Export email, calendars, contacts and more from OST files

When working with Microsoft Outlook, an OST (Offline Storage Table) file plays a significant role in storing emails, calendars, contacts, and tasks on your local system. This offline copy allows you to access your data even when you're not connected to the Exchange server. However, situations arise where users may need to export this data into a more portable PST (Personal Storage Table) format.

The need for such an export can occur for several reasons. Users might be switching to a new Outlook account or version, migrating between systems, or simply creating a backup of their essential data. OST files, while reliable, can sometimes become inaccessible due to issues like orphaned files or connection problems with the Exchange server. In such cases, exporting emails, calendars, and contacts from OST to PST ensures the preservation of critical information without data loss.

This guide will walk you through the necessary steps to export your Outlook OST data whether it’s email messages, calendar entries, or contact lists into a PST format for safe migration or backup..

1. How to extract calendars and contacts from OST files?

   • Method 1: Export calendars and contacts from Outlook

     You can export emails, calendars and contacts from Outlook with the following steps.

     From Outlook 2021, 2019, 2016 and 2013:

     Repeat the steps for exporting and importing contacts and other mail items from the OST file. See how to download Outlook emails to the hard drive.

     • Step 1: Launch Outlook and open the Import/Export Wizard
       • Open Outlook and go to the ‘File’ tab
       • Click ‘Open & Export’ > ‘Import/Export’

         

     • Step 2: Select Export to a file and choose Outlook data file
       • In the Import and Export Wizard, select ‘Export to a File’
       • Select ‘Outlook Data File (.pst)’ and click ‘Next’

         

     • Step 3: Select the calendars and contacts to export
       • Select the ‘Calendar’ from the list of mail items and folders and select the option to include subfolders.
       • Click ‘Browse’ and select the location to export the PST file.
       • You can also password-protect the output file before continuing with the export.

         

     • Step 4: Start the export and import the PST file into Outlook
       • Finally start the export operation of the calendars from the OST file to PST
       • To import the exported items into Outlook, launch Outlook again and go to the Import/Export wizard.
       • Select ‘Import from another program or file’ and follow the steps to import all your contacts into Outlook.

     From Outlook 2010 and 2007:

     • Step 1: Go to the Import/Export wizard in Outlook
     • Step 2: Click Export to a file and choose Personal Folder file (.pst)
     • Step 3: Select the Calendars and include the subfolders
     • Step 4: Select the location to save the PST file and start the export

     Limitation: The method to export calendars and contacts from Outlook fails if the OST file is corrupted, orphaned, inaccessible, or if the Exchange server is no longer available. In such cases, you must convert the OST to PST file to extract calendars and contacts from the OST file.

   • Method 2: Export calendars and contacts with OST to PST Converter

     EdbMails OST to PST Converter offers a comprehensive solution to export all your data from an OST file to a PST file, including emails, contacts, calendars, tasks, notes, journals, and appointments. It ensures that the exact folder hierarchy of the source OST file is preserved in the target PST file, so your data remains organized and intact. After conversion, simply open the exported PST file in Microsoft Outlook to access all your contacts, calendar events, and emails—everything originally stored in the OST file. Plus, if you need to selectively back up specific contacts or calendar entries, EdbMails’ advanced filter settings make this effortless.

     • Step 1: Download and install EdbMails converter tool for OST
     • Step 2: Select the OST file containing the emails and mailbox items
     • Step 3: Select the calendars and contacts and click ‘Export to Outlook PST’
     • Step 4: Browse the location to save the PST file and start the conversion!

       

     •   Detailed step by step guide to convert from OST to PST file format

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Additional resources

• Corrupt OST file recovery
• Unicode and ANSI OST file format to PST
• Split OST file
• Rebuild OST file
• Exchange mailbox backup
• Recover orphaned OST file
• OST vs PST, What’s the difference?
• Convert OST to PST from all Exchange and Outlook versions