I'm slowly migrating from Pop 3 to IMAP and though I've done a lot of reading up on this myself, still questions remain!

1. What is the difference between storing the emails I send in Sent versus Sent Items (on the computer; not the server); is it merely the location of the folder in my list, i.e., Sent is all the way at the top (where I like it to be) but Sent Items is nearer the bottom (alphabetically arranged) and harder for me to check if I want to check that an email got sent/re-read the content etc. Q: is it merely the location? In other words, do they both do the same thing?

2. For certain of my email accounts (all sent up the same way by the way) I only have the option to store Sent emails in Sent Items on my computer (or in Sent or Sent Items on the server)-why are the option not consistent between email accounts? So for one email account I am forced to store Sent email in Sent Items (if I want to keep them on my computer) whereas for my other account I am able to choose between Sent or Sent Items on my computer. Is there an explanation for this or is this random?

3. Is there a way to back up all of my email on my computer (when I use pop3 and Windows Live Mail there was a storage folder on my hard drive that my mail was automatically stored in). Thanks to that folder (and backing it up on my external hard drive) I was able to rescue my emails when my PC crashed. I want to do the same thing now I am using IMAP on my Mac (Outlook for Mac); is this possible, or is rescuing email only possible in WLM?

(please don't tell me they are kept on the server-I don't trust servers:).

4. Same Q's as above in 1&2 but for Delete Items and Trash; I only see options for moving Deleted mail to Deleted Items or Deleted Messages on the Server (or Trash on Server)-no option to move Deleted mail to Deleted items to Trash in Outlook (on computer) though it does give me the "Choose" option but when I choose, all of my folders come up and it's unclear whether they are folders from my computer (Outlook) or on my Server.

Any clarification on the above would be appreciated!

BW...