Manage Multiple PST Files in Simple Way

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

Read on to get the best and most successful way to manage multiple PST files for data management. In this blog, we will explain how to add PST files and 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.

How to Manage Multiple PST Files via Merging?

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

Manage Multiple PST Files for Free

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

1. In Outlook, click on New Items and select the 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 the 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 into Outlook. Select “Do not import duplicates” and click Next
9. Check the “Include subfolders” and “Import items into the same folder” options
10. Click the Finish button.

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

Limitations of the Manual Method

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

Automated Solution to Manage Multiple PST Files

SysTools PST Merge software is a complete solution to manage multiple PST files in just a few simple steps without losing a single piece of data. The software is 100% free from viruses and has no file size limitations. It offers multiple features to make this task simple for all types of users.

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Steps to Manage Multiple PST Files Using Software

Follow the steps below and perform:

• Step 1. Run the tool and select the PST data files.
• Step 2. Choose the Merge or Join option and proceed.
• Step 3. Select the 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: Click on the Next button, and once the task is completed, click on the OK button.

Exceptional Features of the Utility

• Provides Two Options: Join and Merge to manage multiple Outlook data files.
• Works well with all Windows platforms like Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, etc.
• Able to combine Outlook archive PST files in a new PST, existing PST file, and Outlook profile effortlessly.
• Easily fix PST file too large to open errors.
• Offers the Skip Duplicate Items option to merge and remove duplicate contacts in Outlook.
• Option to remove duplicates from Outlook Mail, Calendars, Tasks, Journals, and Notes. You can select the required fields to delete duplicates.

What to Do to Manage Multiple PST Files?

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

#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. To know where the PST file is stored, go to the Account Settings>> Data Files >> Open in Folder.

For Outlook 2010/2007 (Windows 10)

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

For 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 a Backup of the 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 the Finish button.

#3. Manage Multiple PST Files

Managing multiple PST files is the best solution for users. Managing Outlook PST files into a 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. A single PST file is easy to open and easy to manage
4. Users can easily access multiple Outlook accounts and emails in one place
5. One PST file is easy to share with someone

Note: Get a step-by-step guide to import PST in Outlook all versions.

Concluding Words

Here is the step-by-step guide on how a user can manage PST files. For this, we discussed two solutions: Manual and Automated. The manual solution has some limitations and is useful for. To overcome these limitations, it is recommended to opt for an alternate solution to manage multiple PST files without any errors.