The PST file is the data directory of Outlook, which contains all your mail accounts, all email messages, and other important information. If you want to import or export an Outlook PST file, you must understand this file before making any decisions.
What is a PST File?
PST files are used to store emails, contacts, and other Outlook items. When you create a new profile in Outlook on your computer, it creates a new PST file containing all the associated data.
For example, if you have multiple email accounts on your computer, each account has its mailbox and inboxes (or folders). You can store multiple copies of these files in separate locations depending on which folders they’re in.
How to Use PST Files to Import or Export?
Importing or exporting your PST files is a simple process. You can import them to a new location or export them to an existing location on your computer.
Importing files: If you want to move all of your data into a single file that Outlook can open, follow these steps:
- Open Microsoft Outlook 2016 (or higher) and create an account for yourself in Outlook 365 for Business or Education Unlimited plan.
- Once you’re logged into Outlook 2016 (or higher), click File > New > Text Document from the menu bar at the top left corner of the screen; this will open up a new window with a blank text document where now type a name for the new folder, which should contain all personal emails so far stored in PST file format along with attachments, etc., then hit Enter key on the keyboard after typing name like “My Folder Name.”
What Should You Be Aware of When Making the Import-Export Process?
When you import a PST file into Office 365, the following items are not supported:
- The ability to move or delete folders within the folder structure.
- The ability to rename files or folders after they’ve been imported.
- The ability to create subfolders within imported PST files.
- The ability to import password-protected PST files.
How to Prevent Duplicates after Importing Existing PST Files
To prevent duplicate items, you can use one of the following methods:
- Use the Merge Duplicates feature to merge two or more PST files into one. This will result in an additional copy of your data, and any duplicates present before merging will be removed from your new file.
- Use the Find Duplicate Items feature to look for identical or similar items within your data. The results will be displayed in a list that lists duplicate messages by their ID numbers rather than their names; these can then be deleted individually if necessary without affecting other copies of those same messages elsewhere on your computer’s hard drive (or another storage device).
What is the Alternative Way to Import Outlook Data from Outlook.Com?
If you’re importing your PST from a Gmail account, it’s important to note that it is not possible to import PST into Office 365 accounts or Outlook.com accounts. This is because the data in those systems is not stored as a PST file—it’s stored on Google Drive and in other cloud services like Box and Dropbox. However, if your email was sent via Gmail (or another non-Microsoft provider), there are some options available that may help:
- Importing emails from Gmail using Outlook 2016/17 Private Folders – This method works best if you have an existing folder containing all your email messages from your inboxes at Gmail and another provider (exchange server). It also works if you want to move all messages from one account into another without mixing them in one big inbox full of clutter.
If you want to migrate Outlook emails and other data from one version of Outlook to another or from your desktop to the cloud, you must first understand a PST file. A PST file is an archive of all your email messages, calendars, tasks, and notes stored in Microsoft Outlook.
A PST file can be either local or remote, depending on which version of Microsoft Office was used by an end user when they created the files.
Conclusion
Migrating Outlook data can be daunting, but you don’t have to worry. PST Files is a tool that makes it easy and safe to migrate your Outlook data from one version of Outlook to another or from your desktop to the cloud.
