How to make an 'Archive' button in Outlook

Create Your Archive Folder

This is a pretty basic step which you can probably do on your own, but just for the sake of completion, you will want to make a new folder and name it however you like. In this example, I've created a new folder and named it "Archive". If you already have a folder you plan on using, you can skip this.

Step1-Create-a-New-Folder.PNG (39 KB) (File Type Details) 

Create a new folder

Insert a New Module

You're going to be making a simple VBA macro for moving messages to a specified folder. To do this, you need to open up the VBA project for your Outlook (by pressing Alt+F11). When it opens, your window will look similar to the one in the screen shot below. Then, right click your project on the left, and click Insert, Module, as shown:

Step2-Insert-a-New-Module.PNG (41 KB) (File Type Details) 

Insert a New Module

Paste in the Macro Code

This is where the hard work has been done for you :)
The code below is designed so that you can make as many different macros as you want where all they do is call the main function with the name of the folder you wish to move selected mail to. The code to copy in is below:

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Option Explicit 
Public Sub Archive()
    MoveSelectedItemsToFolder "Archive", False
End Sub 
Public Sub ArchiveAndMarkAsRead()
    MoveSelectedItemsToFolder "Archive", True
End Sub 
Private Sub MoveSelectedItemsToFolder(FolderName As String, MarkAsRead As Boolean)
    On Error GoTo ErrorHandler
    
    Dim Namespace As Outlook.Namespace
    Set Namespace = Application.GetNamespace("MAPI")
    
    Dim Inbox As Outlook.MAPIFolder
    Set Inbox = Namespace.GetDefaultFolder(olFolderInbox)
    
    Dim Folder As Outlook.MAPIFolder
    Set Folder = Inbox.Folders(FolderName)
    If Folder Is Nothing Then
        MsgBox "The '" & FolderName & "' folder doesn't exist!", _
            vbOKOnly + vbExclamation, "Invalid Folder"
    End If 
    Dim Message As Object
    For Each Message In Application.ActiveExplorer.Selection
        If MarkAsRead Then If Message.UnRead Then Message.UnRead = False
        Message.Move Folder
    Next Message
    
    Exit Sub
ErrorHandler:
    MsgBox Error(Err)
End Sub

When you've pasted it in, everything should look like this. Remember to replace the highlighted text with the name of your folder. In this example, the folder name is "Archive":

Step3-Copy-Code-into-Module.PNG (54 KB) (File Type Details) 

Copy the code into the new module.

Add a Button for Your Macro

Now you can close down the Microsoft Visual Basic window. You've done the hard part. Next we want to add the macro to the toolbar so that you can use it conveniently. Right click on a blank area of the toolbar as shown, and click "Customize...". This will bring up the Outlook Customize Toolbars dialogue.

Step4-Customize-Toolbar.PNG (17 KB) (File Type Details) 

Customize your Toolbar

Drag your Macro Onto the Toolbar

You have to find your macro and drag it onto the Toolbar now. Switch to the "Commands" tab in the dialogue, and select "Macros" from the list on the left. You should see "Archive" macro there. The other macro will Archive and mark the email as read in one step. If this is what you would like the button to do, you can choose this macro instead. Select it and drag it to wherever you want it on your toolbar:

Step5-Locate-and-Drag-Macro.PNG (18 KB) (File Type Details) 

Locate and Drag the Macro onto the Toolbar

Rename the Button

You probably don't like the ugly name Outlook has given your button, so go ahead and rename it. To do this, click the "Rearrange Commands" button at the bottom of the dialogue we have open (I know - pretty unintuitive). A new dialogue will open. Click the "Toolbar" option button (instead of "Menu Bar") and find the new button you just created. When you find it, select it and click the "Modify Selection" button. Here, you can rename it to whatever you want. Here's an illustration:

Step6-Rename-the-Button.PNG (28 KB) (File Type Details) 

Rename the Button

If you want, you can give your button a shortcut by inserting an ampersand (&) in front of the letter you want to be the shortcut. Then when you press Alt+'That Letter', it will trigger the button. Careful, if you chose a letter that is already a shortcut (like A for 'Actions' menu item) then you'll have to press Alt+A+A(again) to cycle through to your button. Here's an example:

Step6-Shortcut-Alt-A.PNG (1 KB) (File Type Details) 

A Shortcut for our Button.

Test it out!

Now test it out! Select one or more emails, click the button, and watch them get moved to your archive. Isn't that sharp?

Step7-Test-it-out.PNG (48 KB) (File Type Details) 

Test it out

Step7-Presto--Archived-Mail.PNG (47 KB) (File Type Details) 

Presto! Archived Mail