Summary: Outlook stores emails in an Outlook data file, such as OST or Offline Folder, which is encrypted by default with MAPIEntryID GUID key. Thus, it requires authentication from the linked MAPI profile to access or extract and export the emails. In this guide, we help you access, read, and extract emails from OST file. We also mention an OST to PST converter that can extract emails from inaccessible or orphaned OST file.
Contents
To extract emails from the active OST file, you can export the emails from Outlook via Outlook Import Export wizard to PST files. Unlike OST (Offline Folder), you can import the exported PST (Personal Folder) file (containing emails and other mailbox items) into any Outlook profile, live Exchange mailbox, or Exchange Online (Office 365). You may also drag and drop an email into a folder and save each individual email as .eml (email) file.
However, if the OST file is not accessible or the Outlook profile is corrupt or deleted and you can?t access Outlook, then it is not possible to extract emails from OST file to PST via Outlook Import Export wizard. In such situations, an OST to PST converter software, such as Stellar Converter for OST, comes in handy. Besides PST, the software also allows you to save individual emails in EML, MSG, HTML, PDF, and RTF formats. Thus, you can open the extracted emails through various applications, such as a web browser, text editor, etc.
In this guide, we?ll discuss the methods to extract emails from OST file to PST and other desired formats.
Methods to Extract Email from OST File
The methods explained below works with all Outlook versions – Outlook 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, and 2019.
Method 1: Drag and Drop Emails
To extract email from an active OST file, you can open Microsoft Outlook and simply drag and drop an email on your Desktop or any folder. The steps are as follows:
- Open Microsoft Outlook and access your email profile.
- Access the email folder and select which emails you want to extract. You can use the Shift key to select multiple emails.
- Once emails are selected, drag them and drop them on the Desktop or any folder you created to save the extracted emails.
- This saves the email files you selected as individual .eml files, which you can open and read via MS Outlook or an EML viewer tool.
This method works when the OST file is connected to the server mailbox and the Outlook profile is active.
Method 2: Extract Emails from OST to HTML, MSG, or TXT Format
Besides .eml, you can also retrieve new or older emails from OST to MSG, TXT, or HTML formats. The steps are as follows:
- In Outlook, open an email you want to extract and then click File > Save as.
- From the Save as type: dropdown, choose HTML, MSG, or TXT format and click ?Save.?
- Repeat the above steps to extract more emails from the Outlook OST file.
NOTE: This method is recommended when you need to extract a few emails from Outlook. Also, this method works when the OST file is accessible and connected to the mailbox server.
Method 3: Outlook Import Export Wizard to Extract Emails
This method also works when your Outlook profile and associated OST file are active and connected to the mailbox on the Exchange server. However, Outlook Import Export wizard extracts emails from OST file and save them to PST format.
The steps are as follows:
- In Outlook 2007, go to File and click Import and Export?.
- In Outlook 2010, go to File > Open and click Import.
- In Outlook 2013 and later versions, go to File > Open & Export and click Import/Export.
- Choose Export to a file and then click on Next.
- In Outlook 2007, select Personal Folder File (.pst) and then click Next.
- In MS Outlook 2010 and later versions, choose Outlook Data File (.pst) and click ?Next.?
- Choose the desired emails or email folders you want to extract from the OST file and click the Include Subfolders checkbox. Click Next to continue.
- Click Browse to select a save location, select the ?Replace duplicate with items imported? checkbox and then click Next.
- Enter a password (if required, this is optional) and then click OK to start extracting the emails from an OST file to a PST file.
Method 4: Use OST to PST Converter Tool to Extract Emails from OST
An OST to PST converter software, such as Stellar Converter for OST, not only helps you extract emails from OST but also recovers deleted emails and other mail items to PST, EML, MSG, PDG, HTML, and RTF formats. With the help of the software, you can also find and recover old or missing emails from OST files.
More Reasons to Prefer OST to PST Converter Over Manual Methods
- Recovers single or multiple emails from inaccessible or orphaned OST file to PST and various other formats.
- Helps read and retrieve emails from OST file when the mailbox database dismounts or corrupts due to a system crash or other reasons.
- Transfers emails from Outlook OST file to a new or existing Outlook profile.
- Facilitates seamless migration of emails and other items, such as contacts, attachments, notes, etc., from OST to any Outlook profile, live Exchange, or Office 365 account.
- Provides enhanced preview of each email and mail item before saving.
- Splits large OST mailbox into multiple PST files based on date range or size.
- Compacts PST file while saving to reduce the file size, which helps avoid corruption and damage.
Conclusion
Although manual methods (as explained in this post) extract emails from OST file to PST, EML, HTML, TXT, and MSG formats, they work when the Outlook profile is active and the OST file associated with the account is connected to the server. Moreover, these methods are recommended when you need to extract a few emails or mail items. To extract multiple emails from the OST file, including inaccessible or orphaned OST, you can use Stellar Converter for OST software. It not only helps you retrieve or restore current emails but also older, missing, and deleted emails from the OST file. Plus, you can extract and export the emails from the OST file directly to a live Exchange Server mailbox or Office 365 account (Exchange Online).
