How to Open Outlook for Mac .olm file to Windows Outlook .pst?

Microsoft Outlook email client can be used on both Windows and Mac. However, both platforms store mailbox data in different kinds of Outlook data files. Outlook on Mac stores the mailbox items in an .olm file, while Outlook on Windows keeps the mail items in OST or PST file.

The OLM file extension is specific to Outlook for Mac and it was introduced with Outlook 2011 for Mac. Since the OLM file is specific to Mac, it cannot be opened through Windows Outlook. Thus, if you want to access and open Outlook for Mac .olm file, you must convert the .olm file to .pst by using an OLM to PST converter software.

Steps to Convert OLM to PST

To convert OLM to PST, you first need to export the OLM file from Outlook for Mac. The steps are as follows,

1. In MS Outlook on Mac, go to Tools > Export. This will open an ‘Export to Archive Fil (.olm)’ window.

2. Select all mailbox Data and click ’Continue’.

3.Choose a location where you want to export and save OLM file and click ‘Save’

4.After export, click ‘Finish’

Once the OLM file has been created, you can copy it to your Windows PC and then convert the OLM file to Outlook importable PST format by using Stellar Converter for OLM.

You can open and save all mailbox items in OLM files such as Inbox, Contacts, Calendars, Tasks, Notes, etc. to PST file by using Stellar Converter for OLM. You can also save the converted emails into MSG (Message) and EML (Email) formats. Further, if you use the Technician version, the tool provides additional saving options such as Office 365, PDF, HTML, and RTF formats.

Alternatively, you may also follow a workaround method discussed below to import and open .olm mailbox items in Outlook for Windows.

Method to Open OLM Mailbox items in Outlook Windows via Gmail IMAP

In this method, an IMAP Server (Gmail in this case) is used as an intermediate mail server to sync and move the mail items in Mac Outlook (OLM) file to Windows Outlook. It is similar to using a storage device between two computers to transfer data.

The steps are as follows,

Step 1: Enable Gmail IMAP Settings

• Open Web browser, go to Gmail.com and sign in to your Gmail account.
• Open ‘Settings’ and click on ‘Forwarding and POP/IMAP’.

• Then ‘Enable IMAP’ access and ‘Save Changes’.

Step 2: Add Gmail to Mac Outlook

• Go to Outlook on Mac and click on Outlook> Preferences.

• Click on ‘Accounts’ and then click ‘+’ icon.
• Select ‘New Account…’, and enter your Gmail ID.
• Click ‘Continue’ to sign in by using your Gmail account ID and then click ‘Allow’.

• Finally, click ‘Open Microsoft Outlook’

Step 3: Copy Mail Items from Mac Outlook Profile to Gmail Profile

• After a successful Gmail sign-in, right-click on the Gmail ID and select ‘New folder’ from the options.
• Name the folder ‘OLM Data’.

• Now right-click on the email folder stored in the OLM profile of your MS Outlook for Mac, such as Inbox, and choose ‘Copy Folder…’

In the search, enter ‘OLM Data’ and then select the ‘OLM Data’ folder.

Click ‘Copy’. This will copy the mail items from Outlook Mac (OLM) folder to the Gmail folder that we created earlier and named as ‘OLM Data’.

After copying, wait for the Gmail server to finish the sync.

Step 4: Add Gmail Account to Outlook for Windows and Export PST

Once all the copied email items are synched, go to your Windows Outlook and sign in using the same Gmail ID.

Then use open the Outlook Import/Export Wizard to export the copied mailbox data in Gmail’s OLM Data folder to PST.

This way, you can export the OLM data to PST indirectly. However, it’s important to note that not all mailbox items can be copied. Also, there are several limitations of this method, which are as follows,

• Data consistency problem and missing attachments
• This process can take several hours to finish
• You cannot sync or move more than 15GB data (max) via this method at once
• The structure and formatting are lost
• Data loss is also an issue

Thus, if you want to avoid all these issues, use the Stellar Converter for OLM software.

Conclusion

As Mac Outlook OLM file can’t be opened in MS Outlook in Windows, you must convert the OLM data to Outlook importable PST file format. In this guide, we discussed two different ways to convert OLM data to PST and open Outlook for Mac mailbox items in Outlook for Windows.

However, as the manual method is quite long, risks data loss and limits you in several ways from moving or saving OLM data to PST file, use the Stellar Converter for OLM to open the Outlook for Mac (.OLM file) in Outlook for Windows. The software converts the OLM data, such as emails, attachments, contacts, calendar, notes, etc. and saves it to PST with 100% accuracy and precision.

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About The Author

Eric Simson

Eric Simson is an Email Platform Consultant and is associated with Stellar Data Recovery from last 6 years. He writes about the latest technology tips and provides custom solutions related to MS Outlook, MS Exchange Server, Office 365, and many other Email Clients & Servers.