What is a PST file?
PST stands for Personal Storage Table. Outlook stores messages, calendar and contacts in it as one file on the computer, for example during an export or as an archive.
Because the file sits outside the server, it is not part of any mailbox backup. For permanent use in a company, a mailbox with an archive is the better place.
Importing a PST file into Outlook
In classic Outlook for Windows the import goes through the File menu:
- 1Choose File, then Open & Export and Import/Export.
- 2Select Import from another program or file and choose Next.
- 3Select Outlook Data File with the .pst extension and choose Next.
- 4Pick the PST file and decide how Outlook handles duplicates.
- 5Choose the destination folder and select Finish.
The new Outlook for Windows
In the new Outlook, importing emails, contacts and calendar items is currently not available according to Microsoft. Messages in a PST file can be opened and moved there, calendars and contacts from the file cannot.
To read a PST file in full, use classic Outlook or copy the file into the mailbox on the server.
PST or OST?
An OST file is the offline copy of an account that Outlook creates itself. It belongs to exactly that account and is not meant to be passed on.
For a migration you therefore export the content from Outlook into a PST file or move the mailbox directly from the server.
Bringing a PST file into a new mailbox
When switching providers, importing on the server is the shorter route: the file is uploaded once and lands in the mailbox, without a computer having to run for days.
This is especially worthwhile for old archives and for mailboxes of people who have left, which only exist as a file.
Email migration