How to Save Office 365 Emails to Hard Drive in Minutes?

  •  Manoj Sharma
  • Published on:  June 22nd, 2023
  • Updated on:  February 28, 2024
5/5 - (1 vote)

Office 365, now known as Microsoft 365, is a suite of cloud-based productivity tools and services offered by Microsoft. Instead of using multiple software, you can use the Office business suite for all the business operations. Save Office 365 emails to hard drive locally gives an additional layer of security and a copy of important communications. This step to save data enhances security and provides offline access.

Saving Office 365 emails to your hard drive is a quick and straightforward process. This guide will walk you through different methods to save your Outlook data to a hard drive or use the Office 365 Email Backup Tool to save time and effort.

How to Save Office 365 Emails to Hard Drive?

Saving Office 365 emails to your hard drive can be done using different methods. It depends on the user’s preference.

These methods allow you to save Office 365 emails to a hard drive using either the desktop application or the web interface. Choose the method that best fits you to perform.

Method 1: Save O365 Emails into PST Format

This is a manual process that requires the installation of MS Outlook on your system. With this method, you can save emails from Outlook 365 to a Hard Drive as a PST file. The steps are 

  • First, open the Outlook application on your desktop.
  • Then click on File >> Open and Export >> Import and Export.
  • Choose the Export to File, in the Import and Export wizard.
  • After that click on Outlook Data File (.pst) option.
  • Choose the desired email folders from O365 to extract emails in PST format. If necessary, check out the Include subfolders box.
  • Now, add the path hard drive on the next page by clicking Browse.
  • Click on Finish with the saving or exporting process.

Limitations: If you pick this option to save Outlook 365 email to a local hard drive, you cannot access it without Outlook installed. It enables you to access email on any device, anytime, and anywhere just by sharing the PST file.

Method 2: Export Office 365 Emails to Desktop in HTML Format

First of all, you must first configure your Office 365 account in the Outlook desktop application to use this method. After that, you can also save Outlook 365 emails to Hard Drive in HTML file format.

Follow the below given steps.

  • Log in to the Outlook in Office 365 account on your desktop application.
  • Choose the email which you want to save in HTML format.
  • Now, click on File and save it.
  • In the given box, select the destination hard drive location in that box.
  • Now, add a name for the file and choose HTML as the type.
  • Click Save to finish the saving process. 

Limitations: The main limitation of the above manual method is that you need to follow the above steps repetitively for each email. This method only applies to some emails. You cannot save Outlook 365 emails in bulk. it may take a long time to save every email individually.

Method 3: Save Emails From O365 to Hard Drive as PDFs

Some users prefer to keep their data in a PDF document since it is a portable document. But this method is not direct. you may need to follow the given steps.

  • Log in to the Outlook in Office 365 account on your desktop application.
  • Choose the email which you want to save in PDF format.
  • Now, click on File and save it.
  • In the given box, select the destination hard drive location in that box.
  • Now, add a name for the file and choose PDF as the save type.
  • Click Save to finish the saving process

Limitations:- If an email has attachments, saving it as a PDF using the above method might not include the attachments. You may need to save attachments separately. Unlike some dedicated email clients or third-party tools. Office 365 doesn’t offer a direct way to save multiple emails as PDFs in bulk. You need to save emails individually.

Method 4: Save Outlook Emails on Hard Drive as MSG Via Drag, and Drop

Alternatively, the user can also use the drag-and-drop method:

  • Open File Explorer on your computer.
  • Then, Open the Outlook Application.
  • Minimize or resize the Outlook window so that you can see both File Explorer and Outlook.
  • Now, In Outlook, select the emails you want to save.
  • Then, Drag the selected emails from Outlook and drop them into the desired folder in File Explorer. This action will automatically save the emails as MSG files.

Limitations:- Dragging and dropping emails save the messages as MSG files. However, this method might not capture all the metadata. In other words, the behavior of drag-and-drop functionality can vary based on the version of Outlook. During the drag-and-drop process, there’s a risk of data loss. 

Method 5: Backup Outlook Emails to Hard Drive Using Automated Software

As you’ve already seen all these manual methods are time-consuming and that may lead to data loss. Therefore, most professionals choose the Cigati Office 365 Email Backup Tool to save emails from Outlook 365 to the hard drive. This tool is specially designed for those users who need to save a bulk amount of emails from their Office 365 account to their local hard disk. This application allows users to save their emails in PST, MSG, or PDF file format.

Steps to Backup O365 Emails to Hard Drive Using Office 365 Email Backup Tool

  • Download and Run the Cigati Office 365 Backup Tool.
  • Click the Backup button to proceed with the backup process.
  • Next, click on the Continue button to move forward.
  • Now, check the Use Modern Authentication option, and enter your O365 Email ID.
  • Then, click on Sign In.
  • Select the Mailbox from the List to export >> click Next.
  • Pick the saving format from the drop-down list.
  • Then, you can opt for additional features as per requirement.
  • Choose the destination to save the file and click next.
  • Then, click on the convert button to begin the process.

Also Read: Backup Office 365 Mailbox To PST

Conclusion

On the whole, the process of saving Outlook 365 emails to the hard drive offers users various solutions for data management. By efficiently storing emails locally, users gain control over their data, ensuring that necessary communications are readily available. After saving, It is also available even without an internet connection. In this blog, we discussed several methods for the ease of the user. In brief, you can go through the one which you prefer.

About The Author:

Manoj Sharma is a Technical Content Writer in the field of Data Migration, Backup & Recovery. He is focused on engaging the audience by delivering content that solved their problem. Manoj spends most of his time researching and writing about creativity, technology, and digital marketing trends.

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