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Create and use Personal Folders (Outlook Data Files)
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Create and use Personal Folders (Outlook Data Files)

Import and export email

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Store email online to access it on multiple computers and devices. But how do you move your email, calendar, contacts and other items from one account to another?

Storing email online is the best way to go if you want to access it on multiple computers and devices. But what if you want to change email accounts? How do you move your email, calendar, contacts and all your other items from one account to the other? Here’s how.

You start by exporting them to an Outlook Data File on your computer. Then, you can import them to the other account.

In case you’re wondering, there’s a difference between exporting and archiving. With archiving, the content is moved, so it no longer exists in the original location. With exporting, the content is copied.

First, we’ll export the content from the email account. Click File, Open & Export, and Import/Export.

Select Export to a file, and click Next.

Select Outlook Data File, and click Next.

Select the email account, and make sure Include subfolders is checked. Then, click Next.

Click Browse. Then, choose a location and type a new name for the data file. And click OK.

We could choose one of these options if we were adding the content to an existing data file. But our new file will only be used to hold the content from the email account. So, click Finish.

Here you can password-protect the data file. To keep it simple, we’ll bypass this step and click OK.

And the content is exported to the data file.

Next we need to import the data to the new email account. And you start by adding the new account to Outlook. For more information about how to add an account, see the course summary at the end of this course.

Click the File tab, Open & Export and Import/Export.

Select Import from another program or file, and click Next.

Select Outlook Data File, and click Next.

Click Browse, and locate the Outlook Data File we just created, and click Open.

We’ll be merging the data file with the existing content in the new email account. But since the new account is mostly empty except for some folders added by the email server, we can leave this option selected – Replace duplicates with items imported. Click Next.

In the box at the top, select the Outlook Data File and make sure Include subfolders is checked. Make sure Import items into the same folder in is checked, and finally select the new email account in the list, and click Finish.

And the content is added to the new account. If you have a lot of content to add, it may take a while for it to upload to the email server.

So now you know how to use Personal Folders and Outlook Data Files. For more information about importing, exporting and archiving, check out the links in the course summary.

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Import and export Outlook email, contacts, and calendar

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