Deletion Rules
Deleting Emails after Archiving
MailStore Server can be used to reduce and to keep the amount of emails stored in a source system at a minimum. Source system can be email servers, email mailboxes, email applications as well as email files or email container files.
The delete feature that has to be activated explicitly enables MailStore Server to delete emails from the source system autonomously, according to specified rules and time periods.
In order to not jeopardize ongoing business processes, emails that have been flagged will never be deleted by MailStore Server. Configured deletion rules do not apply to such emails. To get them delete by MailStore Server you have to un-flag them in the source system directly.
Functionality
By default, MailStore Server only copies emails from the source system into its archive. The archives emails remain in the source system and will not be deleted.
In the following archiving profiles it is possible to enable MailStore Server to delete emails automatically after they have been archived:
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft Outlook - PST files
- Microsoft Outlook - MSG files
- Microsoft Outlook Express
- Microsoft Windows Mail
- Microsoft Exchange Server - mailboxes
- Microsoft Exchange Server - public folders
- EML files
- AVM KEN! - mailboxes
- any IMAP mailboxes, which includes IceWarp, Kerio Connect and MDaemon mailboxes among others
The deletion process will be executed after the archiving of all emails by the archiving profile has been finished. During this process it is explicitly checked whether any email that is about to be deleted has really been archived. This ensures that only emails will be deleted from the source system that have been written into the archive before.
Emails can only be deleted from a source system after an archiving process, which means that such deletions are always tied to an archiving profile. Furthermore, deletion rules have to be configured explicitly in such a profile as described in further detail below.
Beyond this functionality, no other automatic processes exist to delete emails from their source systems.
Configuration
Delete conditions can be configured during setting up a new archiving profile or for existing profiles under Advanced Settings > Delete.
The following options are available:
- never
Emails are never deleted from the source system. In effect, emails will be copied into the MailStore Server archive. This is the default setting. - immediately after archiving
Emails are deleted from the source system as soon as they have been successfully archived. In effect, emails will be moved into the MailStore Server archive. - at least [period] after archiving
Emails are deleted from the source if they have been in the MailStore Server archive for at least the given period of time. In effect, emails will be copied into the MailStore Server archive at first and also remain in the source system for the given period, before they will be deleted in a subsequent run of the archiving profile. - if message older than [period]
Emails are deleted from the source system if their send or receive dates predate the given period of time. In effect, emails with send or receive dates in the given range will be copied into the MailStore Server archive at first, while those with send or receive dates predating the given range will be moved into the MailStore Server archive. During subsequent runs of the archiving profiles, previously archived emails will be deleted from the source systems if they match the defined age criterion.
If a filter date or range is configured together with a deletion rule if message older than, the longer period of time will be applied to the deletion rule as well.
If, for example, the filter range is set to Only archive messages that are older than 1 month and the deletion rule is set to if message older than 1 day, only emails will be deleted that are older than one month because younger emails have not been archived yet.
With MailStore Server, it is not possible to delete emails from source systems that have not been previously archived.
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