Steve indicated that all of his Personal Folders are scatted, so the first goal may be to move them all into a standard location on the local system and/or server. Personal Folders files (those files ending in .PST) are handled the same way you would any other file. You can save, copy, and move a .PST file to another location on your hard disk, a floppy disk, or a server. Just remember you will need to point them to the new location in Outlook if you move them. Also, be sure Outlook isn't running while you're moving them around.

Before you can "un-scatter" your .PST files, you must first locate them. If using Outlook 2002 or 2003, then you can go to File --> Data File Management to see all of the Personal Folders currently being used in Outlook. It will show you the path or you can click Open to go right to the location where a given .PST file is stored. If you are absolutely sure all of your personal folders are in the same location, then you're all set. However, I still strongly suggest doing a full search on you local drive for all .PST files as there may be some .PST files that are not actually showing in Outlook.

Here's a tip-within-a-tip: The .PST files are often hidden, so if you don't find anything, make sure that you you're searching for hidden files as well.

By doing the steps above, you'll now have all of your .PST files in one standard location. You'll still have multiple .PST files, but that's fine. Now, if you would like to combine some of them, you would do this within Outlook by utilizing the import/export function or just dragging and dropping.

Finally whether to your Personal Folders or to an Exchange Server, there can only be one location where your incoming mail messages get filed. There can be only one, true Inbox. If a particular Personal Folder is designated as the delivery location, then Outlook will automatically create the Outlook folder items, including Message, Calendar, Inbox, Tasks, Sent Items, Outbox and Deleted Items within that Personal Folder. If a Personal Folder is added and is not designated to be the delivery location, then the Outlook folders listed above will not be created. Once they are created, those folders can not be deleted.

This may be what Steve has been experiencing. It may be a good idea to choose the Personal Folder you want to be the main delivery location and change it by going to Tools --> Emails Accounts. Then move or import/export all of the other Inbox, Calendar, Task and Journal items from the other Personal Folders into the main delivery location Personal Folder. As for any for any sub-folders you created, you can create another Personal Folder and move your items into it. Once all this data is moved, you can close the original Personal Folder in Outlook and delete the original .PST file.

The end-result of all of this is that you'll have all of .PST files in one standard location and your Outlook is much more organized and easier to manage. There will be one main Personal Folder for delivery of all of the Outlook Folder items (Inbox, Calendar, Task and Journaling, etc) and another one (or more) for all of your folders that you created. If desired, you can add your folders to the main delivery Personal Folder. I tend create at least two Personal Folders -- one for Outlook Folder delivery items and one for to store or file data, since this approach seems to be easier to manage and maintain.

Submit your questions to the OutlookPower Answer Team Submit your Outlook questions to editor@outlookpower.com with the words "OUTLOOKPOWER ANSWER TEAM" in the subject line. Francine Otterson, President of the San Diego Outlook User Group, and its members, make up the OutlookPower Answer Team and are always available to answer your tough Outlook questions. For more information on the San Diego Outlook User Group, visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sdoutlookug.

Francine Otterson is the President of the San Diego Outlook User Group and a Microsoft Outlook MVP. She has been in the IT industry for over 10 years, providing technical support, software customization solutions and training in corporate settings, and as a consultant. She balances her work around her daughter and husband in sunny San Diego, California.