Understanding Files and Folders

All computer users are familiar with the idea of a file. It’s a unit of storage on a disk that contains data, such as a word processing document, a spreadsheet, or a digital photograph. Outlook uses files to store all its information, ranging from e-mail account settings and user options to all its e-mail messages, appointments, tasks, and other items. In fact, Outlook uses a single file called an Outlook Personal Folders file to store just about everything.

Most computer users are also familiar with the concept of a folder (sometimes called a directory). Folders are used to divide a hard disk into discrete storage areas; can you imagine the confusion if all your files were stored in the same location? Outlook uses folders, too, but they are not the same as disk folders. They serve the same purpose—to help organize the items that are stored—but they exist within the Outlook Personal Folder file and not as separate folders on your hard disk.

Outlook folders come in different types based on the kind of item they are designed to hold. For example, your Inbox is a folder and it is intended to hold e-mail messages, but you cannot store a contact there.