Outlook Add-in: Exporting Outlook Email to .MSG Files

The MessageExport add-in for Microsoft Outlook can convert email messages to .msg format. You can download  a free 15 day trial of MessageExport and follow along with this article.

Outlook's ability to export email as individual .msg files is rather limited.  It is easily done from inside Outlook by just by grabbing one or several email messages from the mail list and then dragging them to your Windows desktop. This technique will potentially leave you with a batch of  disorganized .msg files on your desktop.  

A better way is to extract Outlook email to .msg files is to use the MessageExport add-in.  MessageExport's .msg files are fully compatible with Microsoft Outlook.

To export Outlook mail to .msg with MessageExport, first select the email messages in the mail list.  Control-A will select all emails, or you can hold down the Control button and select individual messages, or you can hold down the Shift button to select a range of messages.

Click Export to save Outlook emails to .msg files.

Next select "Export to MSG" from MessageExport's drop down list, and click the blue "Export" button.  That will begin your export process.

There is no limit to the number of messages you can export, but if you select several thousand messages, be prepared for a bit of of wait.  The time needed to export emails to .msg format will depend on the number of emails selected, and the time needed to download remotely hosted elements (such as pictures) from the web.

You also get the added advantage of being able to apply a specific naming structure to the .msg files. Thinking of a useful naming plan prior to export can allow you to better sort and manage your .msg files when viewing the directory.

By editing the MessageExport profile, you can specify how it should name the .msg files that it is creating.  There are dozens of pieces of information from the email that you can combine into a naming scheme that MessageExport will apply to newly created .msg files on future export operations.

Apply a special naming structure to .msg files

If converting, saving or copying Outlook email messages is important to your job, you'll find MessageExport to be an invaluable tool that will automate repetitive chores and make you more efficient. Your free 15 day trial is followed by a 30 day money back guarantee. Join the thousands of people who have made MessageExport a partner in their workday productivity.

Outlook to .msg: How to convert Outlook email to .msg files

Outlook to .MSG Conversion Made Easy

Email messages in Microsoft Outlook are stored in Personal Storage Tables, or PST files.  Sometimes it is convenient to store an individual email message as a separate file so it can be shared.  Outlook 2013 and earlier versions provide this ability.

To save an email as a .msg file in Outlook 2013, click on the email you want to save. Next to go File > Save As and select "Outlook Message Format - Unicode."

In cases where it's necessary to save dozens, hundreds or thousands of Outlook emails as individual .msg files, Outlook falls short.  That's where an add-in called MessageExport can take up the slack.

MessageExport extends Outlook's ability to save email messages as .msg files, and many other formats including .pdf.

MessageExport extensions shown in Outlook 2013

MessageExport provides several options that improve the export operation. For example, a specific naming structure can be applied to the name of the .msg file. If you were exporting, say, 500 emails to .msg format, and you wanted the name of each .msg file to begin with the year it was created, you can easily setup that structure with MessageExport.   To do this, choose the "Export to MSG" file profile from MessageExport's drop down list; next click the Edit icon, and go to the "Export name" tab.

Custom file naming structure

Add the fields that you want to include the file name.  Click OK to save your changes.
Each time you run the "Export to MSG" profile on selected Outlook emails,  MessageExport will name your .msg files according to your plan.

Another tool that MessageExport provides you is "export history."  Enabling this function lets you exclude messages that have already been exported to .msg format, eliminating the possibility of duplicates.

To enable "Export History," click the edit toolbar and go to the "Common" tab.  Check the box that says, "Turn on Export History," then click OK to save that setting to the profile.

How to turn on "Export History" to prevent duplicate .msg files

While exporting a few emails to .msg format from Outlook 2013 is easily done, consider using MessageExport for more complex Outlook to .msg file export operations. 

You can try MessageExport free for 15 days. Download a free trial from the MessageExport home page.

When the trial is complete, MessageExport will continue to function, letting you convert individual email messages to .msg, .pdf, .eml, png, gif, tif and other formats!  You can activate the full version at any time by purchasing a key.