected messages, each message being in the order that it was listed in the list of messages.
Tinker with that, creating a pdf file would permit you to open it later many years - where archiving the raw message and with version updates, the format might be so different that the original message file is not compatible.
Years pass, many things change. PDFs have been fairly stable, or if replaced its sucessor will likely have a convertor.
William
I have saved project email as text files from Yahoo to the project file correspondence folder on my computer, then when time comes to archive the job for storage, it gets saved with everything else on the disk. It’s a Notepad file so the text stays readable in whatever version of Word I’m using at the time.
William:
Your suggestion works great. Thanks.
Doug and Margaret:
Thanks for your comments. But the format appeals to me.
Ron
William - Thank you, thank you, thank you. I’m so grateful to find out about this simple technique for saving emails to project folders. Now I just have to find time to attack a way-too-full inbox. 
Sheryl,
Sometimes the best way to deal with an inbox that is overfull is the same way you deal with items still in boxes from the last time you moved (home or office). If you have not looked at it in more than 6 months, you don’t need it.
And if it has not been answered in 6 months, the sender has forgotten they sent it -grin!
William