Restoring Local Mail (Outlook for Windows)

Summary

Instructions for restoring local mail in Outlook for Windows.

How do I access local / archived mail previously stored on a computer?

To have Outlook display messages stored on the computer rather than the server:

Outlook Classic

Click File.
Select Open & Export.
Select Open Outlook Data File.
Browse to the location of the file.
Note: Generally, files are stored in My Documents / Outlook Files, and will have a .pst extension. Do not attempt to restore a .ost file.
Select the file and click Open.
A new section will appear in the Mail Pane, titled the same as the data file.

New Outlook

Click File.
Select Open & Export.
Select Add File.
Browse to the location of the file.
Note: Generally, files are stored in My Documents / Outlook Files, and will have a .pst extension. Do not attempt to restore a .ost file.
Select the file and click Open.
A new section will appear in the Mail Pane, titled the same as the data file.

Article ID: 2379

Created

Mon 10/10/16 2:44 PM

Modified

Fri 3/27/26 11:38 AM