Outlook for Mac 2011: Lost a Folder/Subfolders

Question

Here's the scenario:

After Outlook forced me to rebuild my Main Identity about 6 weeks ago, I found I was missing a mail folder and its subfolders under "On my computer."

I immediately did some research on how to recover it, especially from Time Machine backup, but I was busy so I didn't try the procedure right away.

Now I want to recover the folder. I've restored the identity that pre-dates this mishap, but since time has elapsed in between I don't want to totally use that identity from 6 weeks ago because it means I will lose the mail I've received in the meantime.

If I use the restored identity as the default when opening Outlook and find the missing folder, is there a way to put THAT OLDER ONLY into the more recent identity I prefer to work with?

I read that the Export function can be used, but it wasn't clear whether that could be isolated to a single folder.

Thanks for any help.

Answer 1

Yes, you can do this but it depends on how you recovered your previous identity.
Caveat Emptor: always backup before trying any of this, just in case.

I'll assume that you used the Microsoft Database Utility to recover your previous identity.

1. Launch Outlook and from the menu bar select Outlook, Work Offline. This will prevent email sync issues (getting new mail in the wrong identity, double items, etc.)
2. Launch the Microsoft Database Utility from /Applications/Microsoft Office 2011/Office.
3. You should see your current and at least one previous identity in the Utility. Select the utility that has the folder you wish to recover.
4. Click the gear on the bottom left portion of the Utility window and select "Set as Default".
5. Restart Outlook, go offline again and find your missing folder.
6. Drag/drop the folder you want to keep to your desktop. It should create a file with a ".mbox" extension.
7. Shutdown Outlook, launch the Database Utility again and reset your default identity back to the one use previously.
8. Relaunch Outlook (still offline) and copy the folder back. Once you're sure it's all there, go back online and make sure new items are syncing.

Hope this helps.