Outlook to PDF: Converting Office Document File Attachments Into PDF Files

PDF is a good format for archiving email as it can embed the original look and formatting of an email message.  However, correctly handling a wide range of email file attachments when converting Outlook email to PDF files can be a difficult challenge. 

MessageExport add-in for Microsoft Outlook helps you overcome this challenge by providing selectable pdf export methods that help you achieve the desired end result.

Let's look at the different ways that MessageExport processes emails and file attachments to PDF documents.

Converting Document Email Attachments to the PDF image.

Using the export profile called "Export to PDF - Attachments converted/included" causes MessageExport to create PDFs that embed email file attachments as images within the PDF document. Conversion of most image and document file attachment is supported.

The original name of the file is placed vertically along the left page margin so that it's easy to identify the name of the file.  This is a method that is often used when preparing email for legal purposes. It's very convenient, as the documents are easily visible within the PDF, and no software other than a PDF viewer is needed to view the documents. The documents are "frozen" in their original state and cannot be readily altered.

What happens if an attachment is unable to be converted?  MessageExport will default to embedding the file within the PDF to preserve it's context.  This means that the file can later be extracted from the PDF and separately analyzed.

Embedding Outlook Email Attachments within a PDF

When it is necessary to keep all email file attachments as separate documents so that they may be extracted and later edited or manipulated with their native software application, MessageExport provides a profile called, "Export to PDF - Attachments Embedded." 

This profile will cause MessageExport to create PDF files that are not part of the PDF image, but rather embedded within the PDF document as separate files.  Using any standard PDF viewer, the documents can be later extracted and used.

This method works very well for personal email archiving, where it may be desirable to be able to have full access to the original documents  for editing or to continue working on them.

Extracting Outlook File Attachments

MessageExport makes it easy to save Outlook email file attachments to a Windows 10 folder, in bulk.  This process involves selecting the appropriate email messages in Outlook's message list (Control-A will select all emails in the list), then choosing the profile called, "Export to PDF - Attachments saved to disk."

MessageExport will leave the original email attachment within Outlook, so nothing is altered in Outlook's pst file.  A copy of the original file attachment is placed in the selected Windows folder, where it can be easily accessed. 


A free 15 trial of MessageExport for Outlook can be downloaded from the product home page.

MessageExport Update Adds Ability To Include Number of Email Attachments In File Name

MessageExport  is a popular add-in that extends Microsoft Outlook's export abilities to include formats like PDF, MHT, CSV, HTML, JPG, ODT, and much more. You can use MessageExport with Microsoft Outlook's rules feature to automatically save new messages that match your pre-set criteria.

MessageExport Add-on shown in Outlook 2013

Since version 2.3 includes a new feature, we wanted to expound on it so you can begin using it.

Using MessageExport's New Attachment Count in Email File Name

MessageExport gives users great flexibility to create a custom naming plan for the Outlook email messages they export.  They could also include the sending or receiving email address, send date, time, subject, etc.

Since MessageExport version 2.3, users can include an attachment count.  This idea came to us from one of our customers who needed a to identify the number of email attachments within an export Outlook email. To address this situation, we added the "att" field to the naming scheme.  "att" stands for attachments, of course.  If there are, say, six attachments in the message, you can now embed this information into the name of the exported email file.

Here is how to begin using the "att" function.

First, edit the MessageExport "Export Profile" that you wish to apply this function to.
Click on the "Export name" tab. Scroll down in the "Naming Schema Wizard" until you see the criteria called "Export Attachments Count." 
Click on it, and then click the arrow to add this criteria to the list of selected fields.

Adding the "Export Attachments Count" to an Export Profile

You can add additional fields to the Selected fields list.  In our example, I am going to have the attachment count as the first field in the name, followed by the "_" connector, the year the email was sent, the "+" connector, and the send month.

I could add more fields, or fewer fields, as MessageExport allows me to setup virtually any configuration of the data as necessary.  If the length of the file name exceeds the limits of the Windows file system, then the name will be truncated, so make every field count.

Adding attributes to the email export file-name schema.

Click Ok to save your naming schema and exit back to Outlook

I now select several messages with file attachments and export them using the profile I just edited. In my situation, I edited the "Export to MSG" profile, so I will be saving  the emails in .msg format.

After the export completes, here are the files that have been created by MessageExport in my target folder.

Files exported showing attachment count in their name

 Notice that the file name now includes 1att_, 2att_, 3att_, etc.. This corresponds to 1 attachment in this email, 2 attachments in those emails, 3 attachments, etc.  By viewing the name of the file, you can now instantly know how many files are inside that message.

If you have any questions, please post them below.
Download a free 15 day trial of MessageExport add-in for Microsoft Outlook and try it yourself!

Outlook to Text: How to Convert Outlook Email Messages to Text Files

Converting Outlook emails to .txt files isn't very difficult. In fact, Microsoft Outlook 365/2019/2016/2013/2010 includes this ability out of the box.

To export multiple emails into a single text file with Outlook, you must first select the message or messages in the Outlook mail list.

Select the emails you want to save as text files

From the Outlook menu, choose File > Save As, and then choose "Text Only." Click Save to begin the operation.

Choose Text Only to Export

Outlook's native text export is useful for quickly saving one or more email messages into a single text file.  Messages are arranged in the order they appeared in the mail list.

If you need to manage the file attachments that are included in the email, or if you want to export each email message into a single text file, and give each text file a specific name, you will need an app for Outlook called MessageExport.

MessageExport is an add-in that extends and automates Outlook's export abilities. After installation, it appears as part of the Outlook toolbar.  In addition to text files, MessageExport lets you save Outlook emails to PDF, HTML, MHT, JPG, GIF, TIF, PNG, CSV, and many other formats. You can export a single email, or bulk export selected emails, or an entire folder and sub-folders.

To follow along with the rest of this article, first download a free trial of MessageExport. You'll also need Microsoft Office Outlook 2003/2007/2010/2013. MessageExport works with either 32-bit or 64-bit Outlook.

Begin using MessageExport by first selecting the email messages you want to export, just as you did in the earlier operation with Outlook.  Next, select the export target format from the drop down list.  In this example, we will use "Export to TXT."  Click the "Export" button to start the conversion operation.

Choose the target export format from list

Click Export to start saving Outlook messages as txt files

 Clicking the little "hammer and wrench" icon from the MessageExport toolbar lets you customize how MessageExport's text conversion function works by editing the settings.

Text profile settings can be edited.

Export From:  lets you select where the messages are stored.

Export attachments: lets you choose how MessageExport processes file attachments in the email.

Export Name tab: set specific naming scheme for the text files.

Compress output tab: tell MessageExport to compress all of the text files into a single smaller .zip file. Below is the Compress output tab.  click "Compress all items into same archive," and specify a file name.  From then on, MessageExport will save all of your text-converted emails into a single .zip.

Compress Output tab lets you save text emails to a zip file.

We hope this article has given you an understanding of how you can save your Outlook email messages into simple text files. To learn more about MessageExport, visit the product home page, and connect with us on Facebook!

We also made this short video to accompany this article, where we step you through the process of saving Outlook email to text.