Extract text from Outlook data files (PST)
To convert PST data files to another format, you need Microsoft Outlook or other Database software.
To convert other file formats to the "Email Archive File" file type, you need software like Microsoft Outlook or a similar tool.
The .PST file format, officially known as a Personal Storage Table, is an open proprietary database format built by Microsoft to store copies of messages, calendar events, and other items within Microsoft Outlook. Originally designed for enterprise exchange environments, these files act as local archives for user email data.
While ubiquitous in corporate environments, .PST files present severe disadvantages for modern data management. They are notoriously prone to corruption when they exceed older size limits (like the infamous 2GB limit in ANSI format, or the 50GB limit in modern Unicode formats) and when accessed over network drives. Opening a .PST file typically requires a paid license for desktop Microsoft Outlook; they are entirely unreadable by web browsers or standard text editors. Furthermore, native import/export tools in Outlook are slow, often freeze during large transfers, and lock the database during use.
To ensure long-term accessibility and avoid proprietary lock-in, you must convert .PST files to open standards. For migrating to other email clients like Mozilla Thunderbird or Apple Mail, convert to MBOX or EML. For legal archiving, e-discovery, or printing, extract the messages to .PDF/A. If you need to analyze tabular contact data, convert to CSV.
*(Note: A small percentage of .PST files are used as CAM post-processor files for CNC machines in software like Mastercam or ESPRIT. These are plain text or proprietary macro files entirely unrelated to email.)*
Convert.Guru analyzes your PST file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted PTS, OST, DBX, OLM, MBOX, PSI, PSV, ICS, WAB, RPMSG, ZIP, MSF and MSG files.
If you want to convert PST file to IST, EST, CST, UTC, MBOX, EML, PDF, GMT, CSV, JSON, XML or YAML, you can use Microsoft Outlook or similar software from the "Email and Calendar Archiving" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert DBF, XML, SQLITE, XLSX, SQL, TSV, ACCDB, YAML, MDB, CSV, ODS or JSON files to PST, try Microsoft Outlook or another comparable tool in the "Email and Calendar Archiving" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our PST converter.