MailArchiver 6 is now available from GFI which can be found at http://www.gfi.com/mailarchiver/ , GFI are also kindly offering a special introductory discount during the month of September 2008.

MailArchiver 6 now requires Microsoft Exchange Server MAPI Client and Collaboration Data Objects 1.2.1 which can be downloaded from Microsoft at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=E17E7F31-079A-43A9-BFF2-0A110307611E&displaylang=en. This download adds an essential programming interface that applications can use to access messaging stores on an Exchange.

Upgrading from MailArchiver 5 requires a database schema update post install and a one time key upgrade although the software can be run in evaluation mode during testing.

A particularly interesting new feature is a new plug-in for Outlook that allows users to access the mail archive as if they were Outlook folders. Another useful change is that attachments can now be downloaded in Outlook format (.MSG) as well as the Outlook Express Format (.EML).

The new Outlook plug-in is located in the GFI\Outlook folder and installation requires the URL to the MailArchiver server (this can be changed later by right-clicking the GFI MailArchiver Mailbox folder->Click Properties then Click Advanced).

Launching Outlook post-install requires a one-time user authentication with the MailArchiver Server then it is ready to go. Upon starting email a new folder section is added:

The folder structure is configured on the GFI MailArchiver:

This plug-in brings an added dimension to mail archiving and certainly makes it a lot simpler for users to obtain archived mail which should encourage users to move away from holding on to emails indefinitely.

A minor initial hiccup was synchronisation as the GFI status bar in Outlook was reporting online but instead of the Green Tick was shown a warning symbol, clicking on this presented a 500 HTTP Error. Enabling the GFI Debugging Mode Script then immediately Disabling the script seemed to fix the problem.

You can read more about the new features of MailArchiver 6 at the GFI site http://www.gfi.com/mar/marnew.htm. Screen shots of MailArchiver in action can be found at http://www.gfi.com/mailarchiver/marscreenshots.htm.

Further Reading

Links to other articles about GFI MailArchiver 6

Taking email archiving to another level with GFI MailArchiver 6

Windows Vista Software Archive

New Version of GFI MailArchiver for Exchange

Launch of GFI MailArchiver 6 – Stub-free email archiving is industry-first