Archive E-mails in Evolution (Ubuntu 8.04/9.04)

Intro:
One thing I really liked in MS-Outlook, was the Archive option; creating one file with the complete sub-folder structure preserved. Evolution does not yet have this feature, however, you can mimic it, with a very similar result.
I have switched from Outlook to Evolution around July 2008, And we are currently March 2009. So far, I haven't archived anything, and my daily Back-up starts to take way more time than I'm willing to bare.

Goal:
I want to outline a procedure, that will give me a system very much like the outlook archives. I used to Archive Quarterly.

Procedure:
I Prefer to work in my Virtual Box, to make sure I won't mess up anything in my real time version. (work off-line.)

1. Before you start anything, Back-up your real time evolution data.
   
2. Create the following Search folders:
   

- Criteria: Date Received, is before October 1, 2008; All local files: (Search folder 1: 2008_Q3)
- Criteria: Date Received, is before January 1, 2009, All local files and Date Received, is after October 1, 2008, All local files: (search folder 2: 2008_Q4)
- Criteria: Date Received, is after January 1, 2008, All local files: (search folder 3: 2009_Q1)

3. Back-up Evolution again. (file: Evolution_Backup.tar.gz)
   
4. Starting Virtual Box - Ubuntu session (you can do it in your real time version too, but I opted to be safe)
   
5. Restore previous back-up (file: Evolution_Backup.tar.gz) in the virtual Evolution.
   
6. Open Evolution.
   
7. Delete all Emails in Search Folder 2 and 3 (also empty trash folder). Manually clean sent-folder for this period, which is easy as it is a long list chronologically anyway
   
8. Back-up evolution and call the file “evolution_archive2008_Q3”
   
9. Restore the original Back-up (file: Evolution_Backup.tar.gz) Note that this will overwrite everything with original data
   
10. Delete all Emails in Search Folder 1 and 3 (also empty trash folder). Manually clean sent-folder again.
    
11. Back-up evolution and call the file “evolution_archive2008_Q4”
    
12. Transfer your Archive files to your Virtual box share with the host system, and try to restore each of them in your virtual box Evolution. Each time overwriting your data and putting up the original structure, but with only emails form the archive period. See it works ! Nice huh.
    
13. Leave Virtual Box and go back to Real time system (host) and open Evolution.
    
14. Delete all Emails in Search Folder 1 and 2, (also empty trash folder, and manually clean sent-folder), and you will be left with only your recent email, from January 1 2009 until current.
    

Once up-to-date, you can simplify the procedure, by Archiving (back-up) on the last day of the Quarter, then clean up the previous quarter at later date, when you feel like it, but before you Archive the next Quarter. (using search folders)

NOTE 1: I would suggest, using your virtual box evolution, to browse any of your archives. This keeps your real-time host clean and issue free.

NOTE 2: In this procedure I have listed a quarterly archive, if you don't have massive amounts of email, a yearly one will do.