Hi Bruce et al,By "anything else" I mean the date of the email as known to Outlook Express.The problem I am trying to overcome is making my Message Store huge because of a few emails that I receive with huge attachments.I can save the attachments on my hard disk, but I still want to save the email for reference.In the past I have created a reply to the email, which doesn't attach the attachment, but have not sent it. I keep the "reply" and delete the original email. It's, messy, but it works.I have searched for a solution and come across this one. I would like to know if there is a better, safer way.What I do is to drag the email to my desktop and edit it in "Notepad++". I delete what looks like an attachment that appears to be base64 encoded.For example, I delete from here:--0016364eef3a6cb259049c527692Content-Type: application/pdf; name="<filename deleted by me>.pdf"Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="<filename deleted by me>.pdf"Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64X-Attachment-Id: f_gk6v23of0JVBERi0xLjYNJeLjz9MNCjI0MTMgMCBvYmogPDwvTGluZWFyaXplZCAxL0wgOTYyNjM4OS9PIDI0MTYvRSAyMTY5MjkvTiA0NTkvVCA5NTc4MDgwL0ggWyA3MDE2IDE3OTMwXT4+DWVuZG9iag0gICAg...to here:MDAwIG4NCjAwMDk1NzQwMTIgMDAwMDAgbg0KMDAwOTU3NDEyMCAwMDAwMCBuDQowMDA5NTc3ODI1IDAwMDAwIG4NCnRyYWlsZXINCjw8L1NpemUgMjQxMz4+DQpzdGFydHhyZWYNCjExNg0KJSVFT0YNCg==--0016364eef3a6cb259049c527692--The two identical lines "--0016364eef3a6cb259049c527692--" appear to define the attachment, and when the file is saved and dragged back into my OE Inbox, it looks and reads the same, same dates etc, but with no attachment and no apparent problems with OE opening it.Is there a better way?Thanks as usual for any help you can give.Roger.1 person needs an answerI do too

The only better way I know of is this shareware tool.OEXhttp://www.oehelp.com/OEX/Default.aspx There are two other things to consider.The size of the message store is not so important as the size of each dbx file, which you can have as many as you want.You can also create a separate identity for the sole purpose of archiving and move some of your messages there. Bruce HagenMS-MVP Oct. 1, 2004 ~ Sept. 30, 2010Imperial Beach, CA

The only better way I know of is this shareware tool.OEXhttp://www.oehelp.com/OEX/Default.aspx There are two other things to consider.The size of the message store is not so important as the size of each dbx file, which you can have as many as you want.You can also create a separate identity for the sole purpose of archiving and move some of your messages there. Bruce HagenMS-MVP Oct. 1, 2004 ~ Sept. 30, 2010Imperial Beach, CAThanks Bruce - yes, the size of the .dbx files was my concern. My Message Store is just under 1 GB, but just one dbx file accounts for 0.25 GB, so moving that to another identity would help.As I regularly backup (a simple "copy" of) my Message Store and keep multiple copies, this one dbx file was using a lot of resources - time to backup and disk space. It contains a lot of attachments that aren't so important - screen shots of peoples' PCs sent to me when they have a problem - so moving it out of my regular identity could be the solution.I'll also investigate that shareware tool.Thanks again, Bruce - much appreciated.

I don't think your issue is so bad. In theory, each dbx file has a max capacity of 2GB. In reality, they likely become corrupt long before that. I normally suggest keeping dbx files at about a 300MB max to err on the side of caution. 0.25GB = 250MB, (kinda, sorta, close enough), so that's not a problem.What you should be the most concerned with is backing up OE on a regular basis. Here is my standard advice for OE. Last mentioned is the OEQB backup tool that is priceless, yet free. General precautions for Outlook Express:Do not archive mail in the Inbox or Sent Items. Create your own user defined folders and move the messages you wish to save to them. Empty Deleted Items folder daily. Although dbx files have a theoretical capacity of 2GB, I recommend about a 300MB max for less chance of corruption.Information about the maximum file size of the .dbx files that are used by Outlook Express:http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=903095After you are done, follow up by compacting your folders manually while working *offline* and do it often.Click on Outlook Express at the top of the folder tree so no folders are open. Then: File | Work Offline (or double click Working Online in the Status Bar). File | Folder | Compact all folders. Don't touch anything until the compacting is completed.Turn off e-mail scanning in your anti-virus program. It is a redundant layer of protection that eats up CPUs and causes a multitude of problems such as time-outs and account setting changes. Your up-to-date A/V program will continue to protect you sufficiently. For more, see:http://www.oehelp.com/OETips.aspx#3And backup often.Outlook Express Quick Backup (OEQB Freeware)http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx Bruce HagenMS-MVP Oct. 1, 2004 ~ Sept. 30, 2010Imperial Beach, CA