How to import MSG files into Outlook?

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November 15, 2022

Tags: MSG

by Gordon

MSG to Outlook Transfer – User’s Manual

Even though “email conversion” may sound technical and complex, it may be a fairly simple routine if you have the right tool at hand. Conversion and import can be easily automated, and this is what MSG to Outlook Transfer was designed for. The program is a compact tool that can export MSG files from user-defined source folders and transfer them to a specified MS Outlook profile or a PST file.

MSG format and program capabilities

The MSG file format is the native Outlook data format for storing messages with attachments, contacts, tasks, and other types of objects. MSG files can be binary (if generated by MS Outlook) or text-based (if saved in The Bat!, Zimbra or PMMail 2000). The tool supports both types and allows the user to choose between the two. You can import MSG files into Outlook using a corresponding command found in the main menu.

The key advantage of MSG to Outlook Transfer tool is its ability to save users money and time. Without the program, email conversion and export tasks would have to be outsourced to specialized services charging ample fees per conversion or even charging by the hour. MSG to Outlook Transfer helps avoid those expenses by enabling users to perform MSG into Outlook conversions on their own and a lot faster than it would normally take with a specialized service.

Created for the widest audience possible, the program has an interface that even novices can use without any problems. The main program window contains the source folder selection field, a large viewer, – the text area that contains with the names of MSG files located in the source location, a smaller area with log entries added during the conversion, as well as a button that initiates the import procedure on Outlook 2016, 2013, 2010 and older.

Preparing data to import MSG into Outlook

To be able to import MSG files into Outlook, you should prepare the source data.

Prior to starting MSG to Outlook Transfer, you need to prepare the source data. Make sure the files are located in a single folder (you can create a new folder for convenience) and sorted by subfolders, if necessary. Make sure you know the format of your files. If you know that they were generated by Microsoft Outlook, they will be in the binary format. If not, your MSG files will be text-based. This will define the choice of the conversion mode at a later stage.

Step-by-step Guide to Convert Multiple MSG files to Outlook:

Download and setup the MSG to Outlook Transfer software and register it if you have an activation code. However if you don’t have it you may use the software in free trial mode.

* - The unregistered version converts a limited number of messages

Launch the MSG file conversion program
Click the browse button (with three dots) to open the standard folder selection dialog. Navigate to the folder containing the source files and confirm your selection. The path to the folder will be displayed in the source folder field in the top part of the window.
Click the “Scan Folder” button to populate the list of MSG files in the “Email Containers” viewer area
If you are sure that the files you are converting were exported from Outlook, it means that they are in Outlook’s native binary format and you don’t need to change the program settings. If the source files were generated in The Bat! or PMMail 2000, Zimbra, they are text-based, and you need to switch the program to a corresponding processing mode by ENABLING the “Use internal format processor” option in the program menu.

At this point, you may want to check out the following options:

Check that email client is running – if enabled, checks if MS Outlook is running and asks you to close it to prevent potential issues while importing MSG files into Microsoft Outlook.

Remind to disable antivirus – if checked, the program will warn the user that all anti-virus products like Norton or Kaspersky must be closed or temporarily deactivated during MSG conversion. Otherwise, they can interfere or even block the process.

Use internal format processor – as mentioned above, when this option is enabled, the program will use an internal data file parser designed for binary MSG file content. Unchecking this option will make the program treat MSG files as text message files.

Correct Email Encoding (Mac/Unix to Win) – when enabled, this option will ensure full readability of emails originating from non-Windows systems.

Prompt to select the Outlook profile – this option enables you to select the destination Outlook profile for your data instead of a separate file in the PST format.

Target Outlook folder [Prompt to select the Outlook folder; Inbox] – defines the default folder for converted emails. You can do it manually before every MSG file conversion or set it to “Inbox” for all future conversions.

The “Mode” menu of MSG to Outlook Transfer lets you choose the conversion mode: PST file or Outlook profile. Depending on your choice, the system will save the .msg files into PST or import them directly in to a designated Outlook profile.

Now that you have configured the options, you can proceed to conversion. Click the “Import” button. If the “Remind to disable antivirus” option is enabled, the program will ask you to temporarily disable your anti-virus to avoid potential access conflicts (if the corresponding option is enabled). Click OK to accept it and continue. You may also see an Office configuration selection window at this point – just leave the setting unchanged and click OK to proceed.
You will see a dialog for selecting the target Outlook folder for your exported data. Choose an existing one or create a new folder, then click OK to start the conversion process. This will import .msg files into Outlook 2016 and other versions.

If you chose to save data to a PST file, the process will be the same, except for the destination folder selection step – you will have to specify a folder on your hard drive or network instead of an Outlook profile. If the option which opent result PST file was disabled, you may open PST file manually with Outlook menu File > Open > Open Outlook Data File…

How to import contacts from MSG file into Outlook

If you have separate files with Outlook contacts saved to MSG files, you can simply drag and drop them into the Outlook program. This is quick and simple, but not always reliable. A professional converter described above will guarantee precision. For manual transfer, open Outlook and the folder containing the files. Then,

Select the MSG contact files you want to convert.
Drag them into your Outlook folder called “Contacts”.
That’s it, contacts will be imported from your MSG files.

This is the end of the MSG to Outlook Transfer user’s manual. The same instruction is applied for Outlook 2010 and above versions. You can also use a PST converter to transfer Outlook emails from a separate PST file to other mail clients. Should you have any questions or problems converting MSG files with our tool, please don’t hesitate to contact our support team.

Import MSG files into Outlook via Drag & Drop Method

It is important to note that this method in most cases only works for individual msg files and not for entire folders containing multiple msg files. Additionally, it is recommended to ensure that the version of Microsoft Outlook being used is compatible with the msg file format. Otherwise, the drag-n-drop method is a quick and easy solution to import msg files to Microsoft Outlook.

Open the folder containing the msg files and open Microsoft Outlook.
Drag the desired msg file(s) from the folder and drop them into the desired folder in Outlook.
The imported msg file(s) will now be accessible in Outlook.

In conclusion, the drag-n-drop method is a simple and efficient way to import individual msg files to Microsoft Outlook. By following these steps, users can quickly and easily access their desired msg files in Outlook.