Lotus Notes NSF File Location

Many organizations use IBM Lotus Notes to manage business workflow through emails, contacts, calendars, etc. The software saves mailbox data in NSF file format, which stands for Notes Storage Facility. NSF files are database files supported by both IBM Lotus Notes (client software) and IBM Domino (server software).

What’s NSF File Location?

The default NSF location depends on your operating system and the installation performed. It’s important to note that NSF files can be stored both locally and on the server. If the files are stored locally, they are stored on the system on which the IBM Notes is installed. If the files are stored on the server, then they are stored on the Domino server.

NSF File Location Based on OS

The following are some of the default locations of NSF files for different Operating Systems:

• Windows: C\Programs Files\IBM\Lotus\Data
• Windows XP: C\Documents and Settings\Username\Local Settings\Application Data\Lotus\Notes/Data
• Windows Vista: C\Users\AppData\Local\Lotus\Notes\Data
• Windows 7: C\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Lotus\Notes\Data
• Windows 8: C\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Lotus\Notes\Data
• Mac OS: ~Library/Application Support/Lotus Notes Data
• Linux: /{$HOME}/Lotus/Notes/Data

What are the Different Types of NSF Files?

Lotus Notes creates different NSF files for different data types- emails, calendars, contacts, etc. The two most important NSF files are mailbox.nsf and names.nsf.

Mailbox NSF File

Mailbox.nsf file stores the following data items: emails, tasks, calendar, etc. The NSF file location of mailbox.nsf can be both local or server-based. This file stores lots of data, which is why after a point, it can become large-sized and reach the Quota size set in Lotus Notes. When that happens, the application may display error messages such as:

“Warning, database has exceeded its size warning threshold”.

To remove the error message, you need to remove duplicate emails from your mailbox, remove soft-deleted (trashed) mailbox items, etc. You can also move some emails and other data items to an archive file. The default Lotus Notes Archive file location is:

C:\Program Files\IBM\Notes\Data\Archive

Also Read: How to Convert Lotus Notes Archive to PST

Names NSF File

Names.nsf file stores data items related to personal address book including contacts, addresses, etc. You can create multiple names.nsf files in Lotus Notes by using the personal address book template- pernames.nsf file. Each file’s NSF file location is the default one, and these files can be named names2.nsf, names3.nsf, etc. You can also delete the names.nsf files when required. However, there have to be at least one names.nsf file for Lotus Notes application to run.

Other NSF Files

The following are some other NSF files that are used in Lotus Notes: bookmark.nsf, Internet.nsf, busytime.nsf, perweb.nsf, and headline.nsf. These files contain information related to saved bookmarks, newsgroup subscriptions, local free time subscriptions, web browsers, and Database Subscriptions.

How to Open NSF Files?

As mentioned earlier, the NSF file format is a specialized database format used by IBM Lotus Notes. So, you can open an NSF file only with Lotus Notes application.

To open an NSF file, follow these steps:

1. Launch IBM Lotus Notes. Go to File > Database > Open.
2. In the Open Database dialog box, select the server where the NSF file is located. If the file is saved locally, select Local. 
3. Go to the NSF location and click Open. 

How to Open NSF Files in Other Applications?

To open an NSF file without using Lotus Notes, you need to convert NSF to other formats. You can perform this file conversion by using third-party software such as Stellar Converter for NSF.

Stellar Converter for NSF is a powerful software that converts NSF files into popular formats such as PST, MSG, EML, RTF, PDF, and HTML. So, if you want to open Lotus Notes emails in Microsoft Outlook, you can use the software to convert NSF to PST. In the same way, you can convert NSF to PDF to open Lotus Notes emails in Adobe Acrobat, or HTML to open NSF emails in a web browser.

The following are some of the main features of Stellar Converter for NSF:

• Converts NSF files to the desired file format directly and with 100% accuracy
• Converts NSF to PST, HTML, PDF, EML, HTML, and MSG file formats
• Converts multiple NSF files in a single batch (Technician edition)
• Exports NSF to an Office 365 account directly (Technician edition)
• Offers advanced filters to perform selective conversion
• Offers detailed preview of NSF mailbox before it saves the data

How to Use Stellar Converter for NSF?

To convert NSF files to other formats with Stellar Converter for NSF, follow these steps:

• Download, install, and launch the software on your system.

• Click Browse and provide the NSF file location. If you don’t know the location, click Find.

• Click Convert to initiate the file conversion process. Once the software has converted the Lotus Notes database file, it will preview the file’s contents.
• Select the NSF file’s items that you want to convert to other formats in the preview window.   

• Click the Save Converted File button under the Home tab. In the new window that opens, select the desired file format and click Next.

• Provide a location for saving the converted file and click OK. If you want to perform selective conversion, click Apply Filter.

• Click OK in the notification window after the file is converted.

Conclusion

Just like Microsoft Outlook saves mailbox data in PST, and Thunderbird saves mailbox data in MBOX, IBM Lotus Notes saves the data in NSF. You can open NSF files in Lotus Notes to access their contents. However, you need to know the NSF location first. If you want to open an archive file, you need to know the Lotus Notes archive file location. All these locations are shared above. In case you need to export an NSF file to MS Outlook or open NSF emails without Lotus Notes, you can use NSF to PST converter software.

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About The Author

Abhinav Sethi

Abhinav Sethi is a Senior Writer at Stellar. He writes articles, blog posts, knowledge-bases, case studies, etc. for different technologies. He also has a keen interest in digital forensics and helps forward-thinking companies fight different threats with apt solutions.