How to Export Exchange Mailbox to PST?

You may have to export mailboxes to PST in Exchange Server for various purposes, such as migration, backup, archiving, and also for meeting compliance and legal requirements. In this article, we will be discussing various methods to export Exchange Server mailboxes to PST. We will also mention an alternative solution that can help export mailboxes and other resources from Exchange database in just a few simple steps.

Methods to Export Mailbox to PST in Exchange Server:

There are different methods to export Exchange mailboxes to PST. Let’s go through these methods in detail.

1. Using Microsoft Outlook

You can use Microsoft Outlook to export mailboxes to PST. It is a simple way but you can export one mailbox at a time. Here are the steps:

∙ Open Outlook. Click on File and then click on Open & Export.

∙ Select the Import/Export option.

∙ Click on Export to file and click on Next.

∙ Select Outlook Data File (.pst) and click Next.

∙ Select the folder you wish to export or the entire mailbox. Click on Filter to select the filtering options. When done, click on OK.

∙ Now, specify the location where the PST will be saved and the additional options. Once done, click on Finish.

This will start the process to export the selected folder/mailbox to PST.

Limitations of this Method

- The user profile needs to be setup in Outlook.

- This should only be used for small exports.

- The mailbox should not exceed the size limit, i.e., 50 GB.

- Microsoft Outlook will not be usable during the export.

- There is no option of continuation if the process is interrupted.

- One mailbox at a time can be exported.

2. Using the Exchange Admin Center (EAC)

You can use the Exchange Admin Center (EAC) to export Exchange mailboxes to PST files. However, to use the EAC for exporting mailboxes, you need to fulfil some prerequisites.

Since the export cannot be done to a direct location, you must create a network path (for example, \\servername\share\pstfile.pst). For this, create a folder and share it with the Exchange Trusted Subsystem and set full permissions on the share and the folder security. To do so,

∙ Right-click on the folder and click on Properties. Click on the Sharing tab and click on Advanced Sharing.

∙ Click on Share this folder and set the name for the share. Click on the Permissions button.

∙ Add the Exchange Trusted Subsystem with Full Control and click on OK.

∙ Click on the OK button to confirm the changes.

Now you need to provide permissions inside the Exchange Server. For this,

∙ Open the Exchange Admin Center (EAC).

∙ Once logged in with the administrator account, click on Permissions > Admin Roles.

∙ Click on the add (+) button to create a new role.

∙ Give the admin role a name (for example, Import/Export).

∙ Click on the add (+) option under the Roles section and add the Mailbox Import Export role.

∙ Click on the add (+) button in the Members section and add the user which will be used to export the mailboxes and then click on Save. 

After fulfilling the above prerequisites, follow the below steps to export the mailboxes to PST using the EAC:

∙ Log into the Exchange Admin Center (EAC).

∙ Click on Recipients and find the mailbox to export.

∙ Click on the more options button and click Export to a PST file.

∙ Select the option to export the primary mailbox or the archive mailbox and click Next.

∙ Enter the file share path to export the PST file to and click on Next.

∙ Select the option if you would like to be notified when the export is complete and click on Finish.

Limitations of this Method

- It can be used to export only one mailbox at a time.

- There are no filtering options and the entire mailbox will be exported.

- It can only work if the database is mounted and Exchange Server is online.

- It can only be used for user mailboxes, archives, and shared mailboxes.

3. Using the Exchange Management Shell (EMS)

You can also use PowerShell commands in Exchange Management Shell (EMS) to export Exchange mailboxes to PST. To use this method, you need to fulfil the prerequisites as mentioned in the above method. Let’s see how to export mailboxes to PST using the EMS.

Open the Exchange Management Shell (EMS).

Enter the following command to export a mailbox to PST file.

New-MailboxExportRequest -Mailbox <user to export> -FilePath <network path to export>

The export request will be queued on the server. To check the status of the export request, you can use the Get-MailboxExportRequest command.

You can filter the export by excluding or including folders (see the below example).

New-MailboxExportRequest -Mailbox <mailbox name> -FilePath <folder path> -IncludeFolders "<folder name>", "<another folder name>" -ExcludeFolders "<folder name>", "<another folder name>"

You can include date filters (see the below example) to export all the emails before a certain date.

New-MailboxExportRequest -ContentFilter {(Received -lt '<dd/mm/yyyy>')} -Mailbox <user to export> -Filepath <network path destination>

You can also export all emails after a particular date (see the below example).

New-MailboxExportRequest -ContentFilter {(Received -gt '<dd/mm/yyyy>')} -Mailbox <user to export> -Filepath <network path destination>

You can use both options to export emails based on a date range (see the below example).

New-MailboxExportRequest -ContentFilter {(Received -gt '<dd/mm/yyyy>') - (Received -lt '<dd/mm/yyyy>') } -Mailbox <user to export> -Filepath <network path destination>

Limitations of this method

- Scripting skills are needed to export multiple mailboxes.

- It doesn’t work if the Exchange Server is not running or the database is dismounted.

- It can be used to export only mailboxes, shared mailboxes, and user archives.

An Alternative Solution to Easily Export Mailboxes to PST

To overcome the limitations of the above methods, you can use a third-party EDB to PST converter tool. One of the renowned EDB to PST converter tools in the market is Stellar Converter for EDB. Here are some advantages of using this tool:

- Compatible with any version of Exchange Server.

- Can export from live and offline databases.

- Doesn’t need a working Exchange Server to export data.

- Can export user mailboxes, archives, shared mailboxes, public folders, and disabled mailboxes.

- Can export deleted and purged items from the database.

- Can export to PST or directly to a live Exchange Server database or Microsoft 365.

- Reliable, fast, and safe.

With this powerful tool, you can open live or offline EDB files and granularly export the EDB data to PST and other file formats, such as EML, HTML, MSG, and PDF. You can also use this tool to export the data directly to a live Exchange Server database or Microsoft 365 with ease. It offers features, such as automatic mailbox matching, parallel exports, priority exports, and continuation in case of any interruption. The tool is very easy-to-use with an intuitive interface which makes the export/migration process smooth and easy.