How to extract the calendar from an OST file?

Megha Sharma | Updated On - December 13, 2022 |

Read time 7 minutes

Exchange data can be accessed via the Outlook application by configuring it with an Exchange account. However, there are times when you need to save this data, especially Calendar data, in a separate file.
Look at one of my friends’ situation, “I got an urgent need to view and share my calendar events from my Exchange mailbox. For that I thought I should extract this data from my OST file and save it in a simple file format which I can access easily.”
From my friend’s research and personal experience, I got some feasible ways to extract calendar from the OST file which I am going to share in this blog.
But before that, let us know how you can access the calendar from an OST file conventionally through Exchange Server connection.

Accessing Calendar from the OST File

To access and view Calendar information from the Exchange OST file, Outlook email client must be synchronized with the Exchange Server. Here is the process to do that.

1. Close your opened Microsoft Outlook application.
2. Move to Control Panel on your system and click on Mail option.
3. Click on the Mail tab, then select the Exchange account and click on Change option.
4. Next, unselect the Use Cached Exchange Mode option and click on More Settings option.
5. Switch to the Advanced tab. Here click on Offline Folder File Settings option.
6. Click on Disable Offline Use option. Click Yes to continue.
7. Once more, click on Offline Folder File Settings, click on OK. Further, click on Yes to continue.
8. Now, select the option saying Use Cached Exchange Mode>>click on OK>>click on Next>>click on Finish.
9. Close the rest of the opened dialogue boxes.
10. Start the Microsoft Outlook application and go to the Calendar section of the OST mailbox to view it.

The next task would be how to extract calendar data n from the Exchange OST file.

Extracting OST data and saving to a portable format would be convenient for users. It is like backing up the OST data to a more convenient format.
Sometimes users will have orphaned OST files which cannot be accessed because of the unavailability of Exchange connection or profile credentials. Its data can be extracted but only through a professional utility which we are going to discuss in this blog later.

One can extract Calendar data from an OST file and save it to PST file manually utilizing the Import/Export feature in the Outlook application. The OST file must be healthy in order to extract any kind of data from it. Follow these steps carefully to export the OST data.

1. Launch your Microsoft Outlook application. Navigate to File>>Open & Export >> Import/Export.



2. Click on Export to a file option and click on Next.



3. Select Outlook Data File (.pst) as the option and click on Next.
4. Select Calendar folder from the retrieved folders of the OST file, select Include all subfolders option and click on Next.



5. Using the Browse option, provide the saving location of the PST file to which the Calendar folder will be exported. Finally, click on Finish.
6. Now, you have the OST file calendar extracted to a portable PST file at the specified location which you can load or import to any Outlook account to view it.

With this manual process, an extra process of Outlook switch from working Offline to Online or vice
versa for OST file extraction is included to work with this process.

You can do this process only if the OST file is healthy. Otherwise you need to first recreate the OST file and then perform the extraction. Also, the Exchange Server should be available, and you should have the original Outlook profile. You cannot do this with offline OST files or orphaned OST files. But, you can export calendar data from an orphaned or inaccessible PST file with a the third-party tool. However, the selection of right OST conversion can be a hard task for busy users. So, we recommend the best tool for you – Kernel for OST to PST Converter.

It repair and recover OST file data from corrupt, damaged, inaccessible or orphaned OST files and moves it to PST, Exchange, Office 365 and destinations. The tool basically converts OST to PST files smartly without any Exchange connection. Let us see its working in the following steps.

1. Launch the tool.
2. Browse and add the OST file for export or conversion. Click Next.



3. Select the Calendar folder from the retrieved mailbox folders, preview any item if you need and then click on Next.



4. Click on Save option on the top and then choose PST from the list. Click Next.



5. Apply Filter options as per your need.



6. Provide a saving path to your converted PST file and click on Finish.



7. The saving process will get started and complete shortly.

So, accessing and extracting OST data is easier with this advanced tool which user can try on their own at no cost via its free version. So, hurry up and extract data from your OST files.

Conclusion

You can export OST calendar to PST using the native features only if you can access your OST files with Outlook. However, with third-part tools, you can export contacts from OST even if the OST file is inaccessible.