2 Ways to Export Exchange Public Folders to PST

Read time: 9 minutes

Public Folders in Exchange Server is a special place where a user can put the information to share it with the team members. It is easier and faster than manually sharing with each member. Public folders are available in Outlook hierarchy which makes it easy to share with others. If the administrator turns the public folder as a mail-enabled folder and makes it a member of distribution groups, then any email which comes in the distribution group will also reach the public folder. To help you get a deep understanding on public folders & PST export, we will assist you with two simple methods to export public folders to PST in a few steps. Without further ado, let us get started now.

What is saved in the public folder?

The public folder is a special place to save the emails, documents, eForms, and user posts. All such information is saved in the public folder mailbox, but it’s not copied to other public folder mailboxes in other accounts. As all the associated members of the public folder can access the same information so there is no requirement to replicate the data. The user should not note that the information present in the public folder is not available in Exchange searches to protect its integrity.

For taking a backup of Exchange Public Folder, there is a simple and easy way – save the Public Folder in the PST file using Outlook.

To easily export Exchange public folders to PST using Outlook, go through the steps below carefully.

1. Start Outlook and click the File option in the menu. Then click the Open & Export option.
   
2. Choose the third option Import/Export.
   
3. Select the option Export to a file and click Next.
   
4. Choose the option Outlook Data File (PST) and click Next.
   
5. Select the public folders for export and click Next.
   
6. Give the location for saving the PST file; also choose any available option to manage the duplicate items. Then click Finish.
   

After exporting to the PST file, you can go to the location and see the PST file there.

The above method to export public folders to PST is perfectly suitable when the size of the public folder is also not quite much. But, if you want to export Exchange public folders to PST at a large scale, the process is complex. So, when you need to save the public folder data in the PST file, then use the Exchange Recovery application.

It can not only repair the corrupt Exchange databases but also access public folders from any on-premises account and migrate to PST files.

Here is its procedure to export the public folder data to a PST file.

1. Install and run the software. Click the icon Public Folder in the source area.
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2. Select the option Live Exchange (on-premises). Click Next.
   
3. Choose the option ‘Connect Public Folder.’ Input Exchange Server Name and Mailbox Name. Then click Next.
   
   Note: If a Windows Security pop-up prompts, you need to input the login credentials and click OK.
4. Public folder connects with the software. Click Finish.
   
5. Here, you can see all the folders in the public folder, their items, and also their clean preview. After checking the data, click the PST File icon (in the destination area).
   
6. If you want to save in an existing PST file, click the second option of Existing PST file otherwise click Create new PST file. Click Next.
   
7. Browse the saving destination of the PST file and also provide a new name to it. You can also choose to protect it by password giving a password value. Click Next.
   
8. The tool creates a new PST file. Click Finish.
   
9. The method to transfer data from the public folder to PST is quite simple. Select the messages, right-click them and choose Copy Message(s).
   
10. Go to the PST section, right-click and click Paste Message.
    
11. After successful migration, the tool provides a migration report depicting the status of the messages. Click Cancel.
    
12. You can see the messages in the PST file precisely in the same way they are in the public folder.
    

MVP Reviews

“It is a handy tool for Exchange administrators for performing multiple tasks, especial for fixing database corruption and site loss issues. It also has features for backup extraction and eDiscovery. With its simple interface and advanced features, it deserves a 4.6 rating out of 5.”

Kingson Jebaraj
(Microsoft MVP)
United Arab Emirates

“Exchange Server, being a business-critical application, need extreme care in its maintenance and operation. So, Exchange administrators often require professional tools to meet compliances and face data loss situations. The tool meets all these requirements excellently.”

Krishna Kumar
Microsoft MVP
Bangalore

Conclusion

Using Exchange mailbox recovery, you can export public folder to PST file. It provides multiple destinations like Office 365, Exchange Server (hosted), another public folder, or an Outlook profile for saving your public folder. The tool works for not only a healthy public folder, but you can use it to repair a corrupt public folder EDB file and save its contents. We hope our blog has given you expert insights to export Exchange public folders to PST in the easiest way possible.

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