Summary: In this blog post, we have explained how to view MBOX files in Windows Outlook. We’ve provided two methods to view and open MBOX file in Outlook. A direct and simple solution to open MBOX file in Outlook is by using an MBOX to PST converter tool.
MBOX file format is used by many leading email clients, such as Mozilla Thunderbird, Apple Mail, Opera Mail, etc. to store the mailbox data. If you want to view MBOX files in Windows Outlook, you can’t do it directly as Windows MS Outlook doesn’t support MBOX format. In this post, we’ve mentioned the ways to view MBOX in Outlook.
How to View MBOX Files in Windows Outlook?
There are two ways to view MBOX file in Windows Outlook.
1. Manual Way
You need to first import the MBOX file into an MBOX-based application, such as Mozilla Thunderbird and then create a dummy Gmail account to transfer the MBOX data to Windows Outlook. Follow these steps:
- Install Mozilla Thunderbird on your system and create a new account.
- After the account is set up, right-click Local Folders.
- In the menu that opens, click Settings.
- In the window that opens, click the Browse button and provide the location of the MBOX file’s folder.
- Restart Thunderbird. The folders saved in the MBOX file will be displayed under the Local Folders tab.
- Create a dummy Gmail account and then setup the account in Thunderbird.
- Drag and drop the MBOX emails from the Local Folders tab to a folder in the Gmail mailbox.
- After copying all the emails from MBOX to Gmail, close Thunderbird.
- Open Microsoft Outlook on your system and set up the same Gmail account you used earlier. Wait for the application to download your emails from Google’s server.
2. Automated Way
You can use a third-party MBOX to PST converter tool, such as Stellar Converter for MBOX to convert the MBOX files into PST. It is also the best MBOX viewer and converter tool to convert MBOX files of popular email clients, such as Apple Mail, Opera Mail, etc.
Following are some best features of Stellar Converter for MBOX:
- Converts single or multiple MBOX files to PST
- Saves MBOX data in RTF, PDF, and HTML formats (Technician edition)
- Previews MBOX mailbox before saving the data in the desired format
- Saves MBOX data in a new or existing Outlook data file
- Supports all popular MBOX-based email clients, such as Apple Mail, Thunderbird, Eudora, SeaMonkey, Netscape, etc.
- Exports MBOX data to an Office 365 account directly (Technician edition)
Follow these steps to convert MBOX to PST with Stellar Converter for MBOX:
- Open the application and select the email client that created the MBOX file. For instance, if the MBOX file was generated by Apple Mail, then select Apple Mail in the list. Then click the Select File button and provide the MBOX file’s location on your system.
- After selecting the MBOX file, click the Convert button. Wait for the program to complete the conversion process. When the process is complete, the software will display the contents of the MBOX file in a three-pane window.
- Inspect the mailbox items in the preview window and select those that you want to convert to Outlook data file (PST).
- After selecting the MBOX items, click the Save Converted File button under the Home tab.
- In the window that opens, select the option New PST and click Next.
- Provide a location for saving the PST file and click the OK button.
Conclusion
You can’t directly open or view an MBOX file in Windows Outlook because Outlook doesn’t support MBOX files. Though you can manually transfer the emails from MBOX file to Outlook via Gmail account, it is time-consuming and requires technical proficiency. If you are migrating from an MBOX-based email client to Outlook, then you need to convert the MBOX file to PST. You can use a reliable MBOX to PST converter software for this task.
