EMIAL EXPORT/IMPORT

Question

I am trying to import my contacts and emails from Outlook 2013 to Outlook 2024

Answer 1

Hello mcconnell machinery

The "Export/Import" workflow rewrites the header information of every single email, which resets the "Modified" timestamps and often breaks custom views or recurring calendar appointments. Furthermore, if you are using an IMAP or Exchange account (such as Gmail, Outlook.com, or Microsoft 365), this entire manual process is redundant because your data resides on the server and will synchronize automatically once you sign into the new Outlook client.

Assuming you are working with POP3 accounts or strictly local archives where manual migration is actually necessary, the robust "best practice" is to manipulate the Outlook Data File (.pst) directly rather than filtering it through an export wizard. First, ensure Outlook 2013 is completely closed. Navigate to your data file location, typically found at %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Outlook Files\ or sometimes %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Outlook\. Copy the actual .pst file (the master database) to your new machine. This preserves 100% of the metadata, folder structure, and custom rules without the degradation caused by the export process.

On the Outlook 2024 side, you must ensure you are launching the "Classic" Outlook for Windows, not the "New Outlook" (Pre) web-wrapper, as the latter has restricted support for local PST management. Once inside the Classic Outlook 2024, do not use the "Import" function. Instead, go to File > Open & Export > Open Outlook Data File and select the .pst file you transferred. This mounts the file as a separate, clean repository in your folder pane. If you absolutely must merge this data into your main inbox, you can then drag and drop the folders manually, however, keeping the archive mounted separately is superior for profile performance and reduces the risk of corrupting your active .ost cache.

I hope you've found something useful here. If it helps you get more insight into the issue, it's appreciated to accept the answer. Should you have more questions, feel free to leave a message. Have a nice day!

VP

Answer 2

To import your contacts and emails from Outlook 2013 to Outlook 2024, you can follow these general steps:

1. Export Contacts and Emails from Outlook 2013:
   • Open Outlook 2013.
   • Go to the File menu and select "Open & Export".
   • Choose "Import/Export".
   • Select "Export to a file" and click "Next".
   • Choose "Outlook Data File (.pst)" and click "Next".
   • Select the folders you want to export (you can choose the Contacts and Inbox folders) and click "Next".
   • Choose a location to save the .pst file and click "Finish".
2. Import Contacts and Emails into Outlook 2024:
   • Open Outlook 2024.
   • Go to the File menu and select "Open & Export".
   • Choose "Import/Export".
   • Select "Import from another program or file" and click "Next".
   • Choose "Outlook Data File (.pst)" and click "Next".
   • Browse to the .pst file you exported from Outlook 2013 and choose how you want to handle duplicates.
   • Select the folders to import (you can choose to import everything) and click "Finish".

By following these steps, you should be able to successfully transfer your contacts and emails from Outlook 2013 to Outlook 2024.