How to Save Outlook Emails for Offline Use

Issue/Question

• I want to save emails for offline use.
• I want to make a folder for offline storage in Outlook.
• I want to store emails, contacts, and other Outlook data locally on my computer to free up storage space in OneDrive.
• I need to free up space in my email. 

Environment

• Outlook

User Role

• All

Resolution

What is Offline Use

When you save an email for Offline Use, you create a copy on your computer's hard drive. This means you can access it even when you're not connected to the internet. Unlike emails stored online, these saved copies are not affected by the four-year email retention policy so that they won't be automatically deleted. You'll always have access to these emails as long as you keep the file saved on your computer.

Saving Emails for Offline Use

These instructions are for an individual email. 

• Open Outlook:
  
  • Launch the Microsoft Outlook app on your computer.
• Open the email you want to save for offline use.
• Click on the File tab in the top-left corner of the email window.
• In the File menu, click on Save As, select the location to which you want to save your email, and click Save. This step will save your email as an MSG file, which you can open in Outlook.
  
• If you prefer to save your email as a PDF file, click Save as Adobe PDF instead in the File menu.
  

Making a Folder for Offline Storage in Outlook

These instructions are for saving multiple emails. 

To create a folder for offline storage in Outlook, you must create a Personal Folders File (PST) to store emails, contacts, calendar items, and other data locally on your computer. Here’s how you can do it:

Creating a PST File in Outlook

• Open Outlook:
  • Launch Microsoft Outlook on your computer.
• Access New Items:
  • Click on the Home tab in the top-left corner.
• Open New Items:
  • In the New Items Menu, click More Items, then select Outlook Data File... from the dropdown menu on the right.
• In the Create or Open Outlook Data File window, go to This PC and open Local Disk (C:). Right-click an empty blank area and create a new Folder from the dropdown. Name the folder, then double-click it to open it.
• Once you have opened the folder, enter a name for your PST file in the File Name field. Click OK.
• The PST file will appear as a new Mail Folder in Microsoft Outlook.
  

Moving Items to the New PST File

• Open Outlook:
  • Go back to your Outlook main window.
• Select Items to Move:
  • In your mailbox (such as your Inbox), select the emails, contacts, or other items you want to move to the new PST file.
• Drag and Drop:
  • Drag the selected items to the folder you created within the PST file under the Mail Folders section in Outlook.
• Confirm Move:
  • Release the mouse button to drop the items into the new folder. They will be moved from your mailbox to the PST file. (You may also reference the video above. Start the video at 1:03)