Ways to archive and backup Outlook data: PST and OST files. Find and transfer Outlook data files from one computer to another Outlook express file

Outlook Express is included in the initial operating system installation Windows systems XP and is therefore widely used among users. You don't have to pay extra for it, and Outlook Express allows you to perform basic email operations and even maintain an address book with all the necessary contact information.

To the disadvantages mail program This may include poor security of information storage and lack of a backup mechanism. But the last problem can be solved manually. In practice, sometimes the task arises of reinstalling the operating system while preserving the user’s personal correspondence, or the task of transferring messages Email stored in Outlook Express to another computer. This is where you will need a manual backup of your existing correspondence and address book with contacts.

The email data migration process can be divided into several stages:

Backup email messages.

Address book backup.

Recovering email messages.

Address book recovery.

Backing up email messages

Most important stage. You must manually copy the files that store all your emails to another drive. But first of all, you should find out where the mail files are located in Outlook Express.

Address Book Backup

If you have a large address book or have very important contact information, then, like email messages, you should reserve them so as not to lose something important.

Recovering email messages

When you start the new Outlook Express (after Windows reinstallation XP or do it on another computer), immediately after setting up your email accounts, you can restore all previously saved messages. For this:

Quit Outlook Express.

Make sure that you have the option to show hidden files.

Go to the folder in the following path "C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\Microsoft\Outlook Express" and copy over the existing files, those that you reserved earlier in the first stage of this article.

Launch Outlook Express. The Inbox, Outbox, Sent Items, etc. folders will contain your old emails.

Address book recovery

You can also add contacts from your address book saved in your recovered email messages. CSV file at stage 2.

When you reinstall your operating system or change computers, you probably don't want to lose messages from your email client. In principle, they shouldn’t disappear anywhere anyway, but cases are different. Even if you do not plan any actions with your computer, it is better to play it safe and create backup copy all your letters.

How to save emails in Outlook

When using any method, along with the letter, its attachments are also saved, but it is impossible to save only the attachments without writing an individual script.

Saving specific emails

Selective saving of mail is exactly the method that is usually understood as saving a letter. It is designed to save certain emails, but nothing prohibits you from saving all your mail in this way.

Select the letter you need (left-click as when opening) and go to the “File” tab.
Select the letter you need and go to the “File” tab
Click "Save As".
Will open standard window saving the document. Save the letter to your desired location.
Select a folder and save the letter to the desired location

How to select multiple emails

If you select several emails and go to save, all selected ones will be saved. There are two options to do this:

to select several specific letters, click on each of them while holding down the Ctrl key;
You can select all letters in a group using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+A (first click on one of the letters so that the general selection command is applied specifically to the panel with letters).

Export (save) all letters to a pst file

This method involves creating a pst file that will contain all letters and their attachments.

Go to the "File" tab, click on "Open and Export" and open "Import and Export". In Outlook 2010, the path to this window will be different: “File” - “Options” - “Advanced” - “Export”.
Go to the "File" tab, click on "Open and Export" and open "Import and Export"
Select Export to File.
Select “Export to file” in the window that opens and click “Next”
Select "Outlook Data File" and click "Next"
Select your mailbox and check “Include subfolders.” Exporting from multiple boxes at once is not possible.
Select your mailbox and check "Include subfolders"
Select the path for the file to be created and click Finish.
Select the path for the file to be created and click “Finish”
In the next window you will be asked to set a password for the file being created. Just click OK.
Click OK if you don't want to enter your password every time to access your saved mail.

Where does Outlook store emails?

Outlook has its own pst file in which all your mail is saved. This file is similar to the one the creation of which was described above. It can be located in different places.

Possible paths to the pst file for Outlook 2016 and 2013:

drive:\Users\<имя пользователя>
drive:\Users\<имя пользователя>\Roaming\Local\Microsoft\Outlook;
drive:\Users\<имя пользователя>\Documents\Outlook Files;
drive:\Users\<имя пользователя>\My Documents\Outlook Files\;
drive:\Documents and Settings\<имя пользователя>

Possible paths to the pst file for Outlook 2010 and 2007:

drive:\Users\<имя пользователя>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook;
drive:\Users\<имя пользователя>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook.

Video: Export and Import Outlook Data

How to recover letters

By restoration, many understand two completely different actions: import from pst file and restore deleted message. We will describe both of these actions.

Import (recovery) of letters from a pst file

This method assumes that you have a pst file. How to create it is described above.

Open the Import and Export window as if you were exporting, and select Import from Another Program or File.
Select "Import from another program or file" in the window that opens
Select Outlook Data File.
Select "Outlook Data File" from the list and click "Next"
Specify the path to the file. If it is possible for emails in Oulook to match with messages from the pst file, pay attention to the settings and select the one you need.
Specify the path to the file using the "Browse..." button and click "Next"
Select the entire "Outlook Data File", select the account you want to export emails to, and click "Finish".
Select the entire "Outlook Data File", select the account you want to export emails to and click "Finish"

Video: Importing data into Microsoft Outlook 2010 from a pst file

Recovering deleted emails

If you have emptied the internal Outlook trash, you will no longer be able to recover the email.

In the folder panel, open “Deleted Items”. To see this panel in Outlook 2016 and 2013, click “All Folders” or the spread arrow on the left side of the window.
Open "Deleted Items" in the folder panel
Click on the desired letter right click mouse, select "Move", and then the first option offered (this will be the folder from which the letter was deleted).
Right-click on the desired letter, select “Move”, and then the first option offered
If you have Outlook 2010 or 2007, this option will not be available. Select "Other folder" and specify the path yourself.
Select "Other folder" and specify the path yourself

How to archive letters

We mentioned earlier about the main Outlook pst file. Over time, more and more letters and attachments accumulate in it, and accordingly its size also grows. To free up some space on your hard drive, you can enable archiving.

Archiving emails in Outlook is not divided into automatic and manual.

Archiving involves turning one or more folders with letters (inside a pst file) into an archive. The folders themselves will not change in any way for you, but everything that is there now and will end up in the future will be compressed.

Possible problems with letters

As with all products in the package Microsoft Office, Otlook sometimes encounters problems, but they can all be solved very simply. The reasons most often lie in incorrect settings of the email client itself.

Outlook marks an email as read

If an email is marked as read regardless of whether you read it or not, go to the File tab and open Options.
Go to the "File" tab and open "Options"
Go to the "Mail" section and open the "Reading Pane...".
Uncheck the first item and click OK

Outlook doesn't mark read emails

If read emails are not marked - as in the case of the previous problem - you need to go to the reading area settings. Check the box next to “Mark as read when selecting another message” and click OK.

Drag the slider all the way to the right and click next

Do not change anything in subsequent windows. After this, restart Outlook.

Creating backups - or saving information to additional media - is useful. Mail is lost quite rarely, but it is still better to have insurance, especially if the messages contain important data. Try to save the file with letters periodically, even if you do not plan any changes.

Well, of course, you say - on local computer in a personal folders (.pst) file. Perhaps, I will answer. But it's not at all necessary. And it’s not at all that simple. Mail can also be stored on the server. But on a local computer, there are two types of folders for storing mail - personal and archive?

Let's try to figure this out.

Free space on a computer that receives email is limited. Sooner or later, you'll want to know how you can create private files for your email messages. You can store these files locally on your computer, where you won't have size limits set by someone else.

A user might think that email is hosted on their computer because that's where they view it. In fact, when working with an Exchange server or a web-based email service, most messages remain on the server until the user moves them to another location.

Where, then, should the email be moved? Microsoft allows you to create local data files, called personal folder files (PST), that will actually reside on your local computer. There are a number of benefits to using personal folder files.

No reminders. If you store all your email in an inbox located on a server, sooner or later you will receive a message asking you to empty your inbox. In some cases, such messages may contain a threat to block the mailbox until the user fulfills these requirements. Storing email in a local Microsoft Outlook folder file prevents you from receiving these types of messages.

No congestion. By storing less important messages in a separate folder, you can focus on the most important messages.

Reducing used disk space. The ability to compress personal folder files (PST) makes them the most efficient way to store messages. The less disk space the files occupy, the more of it is available to the user.

Freedom of movement. PST files can be moved from one computer to another and can also be stored on a CD. You can also store these files on a computer that you share with other users, and assign a password to control access to the messages.

Archive and personal folders are not part of mailbox.

Mailbox
Archive folders and personal folders

Received messages are placed in the Inbox folder. Typically, the Inbox folder is located inside mailbox along with the “Calendar”, “Contacts” and others folders. If messages are stored locally, they are moved to archive or personal folders, which are separate files data outside mailbox. Microsoft Outlook has information about the location of these folders, but it is not accessible to the server.

You can use either personal or archive folders, or both, to store messages in a personal folders file!

What is the difference between archive and personal folders?

It is important to consider two points from the very beginning.

Messages stored in a personal folders (.pst) file are not accessible from the email server. They are on the local computer, and the user moving to another computer will not be able to read these messages until he moves them to the new machine.
Only one user can work on a PST file at a time. Even if the computer is shared and you have permissions for multiple users to access the Personal Folders file, each user must close the PST file before the other user can open it.

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It seems like a very simple question: Where is email stored?

Mail can be stored on the server or in a personal folder on your computer (personal folders file, PST file). Today we'll talk about how messages are stored on your computer.

Storing messages locally on your own computer

Let's say you decide to reduce your mailbox size by storing email messages on your computer (instead of storing them, for example, on a mail server). Perhaps you simply need to move some of the messages associated with an important project from one computer to another. How to do it? Where will the email be stored after completing these steps?
Answer: Mail will be stored in Outlook personal folder (Personal Folders file, PST file). There are two ways to store mail in PST files.

Creating and using personal folders (.pst files) is quite simple in Outlook. Below are a number of reasons why you should use personal folders.

Freeing up space on the server Personal folders should be used when receiving from system administrator notifications that the mailbox size is approaching the maximum allowable size.
More efficient documentation Use personal folders to store messages you need for professional or personal purposes. PST storage allows you to maintain a paper trail.
Portability You can use Personal Folders to move or copy messages from one computer to another, or to back them up to a CD or other removable media.

Think before saving messages locally

Messages stored in a .pst file can only be accessed by one user at a time, so some organizations' policies do not allow or explicitly prohibit message storage locally.

We've just looked at the benefits of this approach, but it's also important to know that local storage isn't for everyone. To figure out if it's right for you, you need to consider the facts below.

When using PST files, messages can only be accessed from one computer at a time. Messages stored in PST files are less accessible than messages on the mail server. Messages are stored on your computer, so they will not be accessible from another computer. (For a way around this limitation, see the last course in the series.)
Only one user can work on a PST file at a time. Even if you share a computer and provide public access PST file, the user will be able to open this file only after the user working with the file closes the file.
Local storage may be prohibited by organizational policies. Some organizations have rules governing what can and cannot be stored. An organization's retention policies may prohibit (or prevent) the creation of .pst files. Instead of moving messages into their own folders, users are given access to special "managed folders." Typically, such folders are created and managed by the system administrator.

It's time to take action using the archiving feature

We've looked at some of the advantages and disadvantages of storing messages locally. It's time to consider ways. Let's start with archiving. The main benefit of the Archive feature (also known as AutoArchive) is that you only need to click a button to use it. Yes.

In a typical Outlook installation, AutoArchive is enabled by default. (The fourth course in the series will show you how to change the default settings.) This means that once you click the button Yes in the window Outlook messages“Auto-Archive Old Items Now?”, the AutoArchive feature will start doing its job.

The AutoArchive feature moves messages based on their retention period. This is done regularly (eg every 14 days) as long as the user answers "Yes".

Below is an overview of how this feature works.

To start the procedure, click the button Yes.

Messages are moving from the mailbox...

...to the archive folder.

Outlook creates this folder automatically.

All mailbox subfolders are automatically mirrored to an archive folder, and messages are moved to those subfolders according to their location in the mailbox. Thus, the archiving function copies the mailbox structure to the archive folder. As you can see in the picture, the Alpine Ski House and Contoso folders look exactly the same in the archive folder as they do in the mailbox.

Again, Outlook does all the work automatically.

As you may have noticed, Outlook does most of the work automatically. If you're the kind of person who needs everything to be neat but doesn't care how exactly it gets done, the archiving feature is your choice. How does this feature relate to personal folders? We will consider this issue further.

Personal folders provide maximum degree control

Unlike the archiving feature, when using personal folders, you have to do some of the work yourself. This means that you will have to create folders and subfolders and put messages there. Messages can be moved by dragging and dropping, using menu commands, or by creating your own rules. What are the benefits of this? Since you move the messages yourself, you can arrange them in any way you want.

Is this method right for you?

You periodically empty your inbox.
You save messages every time you read them.
You group messages by project, topic, and other important categories.
You enjoy developing storage systems and expect to update those systems, for example after completing old projects and starting new ones.
You create rules to move messages to specified folders.

If so, you'll love the amount of control that personal folders provide.

In both cases, PST files are used

As you already know, both Archiving and Personal Folders move messages (not copy them) to the Outlook folder. In both cases, the moved messages will always be available in a folder in the Outlook Navigation Pane.

Another similarity is that in both cases, folders, subfolders, and the messages within them are stored in a file called the Outlook data file. This file is also known as Outlook Personal Folders file, PST file, and Personal Vault (PST file is stored on your personal computer).

Additional Personal Folder Type

For some account types, email is delivered directly to a personal folder. If email is delivered directly to your computer, as is the case with a POP3 account or a properly configured Exchange Server account, your mailbox will look like the mailbox outlined in red in the figure. This means that in the navigation pane next to the mailbox icon it will say Personal folders.

What does this mean? Typically, this means that the email is delivered directly to a PST file on your computer. (By default, this file is named Outlook.pst.) Even if mail is delivered to this type of personal folder, you can still use the Archive feature or a personal folder that you create yourself. Disk space is limited and folders fill up, so once you've put everything in order, finding the data you need is much faster.

By archiving them or creating a backup copy, as well as ways to restore Outlook data files (.pst or .ost) from a backup or archive.

After all, no matter whether you use Outlook to create and send emails, import contacts from Gmail into your email client's address book, or use it address book, whether you create tasks or calendar marks in it, this means that a lot of valuable data is stored in your email client. In this regard, it is useful for every Outlook user to know how to secure and save their data to avoid losing it in the future.

Content:

Mail control panel

First, let's look at the Outlook control panel and mail settings, with which you can configure your email client in Windows. To open it, go to the Control Panel of your computer and select the section Mail.

In the window that opens Mail settings Three sections are available: Accounts, Data files, Configurations.

Selecting the first two items opens the same window Email account settings, only with different bookmarks, in which you can add an account, see where the data of each mail account is stored, restore or make changes to it.

To add an account in Outlook, click the button Accounts, and in the bookmark Email click Create.

If you need to perform certain actions with the data of a specific mail account, then to do this, go to the tab Data files in which you can do the following:

Add or remove a data file.
Install Data File Options.
In this menu, in addition to other functions, there is a function to reduce the size of the data file, which will be useful if such a file "will increase" to large sizes and will take up a lot of space on your computer’s hard drive. To do this, click on the menu Parameters button Compress.
Set the default data file to be the main one.
Open the location of the file (data file) by clicking the corresponding button.

Outlook data files (.pst and .ost)

Most often, the user does not need to know where the Outlook email client stores its data. But if you need to create a backup copy of your mail client data or transfer it to another drive in order to save or free up free space hard drive computer, you need to know its location.

Outlook stores emails each mail account in .pst or .ost file, but the location of such a file depends on the version of the mail client used. In this article, we will show where Outlook data files are located, and how you can change their location if necessary.

If you've been using Outlook for a while, you've probably heard of PST files. Each email box in Outlook has its own data storage in the form of a PST file, in which all letters and correspondence, calendar marks and reminders are saved. PST file data may or may not be compressed and encrypted, depending on the settings made.

You may have noticed that the larger the amount of data stored in a PST file, the slower the email client begins to work. From time to time, Outlook offers to archive older messages to reduce this issue by downloading less data to the email client when it starts.

You may also have seen a file with the .ost extension in the Outlook data folder. OST files have a similar function to PST files, but are used as temporary offline email storage. The point is that the user can use messages from the OST file while the email server is disconnected (no Internet connection), and after the connection is restored, Outlook synchronizes everything.

That is, a PST file is created by Outlook in case of saving all email and correspondence on the local computer, and an OST file is created when working with email hosts that save all data email box on a remote server (for example, Gmail or Outlook.com). In this case, the OST file simply contains a local copy of your email data.

Where are Outlook data files stored?

The location where Outlook data files are stored depends on the version of the program. Outlook 2007 and 2010 saves by default PST And OST files to folder AppData:

C:\Users\ Username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook

Starting with Outlook 2013, the location of PST files has changed and they are now stored in the Documents folder. So, Outlook 2013 and 2016 saves PST files in the following folder:

C:\Users\ Username\Documents\Outlook Files

See storage folder PST or OST a specific account file can also be done using Outlook itself. To do this, go to the menu File / Setting up accounts.

In the window Account settings in the Data files tab, select the account you want to view (if there are several of them) and click "Open file location"

Outlook will open an Explorer window and show the folder in which it is stored. PST file (or OST file, if this account uses one).

Archiving Outlook Data

The main data file that Outlook works with is a file called account. You can also create an archive or backup copy from this file. This can be done by setting up automatic data archiving or manually archiving data.

Automatic data archiving

To set up automatic archiving of Outlook data, open the application and go to the File tab. Select the required account from the pop-up menu (if there are several).

After that, click Cleaning Tools and select the menu item.

After clicking the button, Outlook will archive installed folders mailbox. To change the autoarchive settings, just right-click on one of the folders in your Outlook mailbox and select Properties / / .

By clicking the button Default archive settings, you can set archiving of folder items with default settings.

Manually back up Outlook data

If there is no need to set up automatic mail archiving, then this can be done manually. To do this, go to the menu File / Cleaning products / Archive.

In the menu that opens, set the necessary parameters and click Ok.

As a result of both described methods of archiving Outlook data, the mail client will create a file with a data archive that can be imported back if necessary.

Backup and restore your Outlook data file

Also, to ensure the safety of your email client data, you can create a backup copy of the Outlook data file. Just copy it .pst or .ost your account file to another drive or to cloud storage. To do this, open the location the desired file PST and copy it.

To restore the data file copied in this way, open Outlook and go to File / Open and export / Open Outlook data file, and select the required data file.

As a rule, the email client immediately opens the folder with data files.

After this, Outlook will display all the data from the selected file PST, and you will be able to use mail as usual. If there is no longer a need to use this backup copy of the data file, this data can be deleted from the mail client.

Note. As you can see in the Outlook Data, Files and Settings Import and Export Wizard, data can only be imported from a file PST. That is, if your mail account uses an OST data file, it will not be able to import it in this form. To do this, you will need to convert the OST file to PST format. Such conversion is not possible using the built-in tools in Outlook; for this, use third-party software.

How to change the default Outlook data file storage folder (.pst or .ost)

If you need to move your Outlook files from drive C or simply to a more convenient location, then this can also be done. You just can't this file just copy by holding the left mouse button. If you do this, Outlook will create a new file in the default folder for PST file and as a result, some of the mailbox information will be lost. To move a data file, you must change the default storage location for Outlook files using the registry before moving the file.

Attention. Registry Editor is a tool that can cause damage if done incorrectly. operating system, after which its operation will become unstable. Therefore, be careful when performing any actions with the Registry Editor, or better yet, create a backup copy of it before making any changes.

Close Outlook and open Registry Editor.

On the left side Registry Editor go to the following path:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\

where 16.0 is the version of your Outlook.

Next, create a new unit in this folder. To do this, right-click in the right window and select Create / Expandable string parameter. Name the new unit "ForcePSTPath".

Please note that if you are working with OST file, then you need to create a unit with the name "ForceOSTPath". Often, users create both units so that all Outlook files are saved in one folder.

Double click on the new unit ( "ForcePSTPath" or "ForceОSTPath") and in the properties window that opens, specify the folder in which you want to save Outlook data files, then click Ok.

Close Registry Editor. After this, Outlook should create a new PST file in the specified new folder, and you can now transfer the old one PST file to a new folder. Once opened, Outlook should work as before.