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Before you change the archive policy

You need mailbox-importer.manage or mailbox-importer.admin. Open Admin settings → Mailbox importer → Mailboxes → Settings and history for the mailbox. Prepare the document types and service-account access first. Document types and keyword types are environment-specific. The names and IDs below are examples, not built-in types. Enter document type IDs in their fields and select keyword types by name in the mapping dropdowns. Confirm every mapping belongs to its destination document type and satisfies that type’s required fields, data types, masks, and keyword permissions.

Choose how the email is stored

The split format does not also save an EML copy. It does not combine attachments into one document, convert them to PDF, or unpack ZIP archives. Configure any additional supported processing in a workflow. The Default archive policy applies when no enabled rule matches. It can use either format. Each rule has its own complete archive policy, including both sets of mappings where applicable.

Example: keep ordinary mail, split supplier invoices

Prepare these example destinations:
1

Set the default

Under Default archive policy, choose Whole email (.eml) and set Document type ID to 10. Configure any keywords required by that type.
2

Add a rule

Select Add archive rule and name it Supplier invoices. Leave Rule enabled checked. A new rule copies the current default policy, so review its destinations and mappings before saving.
3

Set the matching conditions

Enter supplier.example in Sender contains and invoice in Subject contains. Leave Recipient contains empty to accept any recipient.
4

Choose the split format

Select HTML body and separate attachments. Set Document type ID to 30 and Attachment document type ID to 40.
5

Map metadata to both destinations

Under Mail keyword mappings, open Mail subject, search for subject, and choose Mail subject (#101). Under Attachment keyword mappings, choose Mail subject (#202) for Mail subject and Attachment filename (#203) for Attachment filename. These example keyword types must exist on the corresponding destination types.
6

Save and verify

Select Save settings. Send matching and nonmatching test messages, then check the stored document types, files, and keywords. The rule editor does not provide a preview or simulation button.
Enabled Supplier invoices archive rule with sender and subject conditions, separate HTML and attachment document types, and named dropdown selections Mail subject (#101), Mail subject (#202), and Attachment filename (#203)

Supplier invoices uses HTML document type 30 and attachment type 40. The selected dropdowns show Mail subject (#101) for the mail, Mail subject (#202) for each attachment, and Attachment filename (#203) for its filename. This is the actual rule editor with fictional configuration.

How matching and order work

  • Rules run from top to bottom; the first enabled match wins. You can add up to 25 rules.
  • All filled conditions must match. Leaving a condition empty makes it unrestricted.
  • Sender contains checks the sender address, Recipient contains checks any To/Cc/Bcc address present in the message metadata, and Subject contains checks the subject.
  • Matching uses case-insensitive substrings. Conditions are not regular expressions, exact domain checks, or sender-authentication checks.
  • Use Move up and Move down to order specific rules before general ones. An enabled rule with all three conditions empty matches every message and prevents later rules from being selected.
  • Uncheck Rule enabled to retain a rule without using it. Remove rule removes it from the configuration when you save.
For the example above: A sender such as billing@supplier.example.invalid also contains supplier.example. Use these rules for classification; they do not establish that a message is trustworthy.

Map standard mail parameters to keywords

Each mapping is a searchable keyword dropdown, both in the default archive policy and in every rule. The label above the dropdown is the mail parameter; the selected option is the destination keyword type. You select where the parameter is stored, rather than entering a fixed keyword value.
  1. Open the dropdown for the mail parameter, such as Mail subject.
  2. Type part of a keyword name or its ID in Search…. Search ignores case. Options show the name and ID, such as Mail subject (#101); use the ID to distinguish keyword types with the same name.
  3. Select the keyword type assigned as standalone on the destination document type. Repeat for each parameter you need, then select Save settings.
  4. To remove an optional mapping, open its dropdown, clear any search text, and choose Do not map. Save settings to apply the removal.
The catalogue includes keyword types across the environment; it is not filtered to the document type entered above. Group headings help you find keywords, but do not create keyword-group rows. Confirm that your chosen keyword is a standalone assignment on the destination. Keyword groups and repeating keyword-group rows are not targets for these mappings.
Open Mail subject keyword dropdown filtered by subject, showing Mail subject (#101) and Mail subject (#202) as separate choices

Searching for subject shows two keyword types with the same name. Choose the ID that belongs to the intended destination: #101 for Supplier mail, or #202 for Supplier attachments. This is the actual dropdown with fictional keyword types.

Existing mappings retain their saved keyword IDs and display the current catalogue names. If a saved ID is no longer in the catalogue, it appears as Keyword type #999 (unavailable), with the actual ID in place of 999. It remains saved until you explicitly replace it or choose Do not map; saving another setting does not silently remove it. Check the destination configuration before continuing imports with an unavailable keyword. While keyword types load, the mapping controls are disabled. If loading fails, the form shows Could not load keyword types, keeps saved mappings, and leaves these controls disabled. Save any other pending edits before reloading the page to try again. With View permission, the dropdowns display their selections but cannot be changed. Mail and attachment mappings are independent. For example, to make every supplier attachment searchable by the sender and subject, fill those fields in Attachment keyword mappings as well as in Mail keyword mappings. Filling them only for the HTML document does not populate the attachments.

Extend the screenshot’s mappings

Suppose Supplier mail and Supplier attachments have the following additional standalone keyword types. Select these named options in the corresponding dropdowns: For a message from billing@supplier.example to intake@example.com, received at 2026-09-09T08:00:00Z, the mail document gets the sender in keyword 102, recipient in 103, and received time in 104. Each attachment gets the same metadata in 204, 205, and 206, alongside its own filename in 203. The importer supplies date mappings in UTC using yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss, for example 2026-09-09T08:00:00, even though the start-time picker shows local time. Multiple recipients become multiple keyword values. Mapping several mail fields to the same keyword combines distinct values; check that this cardinality is suitable for the target keyword. A missing source field does not manufacture a value for a required keyword. If a document type requires data that mail metadata cannot provide, resolve that requirement in the destination configuration before enabling import. A workflow starts after archiving and cannot repair a keyword validation failure that prevents document creation.

Inline images and real attachments

The importer uses the same mail parsing foundation as normal mail upload. Like the Office add-in’s treatment of embedded images, it distinguishes body resources from attached documents. For example, a message with an HTML body, one embedded signature PNG, and two attached PDFs normally becomes three documents: one HTML mail containing the logo, and two PDF documents. The same message in whole EML mode becomes one document. HTML is sanitized, and external resources such as remote tracking images are blocked. The result may look different from the message in Outlook. Plain-text mail is escaped into HTML. Choose EML when retaining the original MIME representation is essential. There are additional content limits for split archives: at most 100 real attachments, up to 256 embedded images, an 8 MiB budget for encoded inline-image data, and a 100 MiB generated HTML limit. Encoding increases image size, so the inline budget is not an 8 MiB allowance for original image files. Excessive expansion fails explicitly. Unsafe attachment filenames or unsupported content can also prevent archiving. See Troubleshooting before retrying.

Changing rules after imports have started

New imports use the saved configuration. A message that has already saved any document keeps its original selected policy and mappings on retry, even if you subsequently edit the rules. Previously imported documents are not reclassified. See Change a source or policy.

Route imported mail into workflows

Start postprocessing after the complete archive exists and use mail metadata and attachment document IDs.

Keyword types

Prepare standalone keyword types, data types, and validation for the values you map.