Managing an email account in a desktop client is profitable and safe for organization. Apple Mail and Outlook are both popular email applications used on macOS and Windows OS to manage personal and professional email accounts. But sometimes, users may need to change their Apple Mail emails to Microsoft Outlook for switching email clients, migrating to a Windows system, creating a backup, etc.
Exporting Apple Mail data to Outlook PST format is a very common scenario. Apple Mail does not provide any direct option to create a PST file. Therefore, users generally need to convert their Apple Mail mailbox to PST format using a manual or email conversion solution.
This article explains the available methods and provides a practical approach for transferring Apple Mail emails to Outlook PST.
Apple Mail Directly Export Emails to PST
If you are looking for such query, then the answer is straight and simple: “No”. Apple Mail does not have any option to export emails directly as an Outlook PST file.
Organization can use Apple mail to export emails into MBOX and then change to PST. Below we understand the native and professional way to export a mailbox into PST
A typical workflow:
(Manually)
Apple Mail >> Connect >> Webmail (IMAP-support) >> Add Same IMAP account with Outlook
(Automated)
Apple Mail >> Mailbox Export >> Conversion in PST >> Import to Outlook
The exact process depends on the Apple Mail data available and the conversion software being used.
Free Manual Workaround to Transfer Apple Mail to Outlook
If you do not want to purchase conversion software, you can try a free workaround by exporting your Apple Mail mailbox as an MBOX file and then importing the mailbox into an email client that supports MBOX. Apple Mail provides a built-in Export Mailbox option that saves selected mailboxes as .mbox format.
1: Export Mailbox from Apple Mail
Open Apple Mail on your Mac and select the mailbox or folder containing the emails you want to transfer. Go to Mailbox > Export Mailbox, choose a destination folder, and click Choose.
Wait few minute to export your entire Apple Mail mailbox in .mbox file format.
2: Transfer the MBOX File
Connect your Apple Mail account with any IMAP support email client like Gmail.
3: Import the MBOX Data
After successfully setting up the account, create a new folder and drag all the emails into it so that they sync with the Gmail account.
4: Move the Emails to Outlook
Now, configure that same webmail account in Microsoft Outlook. After successfully syncing the data, export the mailbox to the PST file format.
Important Limitation of the Manual Method
The free method is suitable for personal users who only need to preserve or access their Apple Mail messages in a Outlook. However, this is a long process to execute conversion and access PST in Outlook. With these additional steps, user cannot preserve every mailbox property exactly as it appeared in Apple Mail.
In contrast, Apple mail to Outlook conversion software can simplify the process by loading the Apple Mail MBOX data and export into PST and others.
Export Apple Mail Mailbox and Convert to PST
Manual way is good and simple for few MB data. With a bundle of mailboxes and multiple account, it can be a challenging task for organization. For professional help, first export the Apple Mail mailbox and then convert the resulting mailbox data into PST.
1: Open Apple Mail: Launch Apple Mail on your Mac and and export your data into .mbox file format using export messages option.
2: Move to Windows system: Before conversion, copy the data and move to your Windows system where you are going to use Microsoft Outlook.
3: Add the Mailbox to an MBOX to PST Converter
- Since Apple Mail commonly uses MBOX-based mailbox data, an MBOX to PST converter can be used to convert the exported mailbox into an Outlook-compatible PST file.
- Download and install MailsDaddy MBOX to PST Converter tool and add the required MBOX files to the conversion software and allow the application to scan the mailbox data.
4: Preview Apple Mail Emails: Before finalizing the migration, user can preview the emails in right side of pane. Also review the available emails, attachments and folders to verify that the mailbox has been loaded correctly.
5: Select PST as the Output Format:
- Press Export button and choose PST for Outlook
- Save the destination and click export button to start the conversion process.
6: Wait for Output: The time required depends on the size of the Apple Mail mailbox, number of messages, attachment size, computer performance, and conversion method. Once the conversion is complete, you should have an Outlook-compatible PST file containing the converted Apple Mail data.
Import the Converted PST into Outlook
After creating the PST file, you can open or import it into Microsoft Outlook.
1: Open Microsoft Outlook: Launch Outlook on your Windows computer and make sure Outlook is properly installed and configured before importing the converted mailbox data.
2: Open the Import/Export Wizard
- In Outlook, go to the file > Import/Export option and select the option for importing data from an Outlook Data File.
- Choose the converted PST file from the location where you saved it.
3: Select the Required Folders: Outlook will display the folders available inside the PST file. Select the folders you want to import and choose the appropriate destination within Outlook.
4: Complete the Import: After completion, the imported Apple Mail emails should be available in the selected Outlook mailbox or data file.
Why Use Dedicated Conversion Software?
Manually moving Apple Mail emails between different email clients can involve multiple steps and may become complicated when dealing with large mailboxes. Dedicated conversion software can simplify the process by providing features such as mailbox preview, selective folder conversion, batch processing, and direct PST export.
For users migrating many Apple Mail emails, MailsDaddy MBOX to PST Converter can be a more convenient option than manually transferring individual messages.
Conclusion
Apple Mail does not provide a direct Export to PST option because PST is a natively support Microsoft Outlook. However, Apple Mail data can be exported from the Mac and converted into PST using a suitable mailbox conversion tool.
The general process is straightforward: export the Apple Mail mailbox, obtain the MBOX data, add it to an MBOX converter, preview the mailbox, select PST as the output format, and convert the data. Finally, open or import the resulting PST in Outlook.In contrast, Apple mail to Outlook conversion software can simplify the process by loading the Apple Mail MBOX data and export into PST and others.
