Question
- How do I export my email and contacts to a file so I can import the information into another version of Outlook or other email program and access it after my Bowdoin email account is closed?
Environment
When students or faculty leave the college, they may have some personal email that they would like to take with them. As Bowdoin uses Microsoft 365, email must be exported to be re-imported into a different service.
Resolution
- In Outlook, first check if you are using the Legacy or New Outlook interface.
- If you are using the New Outlook interface you will need to change it to Legacy for the Export and can then change it back afterwards.
- Click on the Help tab on the menu bar, then click on Revert to Legacy Outlook.
- Under the Tools tab, click on Export.
- In the Export window, choose which items you would like to export, then click Continue.
- Be sure to select the correct mailbox. If you have more than one account added to your Outlook client you would be given the opportunity to export any of them. Scroll through the list to make sure that you're selecting the mailbox. The Bowdoin mailbox should be identified by your email address.
- In the "Save archive file as" window, click the small downward arrow icon to select a destination folder.
- In the Save as: box, type a descriptive name for your contacts file, then click Save.
- Complete the process by clicking Finish.
- You can now switch back to the New Outlook style. To do this, click on the "New Outlook" switch next to the search bar at the top of the window.
You have now exported your email and contacts to a file that will allow you to migrate the mail to another version of Outlook, another email program, and/or keep an archive copy for future reference if needed.
If you want to open in it with Apple's Mail app to have access to the files (it will not be a live account) you can first open the exported file with Mozilla Thunderbird to convert the file and Mail can import from Thunderbird.