How to Manage Multiple PST Files in Outlook 2021, 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010

Today, almost every organization uses Microsoft Outlook for sending and receiving emails on a daily basis. Sometimes, users become fad up with a large number of PST files in their Outlook account and don’t know how to handle or manage multiple PST files in Outlook.

Read on to get the best and most successful way to merge multiple Outlook PST files into one for Outlook data management. In this blog, we will explain how to manage PST files, recover corrupted PST files and oversized PST files.

Microsoft Outlook supports the PST file format to store all data which includes emails, contacts, tasks, reminders, calendars, and more. Because of this, huge PST files are difficult to manage. Outlook offers an Archive feature for moving data into a separate archive folder, that can be accessed in Outlook at any time.

What to Do to Manage Multiple PST Files in Outlook?

To manage PST files, you need to follow all the rules that are mentioned in the below section:

#1. Locate PST File

The first step to handling a large number of Outlook data files is you need to know the location of PST files in Outlook. To know where the PST file is stored, Go to the Account Setting>> Data Files >> Open in Folder.

Location of PST in Outlook 2010/2007 (Windows 10)

C:\users\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook

Location of PST in Outlook 2016/2013

C:\users\username\Documents\Outlook Files

Outlook PST File Location in Older Versions of Windows

drive:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook

#2. Create Backup of PST File

To manage Outlook PST files, you can create a backup of the PST file so that you can easily restore it.

1. Go to File >> Open & Export >> Import/Export
2. Choose Export to a file >> Outlook Data File (.pst) and click Next
3. Select the folder to export and click Next
4. Click Browse and select the location where you want to save a new .pst file
5. In the File Name box, give the name for the new PST file and click OK
6. In the end, hit on the Finish button.

#3. Combine Multiple PST Files into One PST File

To manage multiple PST files in Outlook, the best solution for users is to merge 2 PST files into one Merging Outlook .pst files into single one has many benefits. Some of them are:-

1. Huge PST files are difficult to manage and handle
2. Outlook performance decreases when opening multiple PST files
3. Single PST file is easy to open and easy to manage
4. Users can easily access multiple Outlook accounts emails at one place
5. One PST file is easy to share with someone

We have known what can do to manage Outlook PST files. Now, let’s discuss how to consolidate PST files into a single one.

How to Manage PST Files via Merging?

Before going further, it should be noted that Outlook does not have an inbuilt utility to join PST files together. But some indirect manual method allows you to merge 2 PST files into one. There are two methods to complete this task, manual and automated. In the next, section we will mention the complete steps of both methods.

Method 1: Manual Way to Combine Multiple PST Files

The manual process for merging Outlook .pst files into single one is divided into two parts. First you must create a new blank PST file, after transfer all existing Outlook data files into a newly created file.

1. In Outlook, click on New Items and select More Items option
2. Click on the Outlook Data File
3. Give the name of the new PST file and select the desired location to save the file.
4. Click the OK button and a new PST file is created.
5. Again open Outlook application and go to File >> Open >> Import
6. The Import/Export wizard will display, select Import from another program or file and click Next
7. Select the file type Outlook Data File (.pst) to import from and click Next
8. Browse the file that you want to import in Outlook. Select “Do not import duplicates” and click Next
9. Check the “Include subfolders” and “Import items into the same folder” option
10. Click the Finish button.

Note- You need to repeat the import steps for each PST file. As Outlook allows to import one PST file at a time.

Limitations of Manual Method

The manual process to manage Outlook PST files via combining PST files is very time-taking and requires technical expertise. If a step is wrong, the data may be corrupted or lost. Manually, you can merge 2 PST files into one easily. But, if you have thousands of files, this task is very tedious.

Method 2: Automated Solution to Manage Multiple PST Files in Outlook

SysTools PST Merge software is a complete solution to combine Outlook contacts, emails, calendars, tasks, notes, and journals in just a few simple steps without losing a single data. The software is 100% free from viruses and able to join PST files in Outlook without any file size limitations. It offers multiple features to make this task simple for all types of users.

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Steps to manage PST files via merging are as follows;

Step 1. Run the tool and select the PST data files.

Step 2. Choose the Merge or Join option and proceed.

Step 3. Select combine with an existing PST option to get all emails in one inbox.

Step 4. Select mailbox items and click on the Next button.

Step 5: Choose the Split Size as per your choice.

Step 6: At click on the Next button and once the task is completed click on the OK button.

Here are the additional features of the Outlook data merger utility:

1. Provides Two Options: Join and Merge to manage Outlook PST files.
2. Supports all Microsoft Outlook versions including Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, etc.
3. Works well with all Windows platform like Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, etc.
4. Able to combine Outlook archive PST files in a new PST, existing PST file and Outlook profile effortlessly.
5. Successfully combine or join Outlook emails, contacts, calendars, tasks, notes, and journals.
6. The option of split large size PST file to easily fix PST file too large to open error.
7. Offers Skip Duplicate Items option to merge and remove duplicate contacts in Outlook.
8. Option to remove duplicates from Outlook Mail, Calendars, Tasks, Journals, and Notes. You can select the required fields to delete duplicates.

Concluding Words

Here is the step by step guide how can a user manage PST files. Merging Outlook .pst files into a single one is the best solution for data management. For this, we discussed two solutions for this, Manual and Automated. The manual solution has some limitations and useful to merge 2 PST files into one. To overcome this limitations, it is recommended to opt for an alternate solution to manage multiple PST files in Outlook without any error.

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