How To Move Your Outlook Folders To Another Computer

You've got two computers, a work machine and a home machine both running Microsoft Outlook. Now you want to move some of those Outlook folders from your work machine to your home machine, but you don't want to copy a 23.8 GB PST file. What's a good way to do that?

The Hard Way

The method for doing this that seems to appear most often involves doing a complicated import/export operation. Here are the usual instructions, for example (loosely taken from http://www.techsupportforum.com/microsoft-support/microsoft-office-support/35814-transfer-outlook-files-computer-computer.html):

  1. From within Outlook, File, Import and Export, Export to a file, Next
  2. Choose Personal file folder (.pst), Next
  3. Highlight the folder you want to move. Check the "subfolders" box too.
  4. Browse to a folder and choose a file name.
  5. Highlight the option for replacing duplicates and Finish, choose Compressible encryption if available, then OK.
  6. Copy this file to a CD or stick. Now go to the other computer. You'll do essentially the reverse of what you just accomplished.
  7. Open Outlook and File, Import and Export, Import from another file or program, Personal Folder (.pst), Next
  8. Browse to the folder you copied (you may have to click "All Files *.*" to see it). Double click the .pst file that you created.
  9. Allow duplicates, Next
  10. Select the folder and where you want to put in, check subfolders, finish.
Well, that was easy! Except that you can only choose one folder plus its subfolders at a time. If you wanted to copy 5 folders, you'd have to go through that five times, otherwise you might need to copy your entire PST file.

There's some more info at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/copy-the-outlook-folder-structure-to-another-computer-HA001116603.aspx.

The Easier Way

Pandali Folder Master for Outlook now has a wizard to help you transfer folders to another computer.

To move or copy your folders, simply do the following:

  1. Install Pandali Folder Master on the machine you want to copy folders from, launch it, and click the Transfer... button at the top.
  2. Follow the easy instructions in the wizard, which will produce a temporary Personal Folders (PST) file with just the folders you want. Multiple folder selection means you only have to go through this operation once!
  3. Copy the PST file to the destination machine.
  4. Install and launch Folder Master on the destination machine, click Transfer, and again follow the easy instructions.

That's it – done! For more information on Pandali Folder Master, to download it, or for more in-depth instructions, click here.