Tip: Use Outlook to view archived .pst files

If you have archived .pst files, please be aware that they will not be migrated to Google@CPS. However, you can set up Outlook to view theses files. (If you do not take these steps, Outlook may freeze if you try to open it.) Here's how:

1. Click the Start Menu
2. Click Control Panel 
3. Click Mail 
4. Click Email Accounts
1. (In Outlook 2003) Select View or Change Existing Email Accounts and click Next
5. Select the Exchange accounts
6. Click Remove
7. Click OK
8. Click Close
9. Close the Mail Setup window and reopen Outlook 

Take caution: When you go into Outlook to view archived .pst files, you are not working in a live environment. That is, you will not be able to receive, send, forward, or reply to messages. You should consider your archives view only.

You Asked: What about my archived email?!

Many Outlook users currently archive email to .pst files for future reference. According to Board policy, it is okay to archive or print email that you need to keep beyond the one-year retention policy.

In Google@CPS, however, archiving batches of email isn't supported. Instead, to "archive" individual emails, you can do one of the following:

• Print them
• Save them locally as a PDF 
• Copy and paste the content into a Google Doc
• You will have to save any attachments separately.

If you need to access your currently archived .pst files, you will have to use Outlook to view them. These files cannot be migrated to Google. (And even if we were able to do that, email older than one year would disappear.) See instructions for setting up Outlook.

Finally, don't confuse Google's "Archive" button with offline archiving. They are completely different. In Google@CPS, archiving an email simply takes it out of your inbox and saves it to behind-the-scenes folder called "All Mail". This allows you to get it out of your way while still being able to reference it for up to one year. Email in the All Mail (Archive) folder will be deleted after one year just as if it were in your inbox.

You Asked: Yes or No

Sometimes all you want is a simple yes or no answer. This one's for you...


Will we have access to Google@CPS before the start of school? YES
Will training be available over the summer? YES
Will there be online training options? YES

Will my FirstClass email, calendar, and documents get moved over to Google@CPS? NO
Will you tell me how to move my data over? YES
How? On this website? YES
Will I have enough time to move the data? YES
Through September? YES

When we switch, will mail still go to FirstClass and Outlook? NO
Only to Google@CPS? YES

Will there be an icon on my desktop for Google@CPS? YES
Is it the colorful square icon? YES
And that will take me to the new login screen? YES

What if I use Outlook, will my email, calendar and contacts get moved over? YES
I heard that my rules, filters and delegations will not get moved over. Is that true? YES

If I continue to use Outlook, will I run into issues with mail delivery, notifications and calendar invitations/events? YES
So, I should stop using Outlook and only use the Google@CPS interface? YES

Can I access Google@CPS from home? YES
On my smartphone? YES
From a hotel in Singapore? YES
From an airplane that offers Internet access? YES
Will you tell me how to set up my smartphone? YES

If I have a personal Google account that uses the @cps.edu address, will I be able to keep it? NO
I’ll have to change it? YES
You’ll provide instructions? YES

Will I be able to create Groups for my classrooms? YES
Will I be able to collaborate on Google Doc with other CPS users? YES
Will I be able to collaborate on Google Docs with outsiders? NO

If I’m a teacher, will I be able to create Sites? YES

Will you answer all of my questions if I submit them through the Contact Us link? YES

You Asked: Can I still use Outlook?

We know it’s scary to switch from Outlook—we’re switching too, and we’ve all been using it for a long time! But this is a change that we can all stand behind because it is pushing CPS forward as a district.

There are many technical issues that make using Outlook challenging. For example, if you're using Outlook and try to set an Out of Office notification, no one will see it. There are many other technical problems, but a big concern is that you’ll be missing out on many of the best features of Google Apps, especially filtering, searching, and integration with Google Docs and Calendar. What will end up happening is everyone around you will be sharing documents and calendars, and you’ll have to go back and forth between Outlook and your browser to keep up.

So, for these reasons, the Google@CPS Steering Committee has agreed to stop supporting Outlook. That means if you use Outlook and run into problems, the Service Desk will not be able to effectively assist you. Ultimately, you will become frustrated.

For what it’s worth: One of the main reasons people cite for keeping Outlook is its ability to sort messages in a variety of ways. While it’s true that Google email is only sorted by date, its search engine makes finding the right messages extremely easy. Nearly everything you can do in Outlook, you can do in Google@CPS.

As for your archived .pst files, you can still use Outlook to access those. Everything new will be in Google@CPS.

You Asked: Do we get new email addresses?

Everyone will use the cps.edu email address!


If you are a FirstClass user with a cps.edu email address, you will keep your address. The only difference is that you’ll start checking your email in Google, not FirstClass.


If you are an Outlook user with a cps.k12.il.us, you will start using the cps.edu address with your current username. And, like the rest of the district, you’ll also start working in Google, not Outlook. (You don’t have to worry about your contacts not finding you because your old email address will simply forward to your new address.)