This article describes the how to save and view messages received while offline.

Yahoo! Messenger now stores offline messages under the Archive Message folders. You'll need to enable the archiving feature if you'd like to save your offline messages for later reference. Archiving will allow you to save and view all online and offline messages. Here's how to do it:

1. Click the Messenger menu in Messenger.
2. Select Preferences.
3. Click the Archive category.
4. Check the Enable Archiving option. Enable each item that you want to archive. If you'd like to automatically delete archives after a certain number of days, place a check in the box next to Automatically Delete Files Older Than and enter a number.
5. Click OK at the bottom of the window.

Please Note: Uncheck the Enable Archiving option if you'd like to disable Archiving.

To view your archive:

1. Click the Contacts menu in Messenger.
2. Select Message Archive.
3. A new window called Message Archive for {your ID} should appear.
4. Select the archive folder you want to review.

To delete your archive:

1. Click the Contacts menu in Messenger.
2. Select Message Archive.
3. A new window called Message Archive for {your ID} should appear.
4. Select the Messages folder and then click the X button if you want to delete your complete Message Archive or select the desired folder and then click X to selectively delete.

A few things to remember:

• Under the Message menu, you can reply, save, and print messages, as well as view your archiving preferences.
• Under the Edit menu, you can copy messages to your clipboard or delete messages.
• Under the View menu, you can enable timestamps.

Please Note: Archives (.dat files located on your system) are encrypted and can only be viewed by the Yahoo! ID that created them. These archives are stored locally on your system, so the conversations held on that specific computer are only accessible from that computer. Once archives are deleted, they're gone, and cannot be retrieved.