Lotus Notes application provides different functionalities, like emails, calendars, file sharing, reminders, instant messaging, and much more. Although many organizations use Lotus Notes or HCL Notes, given the popularity of MS Outlook among businesses, users are now willing to switch to MS Outlook from their existing Lotus Notes environment. Most users are now keen to know how to configure Lotus Notes in Outlook 2019, 2016, or 2013.
We have attempted to answer the question by providing manual methods to configure Lotus Notes in Outlook 2013 and other versions. Also, we have introduced a tool that can make this migration automated and fast by keeping your data secure.
Before proceeding further, it is a must to know about the file formats supported by Lotus Notes and Exchange. The Lotus Notes supports NSF (Notes Storage Format) file for storing the Lotus Notes mailbox data. On the other hand, the MS Outlook email client supports PST (Personal Storage Table) file format. Hence, you need to convert the NSF file to PST format to access your Lotus Notes files in MS Outlook.
Note: Lotus Notes does not support the PST, but you can export some of the mail items such as contacts in the CSV format.
The manual process to configure Lotus Notes in Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, or other versions is a two-step process. You need to first export the Lotus Notes mailbox items in the CSV format and then import them into your MS Outlook application. Follow the below-mentioned steps for the Export-Import process:
Step 1: Export NSF Items to CSV Format
- Open Lotus Notes.
- Choose all the emails you want to move into Exchange Outlook.
- Further, navigate to the File menu and choose Export.
- Enter file name and select Save As type as CSV. Then, click on Export.
- A new dialog box will open as Structured Text Support, where you can select the checklist based on your requirements and choose OK.
When this process is completed, all your emails will be migrated to the specified location. Further, you can begin with the import process.
Step 2: Import the exported CSV file into Microsoft Outlook
- Launch Exchange Outlook application.
- Navigate to File > Open > Import/Export.
- It will open the Import/Export wizard. Here, choose the Import from another program or file. Then, select Next.
- Now, select the file type to import from as CSV (Comma Separated Values). Then, click Next.
- Browse the file from the saved location to import it into Outlook, and click Next.
- Select the destination folder from the Import as file window. Click Next.
- After the import process completion, you can open your Lotus Notes in MS Outlook.
Limitations of the Manual Method
While you try to configure your Lotus Notes in Outlook, you may face a few limitations during the manual process. Some of them are:
- With the manual approach, there is always the possibility of data loss. Therefore, always consider creating a backup of your files before implementing the solution.
- The manual method only allows for migrating specific mailbox items such as contacts. But, for converting the entire NSF file, you have to convert it in the PST format.
- The steps are complicated and time-taking which makes the procedure difficult. Hence, the lack of technical knowledge becomes an issue in adopting the manual method.
- Some mailbox objects such as calendars, journals, tasks, and so on cannot be migrated using this method.
- In the manual method, you have to upload files one by one, as you cannot perform batch conversion or a one-go migration from Lotus Notes to Office 365 using these methods.
Automated Method to Convert NSF to PST
While we have explained the limitation of the manual method, we also bring you an outstanding NSF to PST Converter tool with an instant solution. The software does not require in-depth technical expertise and the easy-to-use interface saves your processing time. Follow the steps provided here to access your Lotus Notes emails in MS Outlook using Stellar Converter for NSF:
- Download and install Stellar Converter for NSF.
- Select the NSF file from the Browse menu. To initiate the conversion process, click the Convert button at the bottom of the interface.
Note: If you don’t know the file location, you can use the ‘Find’ option, and the software will auto-locate the file in your system.
- When the conversion procedure is completed, all the converted mail items appear in a tree view. You can further expand the tree-view by clicking on any item to see a preview.
- Further, click on Save Converted File and choose the format from saving options PST/MSG/EML/RTF/PDF/HTML format. You can also right-click any mailbox item and select saving format from the drop-down menu.
- Enter the destination location where you wish to save the recovered mailbox items. You also get an option of Apply Filter to include/exclude the emails based on date range and email addresses.
- All the converted mail item folders will be saved at the provided location. Also, the software displays a log report of the entire process. By clicking on the Save Log button, you can save the log.
Steps to Further Import PST in MS Outlook
When you get the final PST file, you can use the following manual method to import PST file in MS Outlook:
- Launch Exchange Outlook application.
- Navigate to File > Open > Import.
- It will open the Import/Export wizard. Here, choose the Import from another program or file. Then, select Next.
- Now, change the file type to import as Outlook Data File (.pst). Then, click Next.
- Enter the file path and the name of .pst file you wish to import. You can also Browse the file location to import it. Further, select Next.
- Now, choose the folder that you wish to import. To import everything in the (Outlook Data File) .pst file, you should select the top of the hierarchy. Then, click Finish
Wrap Up
In this post, we have helped you with the manual methods to configure Lotus Notes in different Outlook versions. But, these methods are time-consuming, and there are chances of error, so we have introduced a professional solution in form of Stellar Converter for NSF. It is an advanced software and can seamlessly import your Lotus Notes items like emails, calendar items, contacts, etc., into the Outlook application.
The software also keeps the folder hierarchy as before, and you can also preview the items before saving them. Along with this, you can save multiple NSF files to PSTs and import the converted NSF file directly to Office 365 using its Technician version. To explore more about the product, you can download it and check its amazing benefits.
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