How to Convert PST to Excel Format – Expert Guide

Summary: A significant number of users are attempting to convert PST to Excel, motivated by several valid and practical reasons. PST is the default Outlook data file for saving data, but it is not supported by many email clients. Therefore, for easier access, users often need to convert PST into Excel. Moreover, storing the PST data in a tabular form makes the organization better and efficient. To help you in this process, we have created a detailed step-by-step guide that covers all aspects, both manually and professionally, using PST Migrator. 

Reasons to Convert PST File to Excel

MS Excel is a spreadsheet application that is used by businesses to help in organizing, calculating, analyzing, and visualizing data. It makes data management easy, unlike the PST file format. 

Apart from this, here are some additional reasons for exporting PST Files to Excel:

• Accounting and financial monitoring become simple with Excel.
• It facilitates quick retrieval of specific data like subjects, date, and email ID.
• The MS Excel application organizes the data into a formal and structured format.
• It summarizes the email data and generates infographics for improved understanding.
• With Excel, users can protect the essential data by creating backups and preserving it against loss.
• It efficiently manages bulk data through sorting, filtering, and editing.

How to Convert PST to Excel Format?

In this section, you will discover both manual and professional options for converting PST Files to Excel format. Review the methods to determine the most appropriate solution for your requirements. 

Manually Import PST to Excel Using MS Outlook

For users who want to extract structured data from a PST file and convert it to an Excel-supported format. The method below uses Outlook’s Import/Export feature for PST file conversion. 

To import a PST file to Excel format, follow the steps mentioned:

1. Open the Outlook application and head to File > Open & Export.
2. Next, choose Outlook Data File and select the PST file that you want to import.
3. Again, go to File > Open & Export > Export to a file.
4. Click Next and choose Comma-Separated Values (CSV). Then, again, click Next.
5. Now, select the Outlook folder that you want to export and click Next.
6. Then, click on Browse and select the location to save the file.
7. Lastly, click on Ok > Next > Finish.

Manually Convert Outlook PST to Excel Using Drag and Drop 

This method is useful when the user wants to export a small number of emails in a tabular format. It is a simple method that requires neither tools nor any technical knowledge. 

The following steps are to be performed to begin the process:

1. Follow the same steps as the above method till step (2).
2. After that, in MS Excel, open a blank worksheet. 
3. Open Outlook and MS Excel side-by-side. 
4. Now, select the email data in Outlook that you want to export to Excel.
5. Drag and drop the selected data into Excel.
6. After that, you can format the data in Excel according to your needs.

Problems With the Manual Methods

• With Outlook, you can only export one folder at a time.
• The resultant CSV format may not retain the full message structure and attachments.
• The manual methods are not suitable for bulk conversion or for converting large PST files.
• The formatting and the metadata may be partially lost during the conversion process. 

Expert-Recommended Method to Convert PST to Excel

Compared to the manual method, the PST to Excel Converter is a more effective and smarter alternative. It supports the conversion of one or many PST files to CSV, maintaining the folder structure. The tool efficiently converts the PST file of any size. Also, it includes additional features like removing duplicate emails and selective conversion of emails without attachments. Moreover, it is fully compatible with all Windows versions and is built for both technical and non-technical users. 

To open PST file in Excel, follow these steps properly:

1. To begin with, launch and open the converter tool on your OS.
2. Next, click Select Files, locate and select the PST files by clicking Open > Next.
3. Now, choose the folder you want to convert and hit Next.
4. From the export File Format options, choose CSV.
5. Assign the destination folder to save the converted file.
6. At last, click on Convert to begin the PST to Excel conversion process.

Conclusion

To conclude, the manual PST to Excel conversion methods using Outlook and drag-and-drop are often inefficient. They become slow and complex for large, corrupted PST file sizes. They can even lead to data loss. Alternatively, the expert-recommended PST to Excel Converter is a powerful and professional solution to convert PST to Excel format. With its smart features and easy-to-use interface, it is a preferred choice for business professionals who want to save time and avoid errors.

You May Also Read: Convert PST to Word, Import PST to Outlook Mac

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