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What is a PST File? Facts You Need to Know

by Anshu Dev

The PST files are known as the files with the .PST extension that works as Outlook Personal Information Store file that stores all the personal information of MS Outlook used in the Microsoft Exchange or Microsoft Outlook. They might include various attachments such as contacts, messages, calendar items, addresses, and more. 

Outlook Personal Information Store files come with a size limit of 2GB, which is the overall size and exceeding it might decrease the performance of your PST files. You can use the PST recovery tool to make the size of the file smaller. It will remove anything beyond the 2GB limitation and create a new PST file of relevant size. 

How Can You Open the PST Files?

Most users open the PST files in an effective email program that can use different types of data, including the MS Exchange server or MS Outlook server. Outlook Express is capable of importing the PST files; however, they don’t contain information to a PST file as MS Outlook does. 

If you want to open a PST file in a Mac or Microsoft Entourage, use you need to use the Import tool of Microsoft for the Entourage. 

You can also use various third-party tools to open the PST files without the MS email program. Since they are not an actual or reliable email client, you can use them to search and open the contents of the email and extract the messages or attachments out of the PST file. If you want to repair a corrupted PSTyou can also use these third-party tools. These tools will help you explore the PST files without the email client so that you can export the attachments such as MHT, MSG, and EMLX. They can pull out the emails only or the attachments as well, plus create an HTML index of the messages. 

If your system is suffering from a corrupted PST file that is not accessible, you should try the third-party tools to cure the corrupted pst

How Can You Convert the PST Files?

Remember that the original PST files that come with the .PST extension aren’t compatible with many programs. This is a crucial aspect you should know before you start converting your PST files. However, it’s possible to implement some converting or extracting so that you can make the embedded emails work as per the specific programs. 

For instance, one of the best ways to open your MS Outlook PST data files on Gmail is by setting up an identical email account on your PC and then transferring all the emails and other contents from your Gmail data to your Outlook data file. After that, you can sync the email server with the email client as well as the messages that are sent to Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, or any other account that you use as a desktop client. As per Slash Gear, Yahoo is a famous email client.

You can also use third-party tools to convert the MS Outlook PST files into other file formats. However, make sure you convert them one at a time. Converting multiple PST files at the same time will cause corruption. You can also save multiple emails with the PST file to PDF as well as other types of image formats. 

Copy and Backup Your PST Data Files 

You are capable of moving your PST data files anywhere you want and even creating a backup copy of the PST file in case your current one is corrupted or deleted. However, you need to search for the location of the PST file, which can be done from the Account Settings option on the screen. 

Make sure you follow the directions to find the data files in MS Outlook. Once you’re done locating it, you need to ensure that your MS Outlook application is closed and then copy the items of the PST files anywhere you want. 

Another great option is to use the built-in export function of MS Outlook so that you can easily save the PST files to your hard drive or flash drive. Here is the direction: File > Open & Export > Import/Export > Export to a File > Outlook Data File (.pst). 

Adding the PST Files to Your Outlook 

If you’re using the MS Outlook or PST files for the first time, remember that you won’t face any problems while restoring the PST files in your MS Outlook application, or include an additional PST file so that you can easily switch between the data files to copy other specific messages or read other contents of your email to a different email account. 

We mentioned the process of finding the data files. Hence, you won’t face any problems. While following those steps, don’t forget to select the Add option so that you can add the PST files to another data file. If you’re planning to use that data file as the default data file of MS Outlook, just choose the option Set as Default. 

Conclusion 

Now you know some helpful insights about the MS Outlook PST data files. If you have any problems regarding your PST data files, don’t hesitate to contact us. 

 

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