Archiving Outlook emails ensures better inbox space management as you move relatively less important messages to a separate folder or location. Even though Microsoft Outlook archives emails in PST as a part of its default operational functionality, you can archive email messages in other file formats as well, like HTML, MSG, TXT, EML, PDF, or RTF. The prime advantage of email archiving in these formats is that you can access archived emails using common applications like web browsers, MS Word, MS Excel, etc. Further, it is a proactive approach to retrieving valuable data in the event of PST file corruption.
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Introduction:
Email archiving is beneficial for Outlook users in many ways. Firstly, it offers backup of vital data in case of PST file corruption. Another advantage is that it saves and preserves email messages for backup and future reference. It may be recalled that Microsoft Outlook, a popular email client among businesses and individuals, archives emails in PST data files by default.
There are many methods available for archiving email messages in Outlook. The first method is a manual archiving method that lets you manually archive the email. Alternatively, you can also use third-party tools to archive emails in other file formats like HTML, MSG, TXT, EML, PDF, or RTF. This blog post aims to disseminate knowledge on how to archive Outlook emails without PST.
Why Archiving Emails without PST is Not a Bad Idea?
In this section of the post, we will discuss why archiving in a non-PST file format is beneficial for Outlook users. Some of its advantages are listed below:
- Accessibility Across Different Devices: Easy accessibility is one of the main advantages of archiving emails in a non-PST format. We can access this data on common applications like web browsers, MS Word, MS Excel, etc. across different platforms and devices.
- Reduces the Risk of Data Loss: PST files are the cornerstone of Outlook’s functionality. But these files are always prone to corruption issues. Saving or archiving email files in other formats can help us retain our valuable data in a PST file corruption scenario.
- Data Portability: We can save non-PST archived emails on external hard disk, network drives, or cloud storage solutions. Such files can be easily accessed by normal devices with an active Internet connection.
- Better Organized: We can organize non-PST archived emails in a better manner. You can create a hierarchy or other category tree of items for better data management.
- Better Preservation: We can preserve archived Outlook email data saved in non-PST formats in a well-managed manner.
What are the Methods to Archive Outlook Emails without PST?
We have already discussed the pros of archiving Outlook emails. In this section, we will explore ways to archive email messages without PST. Some of the methods are listed below:
Method 1: Archive Outlook Emails in CSV Format:
We can archive emails in Comma Separated Values or CSV files. We can access data files archived in CSV format using MS Excel application. Follow the below steps to perform this task:
- Explore Outlook application
- Click on the File menu, click Open & Export, and then Import/Export tab
- Choose Export to a file, and then press Next
- Select Comma Separated Values and then click Next
- Select the email folder and then click Next button
- Press Browse to select the location to save the CSV file, then click Next
- Now press Map Custom Fields
- In the Map Custom Fields, give the path by selecting items in ‘From’ section and then drag the same to the ‘To’ section
- Click ‘OK’ and then click ‘Finish’
Method 2: Archive Outlook Emails to MSG or HTML Format:
We can also archive Outlook emails to MSG or HTMLformat following below steps:
- Initially, we need to create a folder where we want to save archived Outlook emails
- Open Outlook application and go to the email folder
- Hold ‘ctrl’ key and select emails you want to archive
- Simply drag-drop the selected mails to the folder created at the first stage
- After doing this, you will automatically save all those chosen emails in MSG or HTML file format
There is also a different method to archive emails to MSG or HTMLformat.
- Explore Outlook app and select messages you want to archive
- Click on File > Save As
- Give the location path and choose Outlook Message Format (.msg) or HTML (.htm, .html) from the dropdown of Save as type
- Click Save
Method 3: Archive to TEXT Format:
Another method to archive Outlook is export to Text only (.txt) format. Follow the below steps to archive emails using this method:
- Explore Outlook app and sort emails from oldest to newest
- Select older emails that fulfils your archiving criteria and click File > Save As.
- Give the location path and press Save
Method 4: Archive Emails using Software:
The methods that we have discussed in the previous section require manual effort. Even the Inbox Repair Tool, or Scanpst, is unable to archive Outlook email messages; rather, it only repairs corrupted PST files. Another hurdle in using the above methods is that we can’t select and archive multiple emails to different formats like HTML, EML, etc. instantly. We can archive only one format at a time.
But by employing specialized Outlook PST repair tool like Stellar Repair for Outlook, we can archive email messages in different formats. Stellar’s Professional version supports exporting files to PST, EML, MSG, RTF, HTML, and PDF file formats, while its Technician and Toolkit versions support exporting to MBOX or DBX file formats. Recommended by IT administrators for its easy functionality and advanced filters option to include/exclude emails, it can also restores deleted emails.
Conclusion:
Archiving Outlook email messages on a regular basis is a better approach. Though Outlook archives email messages in PST data file format by default, we can archive email messages in different file formats like HTML, MSG, TXT, EML, PDF, or RTF.
We have discussed certain manual approaches available in Outlook to archive email messages. But holding such manual exercises on a regular basis is not feasible. Also, there is a risk of data loss due to the unavailability of enough backup systems and storage media. Therefore, it is better to use an Outlook PST repair tool like Stellar Repair for Outlook for this task. Powered by many advanced features and filtering options, such tools will surely make your life easier, and your inbox better managed.
