Have you ever thought about how to keep your important Office 365 emails, contacts, and calendar events safe? Or maybe you need to move your data since you're switching to a new email client. You're in the correct place! Today, we're going to learn about PST files and how to save your Office 365 inbox in this format.

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But first, let's get a few things straight. A PST file, which stands for Personal Storage Table, is a place to keep your Outlook data. It holds everything from emails and contacts to calendar events and tasks, much like a digital suitcase.

So, why would you want to send your Office 365 data to a PST? There are a few reasons why:

1. Keeping your data safe: If something happens to your Office 365 account, having a copy of it on your computer can save your life.
2. Archiving: Do you need to keep old emails for legal or regulatory reasons? PST files are great for keeping things for a long time.
3. Changing Clients: This is the best way to go if you're switching from Outlook to another email program that can read PST files. 

Let's get going!

How to Move Your Office 365 Mailbox to PST
There are two main ways to save your Office 365 inbox to a PST file:

Method 1: Try the Outlook 

If you already use Outlook, this is probably the easiest way to do it. Follow these steps to do it:

1. Launch Outlook and log in to your Office 365 account.
2. Click on the File button: Click on the "File" tab in the top left corner of Outlook.
3. Choose "Open & Export" from the menu.
4. Select "Import/Export" from the menu.
5. To export to a file, click "Export to a file."
6. Choose "Outlook Data File (.pst)" from the list.
7. Now, click "Next."
8. Choose folders: Select the folders you want to send out. You can choose whole subfolders or just some of them.
9. New Outlook Data File: To make a new PST file, click "New." Otherwise, pick one that already exists.
10. Browse: Pick a place to save your PST file.
11. Click "Finish" to start the export process. 

Note: The export procedure may take a while, depending on how big your mailbox is.

 Method 2: Using eDiscovery Search—What You Need to Know 

The following browser and technical requirements are needed to make sure that exporting Office 365 mailboxes to PST using eDiscovery goes smoothly:

1. What do you need in a browser?

• Approved Browsers: You can only access the Microsoft Purview Compliance portal with one of the approved most recent versions of Microsoft, the most recent version of Google Chrome the most recent version of Mozilla Firefox.
• Settings for the browser: Make sure that JavaScript is turned on. You should turn off pop-up blockers for the Microsoft Compliance portal website. Allow cookies because some features and authentication depend on them.
• Compatibility of the eDiscovery Export Tool: The export tool needs ClickOnce technology, which is built into Microsoft Edge (through the IE Mode plugin) and Internet Explorer. You need to install the ClickOnce for Chrome/Firefox extension in order to utilize ClickOnce in Google Chrome or Firefox.

2. Network Needs

• Internet Access: To use Office 365, search the web, and download PST files (particularly for large mailboxes), you need a steady, high-speed internet connection.
• Setting up a firewall or proxy: Check to see if your network or firewall is blocking access to Microsoft 365 services, the Microsoft Purview Compliance site, or the eDiscovery Export Tool. Allow traffic to leave at the ports that are needed for the export and download procedure (usually HTTPS port 443). 

3. What the machine needs

• Operating System: For the eDiscovery Export Tool to work best, you should use Windows 10 or later.  Make sure that the operating system has the most recent security patches and updates.
• Resources for the system: Make sure the computer has enough CPU and RAM to handle the export procedure, especially if you're working with a lot of data. To handle the export well, you should have at least 4 GB of RAM.
• Disk Space: Make sure the local workstation has adequate free space to download the PST files, which might have different sizes based on the data in the mailbox. 

4. Requirements for the eDiscovery Export Tool

• ClickOnce Technology: As was said before, the eDiscovery Export Tool needs ClickOnce to work; hence, the browser must support it.
• NET Framework: For the tool to work, make sure that the local machine has .NET Framework 4.7.2 or later installed.
• Administrative Privileges: You need to have the right permissions on the local workstation to install and use the eDiscovery Export Tool. 

5. Works with Email Clients

• You can open the exported PST files in Outlook 2013 or later. Make sure your version of Outlook is up to date so that you can import and view PST files without any problems. 

Using eDiscovery Search to Export Office 365 Emails to PST 

If you want to export an Office 365 mailbox to a PST file using eDiscovery on the Microsoft Purview Compliance interface, do these things:

Step 1: Open the Microsoft Purview Compliance Portal.

• Go to the Microsoft Purview Compliance Portal and sign in.
• Choose Content search from the left window (under Solutions > eDiscovery). 

Step 2: Make a Content Search

1. Press New search.
2. Type a name for the search, such as "Export Mailbox to PST," in the New search pane.
3. Select specific locations in the Locations section.
4. Choose Exchange mailboxes and then choose the mailbox you want to export for the user.
5. To narrow down the search, you can add filters (such as date ranges, keywords, or message kinds) to the Conditions section if you need to. 

Step 3: Start the search.

1. Click "Save" and then "Run."
2. The search will start now. You may check its progress by going to the Content search tab.
3. After the search is done, you can see the results by clicking on Review search results and then choosing the search. 

Step 4: Get the Export Ready

1. Click Actions and then Export results when the search is done.
2. In the export settings, Options for output: Pick all things, even those that aren't in a recognized format, are encrypted, or weren't indexed.
3. Export format: Select PST file, which is what mailbox items are saved as by default. If you need to, you may also set a size limit for PST files. 

Step 5: Get the Export

1. When the export is done, click Download export results.
2. You will get an eDiscovery Export Tool from Microsoft.
3. To start the download, run the export tool and enter the export key, which you can find in the Compliance portal. 

Step 6: Keep the PST file safe.

1. The export program will put the PST file on your computer.
2. During the download procedure, choose where you want to save the PST file. 

Once you've done all of these things, you'll have a PST file of the Office 365 mailbox that you can use.

More things to think about 

The procedures listed above are simple, but there are a few factors to bear in mind:

• Large Mailboxes: The export procedure could take a long time if your mailbox is really big. If this happens, you might choose to split the export into smaller pieces or use special third-party solutions specialized for moving large amounts of data.
• Encryption of data: You can encrypt your PST file before exporting it to make it further safe. You can use third-party encryption solutions or the built-in encryption options in Outlook.
• Third-Party Tools: Outlook and eDiscovery Search are the main ways to do this, but there are many third-party tools that can help with the export process and add capabilities like scheduling, filtering, and tracking progress. These solutions are especially useful for firms that have a lot of different email accounts, a lot of different email accounts.

Method 3: The best way to export Office 365 to PST files without eDiscovery

The DataVare Office 365 Export Tool is the best solution if you want to export Office 365 mailboxes to PST without using eDiscovery or Outlook. It's easier and more direct. This third-party solution makes the whole export process easier and better than the built-in Office 365 eDiscovery approach and the old way of exporting Outlook.

Key Features

• Full backup of emails, attachments, contacts, calendars, journals, notes, etc.
• Export Office 365 data to PST, EML, MSG, MBOX, and EMLX formats.
• The tool works perfectly even without Microsoft Outlook installed.
• Preserves folder structure and all email headers, times, subjects, and other metadata.
• Backup selected emails based on a particular date range.
• Users can back up a specific folder or email component (e.g., just contacts or calendars).
• Simple and clean interface, easy to use even for non-technical users.
• Compatible with all types of Office 365 accounts and subscription plans.
• This software is fully compatible with Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, and 7 and Windows Server versions.
• Provides a fast and secure backup process without any data loss or modification.
• A free trial version is available to back up a limited emails.

Steps to Backup Office 365 Mailbox

• Download and install the software.
• Enter the login details of the Office 365 account.
• Select the folders to be backed up.
• Choose the backup format (PST, EML, MBOX, etc.).
• Set the destination location.
• (Optional) Apply date range or folder filter.
• To start the backup, click the "Start" button.

After the process is complete, the file will be saved to the exported location.

In general, DataVare Office 365 Backup Tool is a far better option than the built-in eDiscovery and Outlook export options. It is faster, easier to use, and more flexible. It's great for companies that want to save time, make things easier, and have more control over mailbox exports.

Questions and Answers

1. Is it possible to export more than one mailbox at a time?

You can't export more than one mailbox at a time with the built-in methods, but certain third-party programs let you do it all at once.

2. What is the largest size a PST file can be?

Depending on the version of Outlook you have, the size of a PST file can be variable. To avoid problems with performance, it is generally best to keep PST files under 2GB.

3. Is it possible to bring a PST file back into Office 365?

To get a PST file back into Office 365, you can use Outlook's Import/Export capability.

4. What should I do if I get issues while exporting?

If you get issues, try exporting again or using another method. You can also look in the Office 365 admin center to see if there are any known problems or outages.

5. Can you export deleted data from Office 365 to a PST file?

Yes, you can export items that you have deleted from Office 365 to PST. But before exporting, you might have to get them back from the Deleted Items or Recoverable Items folders.