Save Emails from Outlook: An Easy & Quick Guide

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The easiest ways to save and back up your Outlook messages

Written by Darlene Antonelli, MA

Last Updated: October 19, 2024 Fact Checked

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• Saving an Email via New Outlook & Web
|
• Saving an Email via Classic Outlook
|
• Exporting An Email Folder Using Classic Outlook
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• Saving an Email Using Outlook 2003 or 2007
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• Exporting an Email Folder in Outlook 2003 or 2007
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• Using Outlook Express
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• Video

|Show more |Show less

Outlook desktop applications can archive and save your email data. This allows you to back up your emails for safekeeping or transfer them to another computer. You can save one email at a time or entire folders at once. This wikiHow article teaches you how to download emails in Outlook using the desktop client or web application.

Quick Steps

1. Open Outlook.
2. Go to the email you want to download.
3. Click "•••" or "File".
4. Click Save as.
5. Save the email.

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 6:

Saving an Email via New Outlook & Web

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1. 1
   Launch Outlook. It has a blue icon with an "O" over an envelope. You'll know you're using New Outlook if you see Home, View, and Help in the ribbon instead of the File tab.

   • These steps work for Outlook on the web and the New Outlook desktop client for Windows.
   • If you open Task Manager (press Ctrl + Shift + Esc), you'll see that the Outlook program is called "Outlook (new)".
2. 2
   Open the email you want to download. You can single-click it to open the email in the reading pane or double-click it to open it in a new window.
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3. 3
   Click ••• . This three-dot menu icon says "More actions" when your mouse hovers over it. It's in the top-right corner of the reading pane or email window.
4. 4
   Click Save as. Alternatively, right-click the email in the list of emails and select Save as.
5. 5
   Save the email. By default, the email saves as a ".eml" file, but you can save it as a PDF by clicking the three-dot menu and selecting Print > Print > Microsoft Print to PDF > Print.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 6:

Saving an Email via Classic Outlook

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1. 1
   Launch Outlook. It has a blue icon with an "O" over an envelope. You'll know you're using Classic Outlook if you see a File tab in the ribbon.

   • If you are not automatically signed in, sign in with the Email address and password associated with your Microsoft account.
2. 2
   Open an email you want to save. Select an email folder in the sidebar to the left and then double-click the email you want to save.
3. 3
   Click File. It's the first menu in the menu bar at the top of Outlook.
4. 4
   Click Save As. It's the third option in the File menu.
5. 5
   Select a folder to save your folder in. You can click a folder in the Quick Access bar to the left or double-click a folder in the File Explorer window.
6. 6
   Type a name for the file. Type the name for the file next to "File Name" in the File Explorer window.
7. 7
   Select a file type. Use the drop-down menu next to "Save as Type" to select a file type to save the email. You can save the email as an Outlook file, an HTML, or a text file.
8. 8
   Click Save. This saves the email to the folder you selected.

   • Alternatively, you can drag and drop the emails from Outlook to the folder where you want to save them.
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Method 3

Method 3 of 6:

Exporting An Email Folder Using Classic Outlook

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1. 1
   Launch Outlook. It has a blue icon with an "O" over an envelope. This only works for Classic Outlook and is not currently supported in New Outlook.

   • Revert from New Outlook to Classic Outlook by clicking the Help tab and selecting Switch to Classic Outlook.
   • If you are not automatically signed in, sign in with the Email address and password associated with your Microsoft account.
2. 2
   Click File. It's the first menu in the menu bar at the top of Outlook.
3. 3
   Click Open & Export. It's the second option in the File menu.
4. 4
   Click Import/Export. It's the third option in the "Open & Export" menu.
5. 5
   Select "Export to a file" and click Next. Use this option to export your email messages to a local file on your computer.
6. 6
   Select "Outlook Data File (.pst)" and click Next. This option exports your email folders as a .pst file that can be imported into Outlook.
7. 7
   Select a folder to export and click Next. Click the email folder you want to export. This is the folder that will be exported as a .pst file.

   • To select all emails, click your root email address at the top of your list of email folders.
8. 8
   Click Browse. It's to the left of the "Save exported file as" field. This allows you to select a location to save the file to.
9. 9
   Select a save location and click Ok. Use the File Browser window to select a location where you want to save the file to. Select a Quick Access folder to the left, or click a folder in the menu. Click Ok to select a location.
10. 10
    Click Finish. It's at the bottom of the "Export Outlook Data File" window.
11. 11
    Create a password and click Ok . If you want to password protect the file to prevent others from accessing the file, enter the password in the fields that say "Password" and "Verify Password". If you do not wish to create a password, leave these fields blank. Click Ok when you are done. This saves your emails as a .pst file. It may save quickly, or it may take a while depending on how many emails you want to save.
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Method 4

Method 4 of 6:

Saving an Email Using Outlook 2003 or 2007

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1. 1
   Launch Outlook 2003 or 2007. You may have an Outlook shortcut on your desktop or in your taskbar, or you can find it in the Start menu.

   • If you are not signed in automatically, enter your Outlook account's email address and password.
2. 2
   Select an email to download. In both versions, double-click the email you want to download and open it.

   • If you want to download more than one email, hold the "Ctrl" key on your keyboard and click each email you want to download.
3. 3
   Click File. It's in the menu bar at the top of Outlook.
4. 4
   Click Save As. It's in the File menu.
5. 5
   Choose format to save the email as. Use the drop-down menu next to "Save as Type" to select a file type to save the file as. You can save the email(s) as an Outlook file, an HTML, or a text file. Choose the format you want to use from the drop-down menu.

   • The .html or .htm format will save a web page version of the email. The .txt format can be opened as a plain text file in WordPad or NotePad.
   • If you’re saving multiple emails in .txt format, each email in the file will begin with the word “From.”
6. 6
   Select a location to save the email(s). Using the file explorer in the Save As window, navigate to the folder where you want to save the email(s) and click Ok.
7. 7
   Set a filename. In the 2003 version of Outlook, the subject of the email becomes the filename when you download a single email. For 2007, enter the filename into the Filename field.
8. 8
   Click Save. The email will be saved in your selected location under the filename you entered (for the 2007 version).
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Method 5

Method 5 of 6:

Exporting an Email Folder in Outlook 2003 or 2007

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1. 1
   Launch Outlook 2003 or 2007. You may have an Outlook shortcut on your desktop or in your taskbar, or you can find it in the Start menu.

   • If you are not signed in automatically, enter the email address and password associated with your Outlook account.
2. 2
   Click the Folder you want to export. Use the sidebar to the left to select an email folder.
3. 3
   Click File. It's in the menu bar at the top of Outlook.
4. 4
   Click Import and Export. It's in the File menu.
5. 5
   Click Export. It's in the "Import and Export" menu.
6. 6
   Click Next in the pop-up. You will be given a set of options to select from.
7. 7
   Select “Comma Separated Values” as the file type. You can use the drop-down menu next to "Save as Type" to select a file type.
8. 8
   Select the folder you want to save your backup files in. Use the File Explorer window to select where to save your file.
9. 9
   Give your backup a name and click Next. Use the field next to "Filename" to give the backup file a name.
10. 10
    Click Finish. This saves the email folder as a backup file.
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Method 6

Method 6 of 6:

Using Outlook Express

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1. 1
   Launch Outlook Express. If you have Outlook Express on your computer, you can use it to download your email messages. Double-click its icon on the desktop or find it in the Programs menu.
2. 2
   Add an account. After opening Outlook Express, use the following steps to add an account.

   • Click the Tools menu.
   • Select the Accounts option. A pop-up window showing “Internet Accounts” will appear.
   • Click Add under "All".
   • Select Mail.
3. 3
   Enter the required information. Use the following steps to enter the required information:

   • Enter a name for the account next to "Display Name".
   • Enter the email address that you want to download emails from and click Next.
4. 4
   Enter your login details and click Finish. You will be directed to a new window asking for login details. Enter the respective ID and password associated with your account under the “Internet Mail server."
5. 5
   Set the advanced settings. Once you have added the email address, your account will be visible under the “All” list. Use the following steps to set the Advanced Settings

   • Select your email and click the Properties button in the side menu.
   • Select the “Advanced” settings, located between “Security” and “IMAP.”
   • Fill out your mail server information, which you can find on your mail service’s Support page.
6. 6
   Download the emails into Outlook Express. After completing the procedure, click the “Send/Receive” button beside “Create Mail” at the top of the screen. This will download the emails from your account to your Outlook Express inbox.
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