PowerShell Command: How to Export Exchange 2010 Public folder to PST

MS Exchange is the preferred choice of mail server for several businesses and organizations across the globe. It stores emails and other mailbox data of users in the Exchange database (EDB) file. This Exchange Server Database file (EDB) is composed of Private and Public folders. Private folders are mailboxes that contain system and user mailbox data. On the other hand, Public folders are used for sharing data with other users in your organization, through shared access to the Exchange data.

Why Export Public Folders to PST?

Public folders are critical for an organization when it comes to effectively storing, organizing, structuring, and sharing Exchange data between users. Public folders help users to share files and data with multiple users across the organization.

Moreover, Public folders can also be used to send and receive emails, when assigned. All the mails and data received in Public folder is stored in a database file as Pub.edb. Thus, a regular backup of Public folders is needed to safeguard this data from any kind of corruption or data loss. As PST format is widely supported, you may use it for migration.

How to Export Public Folder to PST in Exchange 2010 by using PowerShell?

You can use PowerShell cmdlets such as New-MailboxExportRequest to export a user’s mailbox and other items to a PST file. You can even choose and export certain email folders such as Inbox, Sent Items, Drafts, etc. to PST by using this cmdlet.

However, the New-MailboxExportRequest cmdlet can’t export Public folders to PST file as they are not a part of the user mailbox. Also, there’s no PowerShell cmdlet to export Public folders to PST.

Methods to Export Exchange 2010 Public Folders to PST

Since you can’t export Public folders to PST by using PowerShell commands, follow these methods to export Public folders in Exchange 2010 to PST file.

Method 1: Export Exchange 2010 Public Folder to PST by using Outlook 2010

To export Public folder, MS Outlook needs to be connected to the Exchange server with appropriate Public Folder permissions. The steps are as follows,

Step 1: Open MS Outlook 2010 on your PC and check if your Outlook profile is connected to the Exchange Server

Step 2: Click on File>Open>Import

Step 3: In Import and Export Wizard dialog screen, click on “Export to a file” option and then click on “Next”

Step 4: In Export to a file dialog box, click on Outlook Data File (.PST) and then click on ”Next”

Step 5: From the “Export Outlook Data File” screen, select Public Folder(s) that you want to export to PST. Click ‘Next’

Step 6: Choose a location where you want to save the exported PST file and click “Finish”

Step 7: Leave the password fields blank and click on “OK”

That’s it! You’ve successfully exported Exchange 2010 Public Folders to PST.

Method 2: Use Stellar Converter for EDB to Export Public Folders to PST File

When it comes to exporting Public Folders to PST in Exchange 2010, the PowerShell cmdlets doesn’t help. While you may export Exchange 2010 Public folders to PST by using MS Outlook Import/Export Wizard, there’s always a chance of PST

Also, manual methods have a few limitations and drawbacks, such as:

1. Exports only one Public folder to PST at a time
2. Takes a lot of time to convert Public folder to PST 
3. Cannot export large Public folders to PST file
4. Data consistency and integrity issues after export

A large or oversized PST file is prone to corruption due to integrity issues. And if Public folder contains thousands of mail items, it’s inevitable to control the exported PST file size via Outlook Import/Export Wizard. That’s why you need a tool such as Stellar Converter for EDB when it comes to exporting Public folders to PST in Exchange 2010. The software helps you convert Public folders and subfolders to PST in a few clicks.

It’s the best and most reliable method to export Exchange 2010 Public folders without any hassle or PST file corruption. Moreover, it’s highly recommended by MVPs and Exchange experts.

Recommended by Spiceworks,

Conclusion

Exporting Public folders to .PST files is crucial and critical for data-centric companies to facilitate archiving and collaboration. It helps back up Public folders data and facilitates easy migration from one Exchange server to another.

While you can export a user mailbox data to PST by using PowerShell commands, there’s no PowerShell command to export Public folders to PST file in Exchange 2010.  

However, there is a workaround, discussed in this post, to export Public folders to PST by using MS Outlook. But the data inconsistency and PST corruption is a huge risk associated with this manual export method. Plus, you can’t export large Public folders or multiple Public folders by using the Outlook Import/Export wizard.

Thus, to avoid even the slightest PST file corruption and to export Public folders of any size in Exchange 2010 to PST without any errors, use Stellar Converter for EDB. With this software, you can export Public folders to PST in no time as it’s mostly an automated tool. Plus, it exports multiple Public folders to PST at once and creates separate PSTs for each Public folder that you export to PST in Exchange 2010.

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About The Author

Karim Buzdar

Karim Buzdar holds a degree in telecommunication engineering and is a Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) for Server Infrastructure. As an IT engineer and technical author, he focuses on Microsoft Directory Services and PowerShell.