How to Import PST File into Outlook Web App? Explained in Detail
This article addresses a common query frequently asked on Exchange and Microsoft Forums: “How do we import PST files into Outlook Web App through internet browsers, enabling access to mailbox details from anywhere at any time?” Accessible through OWA, Outlook is available when an account is set up with Exchange Online and Microsoft applications. Users of Outlook have the option to import their PST files into the Outlook web app to manage emails efficiently.
What are the Possible Ways to Import PST Files into Outlook Web Applications?
To find the solution to this issue, first, we need to understand the given below scenarios such as:
- How can we move Outlook PST files stored locally within the system or an Offline or dismounted PST File stored on a PC?
- How to import PST Files data, where the account by default configures with it?
5 Quick & Simple Steps to Import PST to Outlook Web App
- Step 1. Download, Install & Run the Software.
- Step 2. Choose Required Items & Set Date Filter.
- Step 3. Set PST Path & Login with Admin Credentials.
- Step 4. Create Mapping & Add Office 365 User IDs.
- Step 5. Authenticate Permissions & Click on Start Import.
In the first scenario, the PST File is locally stored, so using the Microsoft Azure AzCopy tool, we can move the PST file to Microsoft 365 account manually and import it into the Outlook Web App. For another condition, Outlook users need to export mailbox data into a PST File format using the Import / Export Wizard. Follow the steps to move mailbox items:
- Open the Outlook Application and click on the File option.
- Click on the Open & Export Option and select the “Import / Export” Wizard.
- Select the “Export to a File” option and select Outlook (.pst) file format.
- Select the Mailboxes Items and Subfolders you want to import into Outlook 365.
- Browse to the location to save the resultant PST File in the local system.
After a PST File is created and stored in the local system, use the “Network Upload” method to import PST files into Outlook Web App. The Complete Process of moving files is divided into the following sections:
Step 1. Install Azure AzCopy & Copy SAS URL
- First, need to Open the Link
- Provide Credentials for Microsoft Office 365 to access it. After providing the correct credentials, select Security & Compliance Center >> Data governance >> Import.
- Now Open, Import Wizard Click on the “New Import Job” option and provide a unique name with lowercase and hyphens.
- Select the “Upload your Data” option.
- Now click on the “Azure AzCopy” option to download the latest Azure AzCopy Tool
- Now run the Azure AzCopy tool so that, we can import PST files into Outlook Web App
- Now Run Command Prompt and Run Command: AzCopy.exe /Source: /Dest: /V: /Y
| Source: | Directory path of stored PST File |
| /Dest: | URL path created from “Show Network Upload SAS URL” |
| /V: | Verbose log file |
Now run the above command to import PST file into Outlook Web Access. You can view a similar path below the image:
Step 2. Create the PST Import Mapping File
Once, you have uploaded the PST file to the Azure location from there we need to move it to the Outlook web app. For that, we need to create a CSV file with user mailboxes for PST files. This New Created CSV file is needed while creating Import jobs.
You can Sample download CSV from the Following Link
Step 3. Create PST Import Job in Outlook 365 Application
- Now, at last, check the options “I upload my files” and “I have access to the mapping file“.
- In the next screen, you need to add the created CSV File using the option “Select Mapping File”. When you successfully validate the CSV File, start the analysis process so that data can be ready to migrate Office 365 environment.
- When the analysis process is complete, a prompt screen appears with a different option such as “Yes, I want to filter it before importing” and “No I want to import everything“.
- If you want to import complete mailbox data to Outlook 365 so that you can access it via OWA, select the second option. When the process is completed, Open the Office 365 application to view the resulting PST File and now use OWA to access it.
Also, check out the tutorial to Import PST Files to Gmail
Alternative Solution to Access PST File in Outlook Web App
As we can see lengthy steps with lots of prerequisites should be followed to import PST Files into OWA. Even downloading different tools (Azure Tool) to move and check file details can be a tedious task and the Administrator should have some experience with these tools first so that any error can be fixed easily. To avoid all these issues regarding the migration process, use SysTools Import PST to Office 365 Tool.
An automated solution can help you import PST files into the Outlook Web App so that PST files can be easily accessed inside the Outlook Web App. Software directly imports multiple PST files, with complete information on emails, contacts, and calendar sections. Also, it uses the Advanced Feature of Incremental import with a Date Filter and completely supports Outlook File. In addition to this, you can also import PST files to a Shared mailbox using this tool.
Steps to Import PST to Outlook Online/ Web App Using the Automated Software
Step 1. Start by choosing Outlook as the source platform and Office 365 as the destination for importing contacts.
Step 2. Select the necessary mailbox categories—like email contacts, calendar, etc.—to set up the import workload. Then, proceed to the next step. Apply a date filter if you wish to import specific data.
Step 3. From the source screen, choose the folder path where the Outlook PST files are located.
Then organize the PST files in folders named after the target O365 email IDs in this format:
- Create folders in the root drive, such as E:/PST/[email protected]/ (put user1’s PST files here)
- E:/PST/[email protected]/ (put user2’s PST files here)
- E:/PST/[email protected]/ (put user3’s PST files here) and so on…
Then, select the folder “E:/PST/” in our tool as the Import Folder Path.
Step 4. Click “Validate” to validate the required permissions of the files. Once validated, click “Next.”
Step 5. Enter the Office 365 admin email account and application ID for the destination. Click “Validate” to confirm the credentials. After validation, click “Next.”
Step 6. On the Users screen, you have multiple options to add users from the source account:
- Fetch Users – Automatically fetches users from the Source.
- Import Users – Imports users through CSV.
- Download Template – Downloads a template for creating a CSV file.
Select the suitable method for adding users.
Step 7. Now, add destination user accounts. You have two options for this:
- User List Template – Provides a sample CSV file for manually adding source users.
- Import Users – Imports users through CSV.
Step 8. Click “Validate” to authorize the selected user source and destination accounts. Once you validate the users, click the “OK” button.
Step 9. Finally, click the “Start Import” button to initiate the import process.
Note: If your Outlook PST file is damaged and or inaccessible in your Outlook account, then it is important to repair and fix it before you import PST into Outlook Web Access account. In such cases, you can use Outlook Recovery software. This application can repair corrupted, damaged, inaccessible, and oversized PST data file items effortlessly without any data loss. The tool maintains data integrity and preserves the PST mailbox metadata even after the repair and recovery process. Also, the application can directly import repaired PST data items into Outlook Web Access user, admin, or shared mailbox.
Conclusion
To know how to import your Outlook PST files into Outlook Web Access, the Administrator needs to move PST files into either Exchange or Office365 Application. In the above section, we discuss the method to import PST files into Outlook Web App / Access, so that a user can access the PST file using OWA. Either the Administrator can try an automated solution or can follow lengthy and time-consuming techniques using the Microsoft Azure Import Tool.