Huge Outlook OST file

A few ways to tidy up your Outlook

There are a few steps that you can take to prevent an Outlook OST file from increasing in size:

• Delete unnecessary emails: One of the main reasons that an Outlook OST file can increase in size is because it contains a large number of emails that are no longer needed. To reduce the size of the OST file, you can delete any unnecessary emails from your mailbox. You can use the search function in Outlook to locate and delete emails that are no longer needed, such as emails that are more than a certain age or emails that are from specific senders.

• Compact the OST file: Outlook includes a feature called “Compact Now” that can be used to compact the OST file and reduce its size. To compact the OST file:

  • Go to the File menu in Outlook and select the “Account Settings” option.
  • In the Account Settings window, select the email account that you want to compact, and then click on the “Change” button.
  • In the Change Account window, click on the “More Settings” button, and then go to the Advanced tab.
  • In the Advanced tab, click on the “Offline Folder File Settings” button, and then click on the “Compact Now” button.

• Repair the OST file: If the OST file is corrupted or damaged, it can cause the file to increase in size. To repair the OST file, you can use the Inbox Repair Tool (Scanpst.exe) that is included with Outlook. To use the Inbox Repair Tool, go to the folder where Outlook is installed (usually C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16 for Outlook 2016) and locate the Scanpst.exe file. Double-click on the file to launch the Inbox Repair Tool, and then follow the prompts to repair the OST file.

• Archive old emails: If you have a large number of old emails that you want to keep, but you don’t need to access them on a regular basis, you can use the archiving feature in Outlook