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Outlook is a popular application that helps with the management of the user’s emails and other information. It is available now for Windows as well as Mac operating systems. It was initially developed for Windows but later was developed for Mac, too, mainly to ensure Exchange connectivity. However, some users experience compatibility issues while working on Outlook for Mac on a Mac system. They do get errors related to Outlook is not working on macOS. And that is the reason they prefer to work on Mac’s default email application known as Mail. Mail is a free email application that provides multiple features that can be used to customize items according to the user’s preference. Both these platforms provide excellent email exchange services, but their manners differ a lot. Outlook for Mac saves all the user’s data in an OLM file which needs to be imported if the user is planning to access it with the Mail application. If you are also looking for methods to import Outlook OLM files into Apple Mail, then you are in the right space. Read along to get into more details about the same.
OLM for Outlook for Mac is what PST is for Outlook for Windows.
An OLM file’s introduction was along with that of Outlook for Mac 2011 as it’s their container format to reserve all the local data. This file format is the primary storage space for the entire mailbox data and its contents, like emails, contacts, tasks, notes, calendars, journals, etc. All the folders and subfolders are stored in a single file in a sequential manner. Now, OLM files are well-supported by all versions of Mac Outlook.
A user might be using both Outlook for Mac and Apple Mail for official purposes or have received an OLM file that needs to be accessed on the Mail program. Irrespective of the situation, there is no direct method for the import of OLM files. However, workaround techniques do exist which have proven to be effective for this process.
This technique is performed in two stages. To begin with, the mailbox is saved in the MBOX format and later imported into Outlook for Mac in the OLM format. The following steps will guide you through it-
Note: MBOX format saves the entire series of messages of the mailbox in a single plain text file.
To make it clear, this is a workaround method to import OLM files. Hence, it brings a bit of shortcoming along with it-
The manual method is useful only when you have a healthy and useful MBOX file that has content taken from OLM files. You can lose much of your data while dragging the file to MBOX and it can jeopardize the hierarchy of your mailbox too. You should convert the OLM files to MBOX format and then import these MBOX files to Apple Mail as it supports MBOX format, and it will be an easy conversion. Kernel for OLM to PST software will aid you in converting the OLM files to MBOX format and there are supportive features to create a healthy MBOX file to add in Apple Mail.
The need to import OLM files to Mail arises for Mac users mostly under two situations. The first one is that they are using Outlook for Mac as well as Mail for their professional commitments. Additionally, they have an OLM file that must be accessed. Both situations can be urgent. But the reality of it is that there is no direct method available to complete the task. However, a workaround technique can help you to achieve the importing of OLM to Apple Mail. The file is saved in the MBOX format and imported as an OLM file. A disappointing factor is that there are many limitations to this method. But You can always use a professional utility to convert Mac OLM files to Lotus Notes, Outlook PST or MBOX formats.