Hello. I am currently switching from years of working with Outlook for Windows and going to Outlook for Mac. Im trying to understand the differences. In particular, I have a very large file with lots of old mail I want to hold onto and import in - so backing up is important. I am confused by what I read on a site that links here "officeformachelp.com" It seems to say the outlook database is "time machine friendly" but then says it is "purposely excluded from Time Machine and should be excluded from all backup solutions". So what is the proper way to back up my mail files for safety and/or for use in another mac, say I am to switch computers in the future after I start using it on my current mac? The instructions below seem to say you CAN back it up, but then says it would be pointless to.

The site's text below in italics:

"Outlook’s Database is Time Machine friendly as well as optimized to work other backup solutions. They only need back up just changed files and not all files...

Neither Entourage nor Outlook offer backup tools but instead rely on the end-user to create his own solution. Each application requires a different backup strategy.

Outlook’s Database is purposely excluded from Time Machine backups and should be excluded from all backup solutions. While the Microsoft Database Daemon is running, the Database file is in use and cannot be properly copied to a backup location without inducing potential corruption, making it useless when restored."

1) Can I backup Outlook for Mac with Time Machine?

Yes, Outlook for Mac can now be backed up with Time Machine.

When you restore, you will need to restore the entire Identity. I suggest saving to the Desktop and rename before dragging it to the Microsoft User Data folder > Office 2011 Identities folder. You can then “Switch Identity” to export individual items if needed.