Create & Open Outlook PST File in Existing or Newly Configured Account


Being a prominent Outlook users, you would already aware of Outlook PST file. But for those users who have just started to use MS Outlook (a desktop based email client), it is very important to know, what is Outlook Data file (.pst)? The main aim of this article is to let you provide few and simple steps to open Outlook PST file in bulk and how to create PST file in Outlook while trying to read PST file in a newly configured account. But before that, let’s start with an introduction to PST file and how to find them according to the different versions of Outlook.

What is Outlook PST file?

As every email client has it’s own file extension to save their data, similarly MS Outlook also uses a file extension i.e., PST to save each new information appears in their database. PST stands for Personal Storage Table and is also known as Outlook Data File. All Outlook items such as Contacts, Calendar, Emails, Tasks, Notes, Journals, Attachments, and all other data items resides in a single PST file. Each of these items in Outlook data file is being saved with the .pst file extension, like if “xyz” is a PST file, then it will be saved as “xyz.pst”. So if you want to open PST file which is saved to your computer hard disk, then firstly you need locate them from their default location.

Location of Outlook PST File

The destination path of your Outlook PST file resides in different location of your computer HDD based on the versions of Outlook. To find them accordingly, follow the below given path:

Applicable To: Window Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 & Windows 10

Outlook 2007 and Previous versions: C:\Usres\%username%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
Outlook 2010: C:\Usres\%username%\Documents\Outlook Files\
Outlook 2013 & 2016: C:\Usres\%username%\Documents\Outlook Files\

Applicable To: Windows XP

Outlook 2007 and Previous versions: C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\
Outlook 2010: C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\My Documents\Outlook Files

Now you’ve path of your PST file, so based on your Outlook versions remember them and then follow the below described steps carefully to add and open PST file in Outlook email client.

How to Open PST file in Outlook 2013 & 2016

  • Launch your Microsoft Outlook 2013 or Outlook 2016 and click on File
  • Click on Open & Export ˃ click on Open Outlook Data File
  • Choose the file to open by browsing their location and click on OK.

Opening PST File in Outlook 2010

  • Start Outlook and click on File from the top left corner of your Outlook window
  • Click on Open ˃ click on Open Outlook Data File
  • Navigate the location and choose the PST file to add ˃ click on OK

Steps to Open Outlook PST File in OL 2007

  • Start MS Outlook and click on File
  • Click on Open and right click your mouse button ˃ from the options, click to select Outlook Data File
  • Locate and choose the file to open and click on OK button

Way to Open PST file in newly configured Outlook account

Till now you have learned to open PST file which are already available in your computer HDD. But if you are a new user and have just installed Outlook in your computer, then you need to create a new PST file, which can be then opened in Outlook. To create and open new PST file in Outlook 2010 and 2013, follow the steps as shown as below:

  • Launch MS Outlook ˃ go to Home tab and in the New option, click New Items
  • Click on More Items ˃ click on Outlook Data File
  • A dialogue box will appear by name Create or Open Outlook Data File. Under the File name, type the name as you want that file to appear in Outlook
  • Click on OK to save the required changes

Open Outlook PST File with Free Method

As of now you already came to know to open, read and create PST file in Outlook with the help of manual steps. But sometimes the users especially who wants quick adding of PST file or whom are non-technical may find the manual method difficult. So, to provide them an easy solution and to save time and data, there is an availability of a free tool to read PST files. This free utility is Outlook PST Recovery, which can open damaged or corrupt PST file even without Outlook.

Conclusion

This article has described different manual approaches to open Outlook PST file along with free utility for reading PST files in a batch. After configuring a new account in Outlook, it is needed to create a new PST first, then you can read the entire items appears in it. So, with this article, you will get to know the way to create a new PST file too.