I am looking for advice on an alternative to Public Folders as a shared email repository. Currently I have Exchange 2003 with Outlook 2003 clients and 1 office uses the public folders as a central store for project related emails. They deal with large documents so there are lots of attachments and the database is always getting near the maximum limit. I have heard SharePoint suggested previously but I am unsure about how the files will look. Regarding the ease of viewing and searching through them in the public folder format. Any advice suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Also what are the legal requirements on email retention in the UK. All my research looks like it is voluntary is that the case? Regards Darren

You could use a shared mailbox, but again, this would still be an issue with regards to your disk space. If you want something away from Exch then I'd sharepoint. Searching is good from my experices, it's just like a website hwere you ca perform searches, and you can even index the content so you can search for keywords in documents which are uploaded in sharepoint. As for email retension, it's not legal for all sector but for some, i.e financial may be obliged to keep for 10 yeras where as an educational sector may not have to. Depending on the nature of your business and the requirements of a body which regulates your business set appropiately. Or if you have a business requirement than a legal/compliance requireement. Sukh

Hi, I suggest you using SharePoint rather than Exchange 2003 public folder to store large documents. 1. Search performance can vary, and searches can affect Exchange Server 2003 operations. For example, some types of searches may cause noticeable increases in the size of the Exchange Server 2003 transaction logs. Best Practices for Exchange Server 2003 Search Folders 2. Exchange 2003 uses Full-Text indexing searching, it is not a high effect function. It has been got rid of since Exchange 2007 and later version. Understanding Exchange Search 3. Exchange 2003 is poor at database portable, and public folder database are not portable. Database Portability As a document sharing and collaboration solution, SharePoint Products and Technologies offer the following advantages over Exchange Server public folders: What to Consider About SharePoint Products and Technologies >>Also what are the legal requirements on email retention in the UK. All my research looks like it is voluntary is that the case? As I know, legal hold is voluntary.