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How to compact your email to regain storage

Compact email

Before you do this, make sure you delete any emails you don’t need and empty out deleted items, otherwise, you will not regain storage space. Outlook creates an Offline Outlook Data File (.ost), which caches data of your emails, default location is system drive:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook

Also, if you have created an Archive of your email, then you will have Outlook Data File (.pst), which also needs to do compact if you are cleaning up and trying to regain storage space, otherwise it just grows larger. The default location for .PST is the Documents\Outlook Files folder

To compact .OST, open Outlook

Click Menu>Info>Account Settings

Info>Account Settings

Next click on Data Files>Select your email or account.ost file extension

Then click on Settings …

Account Settings>Data Files

Select the Advanced tab, then click on Outlook Data File Settings …

Advanced>Outlook Data File Settings

Click on Compact Now to start compacting

Compact email

Note, if you have not done this before, it will take some time, next time you do this it will be quick, the storage space regained will depend on how much you have deleted your old emails. You can do the same thing for your.PST file

Note: make sure to empty your Deleted folder


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How to open Task Manager in Windows

The task manager shows the system processes, performance, and many more details of your system, many users do not know how to open Task Manager, here are some ways to open it, you can use whichever you like. Each tab has more details about the system, like Performance, which has more details about CPU, Memory, Disk, etc.

Keyboard keys: CTR+ALT+Delete, then choose Task manager

Keyboard keys: CTR+Shift+esc

Keyboard keys: Windows+R

Then type in: taskmgr

Then click ok or Enter

Star Menu: start typing Task Manager, then click on Task Manager to open

Using Mouse right-click on the bottom taskbar, then click Task Manager

Hope this helped you to open task manager in Windows 7/10/11


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Solution for Outlook error: This is not a valid file name

Outlook client giving error when replying or forwarding email chain, with or without attachment and getting an error: “This is not a valid file name”. The issue could be local outlook setting, plugin as well links, or images broken. The best way to check via Web outlook is to test your issue, if the web works then look at the settings of outlook. Here are some options that may help fix your issues.

Error messages:

This is not a valid file name Cannot send this item

Look at the body of the email:

Look at all links and empty areas of the body to see if there are any hidden links, Like the example below

Once removed any broken links, your issue should be fixed

Also, you can try converting the HTML to Plain Text, which will remove all formatting and links

Convert HTML to Plain Text or Rich Text

Check outlook in Safe mode:

Click Start > Run.

Type Outlook /safe, and choose OK

Take a look at the Plugin of outlook:

You can get to it by going to File>Options>Add-ins

Just uncheck to disable whichever you don’t use or causing the issue

Add-ins

That’s it, hope it helps some people


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How to map a network drive via Group Policy

Map network drive via GP

Map a network drive via group policy is a much easier and faster process than manually or logon scripts. user does not have to wait for the logon script to load or if the network path changes it automatically updates. It makes admin and user’s life much better and makes changes to the network without having to update each user. It should plan out the process, users, or groups it’s going to apply this network drive.

This is my process for this post

  1. File server: FileServ1
  2. Share Name: Accounting
  3. Drive Letter: S
  4. Group that’s applying to: Accounting
  5. how-to-delete-policy

Create a new GPO

Start>Windows Administrative Tools>Group Policy Management

or from Server Manager: Tools>Group Policy Management

Right-click on your OU (Organization Unit) where you want to create and link your Group Policy

Select Create a GPO in this domain, and Link it here …

You will see New GPO, name it whatever you want, something that makes sense, I am going to call it Accounting Network Drive

Configure GPO

Right-click on the Group Policy Object and select Edit

Expand User Configuration>Preferences>Windows Settings
Then right-click on Drive Maps and select New>Mapped Drive

Filling the details

You can see there are many options to select from

Based on select above you will see other options

How to Delete policy

First unlink from OU that’s linked

Then Delete from Group Policy Objects:

If you try to delete while still linked GPO, you will get this message, which also works fine too

That’s it, hope this help others


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How to clean up old emails quickly from office 365

email box almost full

One of the very common communication is via emails, they do fill up our Inbox and some of us don’t have time to clean up, which you can do it automatically or manually.  Just carefully when setting automatically to delete, because we as human beings forget and take automation as a privilege, and sometimes it deletes some things we want to keep as history. Here is how to clean up your old email manually or automatically.

Option 1: Manually

Option 2: Automatically via a set of rule

Option 1: Manually

First, Sign-in to your office 365 by going to https://outlook.office.com
Once you have signed in go to Gear Icon at the top left then go all the way to the bottom, select View all outlook settings

View all Outlook settings

You will see another pop-up window

Go to Settings>General>Storage>Then select the folder you want to clean up old emails

Then on the right side, you will have an option to choose from, All, 3 months and older, or 6months and older, or 12 months and older

As, soon as you select the option, it will start deleting your old emails

Note: Items will be permanently deleted

Settings>General>Storage Storage almost full

After you delete your old email, you will see, the overall size will decrease, in this example, I have deleted Sent Items

After delete old sent Items

That’s it, if you want to set up an automatic rule to delete, you can follow the steps below

Automatically via a set of rule

Once you have signed in go to Gear Icon at the top left then go all the way to the bottom, select View all outlook settings

You will see another pop-up window

Go to Settings>Mail>Rules>Then click Add New Rule

Settings>Mail>Rules

Name your rule, something like “clean up old email 12 Months and older” something that makes sense to you.

Name of Rule

Now add a condition

There are so many options, select whatever you like, I am selecting “Apply to all messages”

adding condition

Then select the Action, you want to do, this example I am selecting Delete

adding Action

Once you are happy with everything click Save

Saving Rule

That’s it, don’t forget, if you set to delete or whatever condition you have selected, it will automatically do just that, in case later in time you might be wondering what’s happening to my old emails