How to move IMAP OST files to Outlook 2016 PST?

Read time 7 minutes

Microsoft Outlook 2016 is a widely used email application that can easily add webmails in IMAP and POP configurations. Most webmail users prefer using their IMAP configuration with MS Outlook. So, when an email is processed in Outlook, its information is stored in the IMAP server, and a copy of the mail is saved in OST or PST format.

However, in Outlook 2016, only an OST file is created for the IMAP account, which means you cannot transfer IMAP OST data to Outlook PST directly. If you want to migrate IMAP OST data to Outlook PST, you’ll do it manually for Outlook 2013 and newer versions.

In this article, we will clarify both manual and automated solutions to help you move IMAP OST data to Outlook 2016 PST.

Why Move IMAP OST to Outlook 2016 PST?

Various reasons ask for IMAP OST to Outlook 2016 PST migration. Users can migrate their IMAP data to Outlook PST for any of the below reasons:

• Accidental deletion or IMAP data or unable to recover the data from the OST file.
• Exchange server gets crashed due to software failures, virus attacks, or internet issues.
• Need to change the OST data file location for the IMAP account.
• Accessing IMAP on a different system without IMAP configuration.

If you want to move your IMAP OST data to Outlook PST for any of the above reasons, follow the below steps to migrate it.

There are two procedures you can follow to migrate the IMAP OST file to Outlook 2016 PST. The first approach involves converting the OST data to PST format using the archiving feature. Another method includes using a third-party tool to migrate the OST data to PST directly.

1. Archive IMAP OST Data to PST File
2. Automated Solution

Archive IMAP OST Data to PST File

To convert your IMAP OST data to PST format, you can use the archiving facility of the Outlook application. To archive the OST file, follow the below steps:

Note: You can only move IMAP OST file emails to PST with the archiving feature.

1. Open MS Outlook on your system in offline mode to access the IMAP OST file.
2. Click the File tab in the menu and then select Options in MS Outlook.
3. From the Options window, go to the Advanced option and click on AutoArchive Settings.
4. The AutoArchive dialog box appears on the screen. Modify the settings as per requirements to get the recent data for archiving.
5. Select a destination path to save the archived PST file, and click OK.

Once the file is saved on your system, copy and save it to the system where Outlook 2016 is installed. After moving the PST file to the desired location, use the Import/Export functionality of Outlook 2016 to move OST file.

Follow the below steps to import PST files to Outlook 2016.

1. Open MS Outlook 2016 on your system and go to the File tab.
2. Select the Open & Export option and click Import/Export.
3. The Import/Export wizard will display on the screen. From the given options, select ‘Import from another program or file’ and click Next.
4. Now, select the Outlook data file (.pst) option and click Next.
5. Browse the archived PST file that we saved earlier, select the option ‘Replace duplicates with items imported’ and click Next to continue.
6. Once you select the OST file, it will display in the Import Outlook Data File section. Check the checkbox ‘Import items into the same folder in’ and click Finish.

Your IMAP OST file data will be moved to Outlook 2016 quickly without much hassle. But, this manual approach does hold some limitations, such as the limitation on data migration, consumes a lot of time, and doesn’t export entire IMAP OST data.

Automated Solution

To convert the OST file to PST quickly, you can use the Kernel OST to PST Converter utility. It is specially designed to convert all types of OST files to PST with specific filters and advanced algorithms. It can freely convert 25 email items from each OST folder to PST. The best part is it can convert offline OST file without an Exchange profile or Exchange Server connectivity. The tool comes with an easy user interface that makes it easy to convert OST to PST file for beginners as well.

1. Download and configure the tool on your system.
2. Once it is installed, launch the tool, and the Source File Selection wizard appears on the screen.
3. From the wizard, click Browse to select the OST file for conversion and click Next.
4. The OST file content will display in the UI; you can view the content of each folder by clicking each folder.
5. Now, to convert the OST file, click the Save option on the top-left corner of the tool.
6. Multiple saving options will appear on the screen; select the PST file (MS Outlook) option and click Next.
7. Select the specific filters to apply on the file conversion from the filter section, such as From, To, Subject, Folder Name, Item Type, and Date Range.
8. It also gives you the option to split the PST file after a specific size. You can choose to split the file or skip this option.
9. Now, select the ideal location by clicking Browse to save the PST file and click Finish.
10. After the conversion is complete, a confirmation message appears on the screen; click OK to end the process.

After translating the OST file, you can use the Import/Export feature to move the IMAP OST file data to Outlook 2016.

Wrap Up

If you use IMAP email accounts with Outlook 2013 or newer versions, the data will be saved in the OST file format. So, when you plan to move Outlook OST file to a new computer or any other Outlook account, you’ll have to convert the OST to PST format. In this article, we have discussed two practical approaches to migrate IMAP OST file data to Outlook 2016 PST.