Outlook to PDF: A Look at Three Ways to Convert Outlook Emails to PDF Documents

 Efficiently converting Outlook emails to PDFs is crucial for various applications and projects, from archiving communications to facilitating document sharing. This guide explores three methods, ranging from manual processes to more technical approaches.

Method 1: Manual Conversion

1. Open Outlook:

   • Start the Outlook application.

2. Select Emails:

   • Create a set of emails in Outlook through search. Select one or more email to convert.
     

3. Print to PDF:

   • Navigate to File > Print and choose "Microsoft Print to PDF."
   • Execute the print operation, saving the file as a PDF.

Method 2: Automated Software

Explore our Windows software tools that are optimized for Outlook email to PDF conversion:

• MessageExport (for Outlook):
  

  • Automates email exports with rule-based selection.
  • Download the 15 day free trial and start
    
  • Select one or more emails from the Outlook maillist
  • Choose the desired PDF export mode from the MessageExport drop down list
  • Click the Export button
    
  • Get the 15 day free trial of MessageExport at  www.encryptomatic.com/messageexport

• Pst Viewer Pro:

  • Download the 15 day free trial and start
  • Choose the emails in formats EML, MSG, PST, OST, MBOX
  • Select the emails you want to convert to PDF
  • From Export tab, choose the appropriate PDF export profile
  • Click the Export button
    
  • The free trial is available at www.encryptomatic.com/PstViewer/
    

Method 3: VBA Script in Outlook

For the more technically inclined:

1. Open Outlook:

   • Access the VBA editor using Alt + F11.

2. Insert Module:

   • Add a module via Insert > Module.

3. Paste Code:

   • Utilize the provided VBA code or customize as needed.

    Sub ExportToPDF()
       Dim objSelection As Outlook.Selection
       Dim objMail As Outlook.MailItem
       Dim objWord As Object
       Dim objDoc As Object
   
       ' Get the selected emails
       Set objSelection = Outlook.Application.ActiveExplorer.Selection
   
       ' Create a new Word application
       Set objWord = CreateObject("Word.Application")
       objWord.Visible = True ' You can set this to False if you don't want to see Word
   
       ' Loop through selected emails and export to PDF
       For Each objMail In objSelection
           ' Create a new Word document
           Set objDoc = objWord.Documents.Add
           ' Copy the email content to the Word document
           objMail.GetInspector.WordEditor.Range.FormattedText.Copy
           objDoc.Range.Paste
           ' Save the document as PDF
           objDoc.ExportAsFixedFormat Environ("USERPROFILE") & "\Desktop\" & objMail.Subject & ".pdf", 17 ' 17 represents PDF format
           ' Close the Word document
           objDoc.Close
       Next
   
       ' Close Word application
       objWord.Quit
       Set objWord = Nothing
   End Sub
   
   

4. Run the Macro:

   • Execute the macro with Alt + F8 and select "ExportToPDF."

Choose the method aligning with your technical skills and needs, ensuring backups before bulk operations.

MessageExport: An Outlook Add-in to Export Email to PDF

 

MessageExport in an add-in for Microsoft Outlook that is designed for Outlook power users: people who spend hours each day processing or responding to emails. Perhaps they manage a legal office, or process inbound leads for the sales team.  These people are well aware of Outlook's serious limitations when it comes to exporting or converting email messages.

Allowing for automation, bulk or individual Outlook email exports, MessageExport brings important efficiencies to the Outlook toolbar. This video from the MessageExport support team demonstrates how easy it is to convert Outlook emails into PDF documents.  

We acknowledge that many people will be served just fine by a PDF printer app that will save Outlook print output to a PDF file. Instead, we designed  MessageExport based on user feedback, specifically for people with deeper email processing needs.  They need to convert not only emails, but file attachments.  Perhaps file attachments should be converted into the PDF image, or perhaps the files should be embedded into the PDF file, or perhaps attachments should be extracted to the hard drive.  And perhaps these PDF files need a special file name that draws on email meta data.  

PDF printers can't do this.  But MessageExport can.

MessageExport is for Outlook power users who may want to build their own export profiles, performing several custom actions in one operation. 

For a free trial of MessageExport, visit the product home page.  If you have any questions, post them here or use Live Chat to talk with a support person.

Saving Outlook Emails to a Single PDF File

Very few software applications will allow you to export multiple Outlook email messages directly to a single PDF file.  MessageExport is an add-in for Outlook that performs this task easily. Although this capability is not unlimited, since PDF files have a hard cap on file size, MessageExport is able to meet the 'single pdf' needs of most of its users.

First, why would anyone want to export multiple emails into one very large PDF file?  When working with a quantity of emails, preparing email for a special purpose such as litigation, or archiving emails, a single pdf offers the convenience of transportability and organization when compared to managing multiple smaller PDF files.  Organizing emails into a single PDF file makes it easy to share and store messages.

Using MessageExport is straightforward. Just select your email messages from the Outlook mail list, choose the "export profile" you want such as "Export to Single PDF," and then click the blue Export button.

MessageExport Add-in installed for Outlook 2010

Encryptomatic LLC, the developers of MessageExport, have made the software very flexible. While it will likely accomplish 95% of what you need right out of the box, you can edit any of its operational settings.  As an example, the export profile called "Singe PDF - attachments saved to disk," can be edited, changed, or you can build your own export profile. This gives you a lot of flexibility to organize routine tasks and save time.

As another example, you could also choose to build a new export profile that runs at a regular interval to export new emails into a single pdf file, then adds it to a password protected zip file, gives it a special name, copies it to a Sharepoint library, and then executes a shell command. While most people will not need to do this, this powerful functionality is built into every copy of MessageExport.

Export profiles can also be saved to an xml file, and then imported into another copy of MessageExport. This makes it easy for an administrator or power user to design a complex profile and then share it with other users.

The best way to experience the power of MessageExport is to download a free trial and use it for 15 days. The only limitation of the trial is a 50-email batch processing limit.  After the trial is completed, don't uninstall MessageExport!  It will revert to "free" mode, and continue to let you to export individual email messages to PDF, GIF, TIF, PNG, BMP, MSG, EML and other formats