Import a pst file into new outlook

I don't have a file option; the only tabs I have are Home, View and Help. How do I bring in my pst file with my former outlook folders and emails into the new Outlook?

Hi Ramesh,

Yes I have now done this and have two outlook New and Classic on my desktop. What were Microsoft thinking in developing a programme that was not backward compatible.

I ended up finding / downloading / installing the older version of Outlook. Now I have 2 on computer.

I had the same problem with the NEW OUTLOOK. I could not view my old archived .pst files. However I just managed to find a much simpler solution. Windows allows us to install and use BOTH the NEW OUTLOOK and the CLASSIC OUTLOOK at the same time. The CLASSIC OUTLOOK was still on my computer (it was not deleted), and I was able to add the icon on my taskbar (I have two OUTLOOK icons on my taskbar now).

I opened the CLASSIC OUTLOOK from my taskbar icon, and voila! All my previous email accounts, and all my archived .pst data files were all visible and available there. So I have decided to keep the CLASSIC OUTLOOK for my old .pst archived data files, and use the NEW OUTLOOK for my email accounts.

Phillip, only the Outlook Classic that comes with "MS Office" - standalone or MS 365 - has the ability to use PST files at this time. There is a possibility that the Outlook (new) from the MS Store or pre-installed with W11 will get updated to use PST files - I have seen March 2025 but who knows for sure. See my older post below for more detail. I am still using my Office 2013 for just this reason, until it makes sense to switch over to MS365 or possibly the latest standalone Office version. I have also looked into some utilities to batch convert my PST stored messages into PDF files, since printing each as a PDF would take forever.

It is possible though there is usually some cost for the utility if you want the better automation and organization capabilities than the Free or trial version.

I hope this answers your question, though it may not resolve your issue,

Tim

Note: This is a reprint of an earlier post as I am not sure if you are able to see the threads the same as I do:

Near as I can figure out - if the Option to Switch to Classic is not available and you are using the latest Outlook (New) from the MS Store or as installed/updated in Windows 10/11, then you do not have Microsoft 365 Outlook Classic installed. The Online/Cloud Outlook does not qualify, you must have one of the MS 365 subscriptions in order to get and install the MS 365 Outlook Classic. Obviously, older MS Office Outlook versions 2016, 2013, 2010, etc also do not trigger the "Switch to Classic" option in the Outlook (New). As I stated previously, in 2023 the MS Office 365 version of Outlook had an update that added a toggle between the normal/classic and a brand-new User Interface that MS was previewing. At some point the MS 365 Outlook was updated to only use the New Interface and that toggle within the MS 365 Outlook was removed. Also, at some point the stand-alone, shipped with Windows and avail from the MS Store version of Outlook (new) became available or your installed version was updated to the latest version. I suppose that an option was included in this new stand-alone Outlook to show the "Switch to Classic" button if the MS 365 Outlook was installed on the desktop. Remember that the MS 365 "Office" version of Outlook, which requires a Subscription is totally different than the stand-alone email client that ships with Windows, and that Microsoft name-changed from MS Mail and Mail and Calendar to Outlook (new). Remember, there have been two "Switch to Classic" buttons - the first was the toggle that allowed you to preview and switch back and forth between the normal MS Office 365 Outlook user interface and the new user interface that MS was previewing prior to the early 2024 switch to the new MS 365 Outlook (classic) user interface. The second "Switch to Classic" was a one-way button added to the Windows email client Outlook (new) to launch the MS 365 Outlook Desktop (classic) if both are installed. In order to get back into the Windows email client Outlook (new) you need to re-launch it. You can have both installed, configured and running, though the Windows Outlook (new) does not leave copies of your Pop3 emails on the server and there is no way to enable that, so you may have trouble keeping the two local mailbox stores synchronized - switching to IMAP will solve that, since the messages are left on the server. At some point, MS may remove the "Switch to Classic" button from the Windows email client version of Outlook (new) but, as I said it does not do much except launch the MS 365 Outlook (classic) desktop app and should not be confused by references in older Help articles that indicate the presence of a "Switch to Classic" toggle in Outlook - they are talking about the older MS Office 365 version of Outlook from before the change to the new MS 365 Outlook user interface.