In today’s blog post, we’ll discuss the best ways to backup IMAP email to PST. If you’re looking for a solution, this post will help you find the perfect answer. So, let’s get started and learn how to export IMAP to PST step by step.
Table of Contents
Introduction of IMAP
IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) is a standard protocol used by several email clients to retrieve and manage email from email servers. It allows emails to remain on the server, allowing users to send emails from any internet-connected device and access them anytime, anywhere.
When using IMAP, emails are stored in folders on the mail server, and users can access the emails and folders from any IMAP-compatible email client like Outlook, Thunderbird, and others. It is also supported by web-based clients and mobile devices. In addition, IMAP supports advanced features like searching, filtering, and more.
Professionally Export IMAP to PST Without Outlook
Yota Email Backup Wizard is the all-in-one solution to download and save emails from all IMAP accounts. It lets you backup IMAP email to PST file without installing Outlook and other applications. The software comes with a simplified interface that any beginner can access to save IMAP emails locally without having technical knowledge. Along with PST, you can convert emails from IMAP to PDF files with the help of the software.
With this, you can export Gmail to PST and export emails from any IMAP-based email service. You only have to enter the valid login details of your IMAP account to start the procedure. It also provides you with an option to browse and select a location where you want to save the exported PST file.
Moreover, the software shows you a quick preview of your account email data, including all the attached information. You can also apply filters on emails according to the subject, name, date, time, cc, etc. This way, you can only export IMAP to PST in a selective manner. It also allows you to IMAP to Gmail and many more email accounts.
Steps to Backup IMAP Email to PST File are as follows:
- Launch the IMAP Backup Tool and click Open > Email Accounts > Add Account.
- Type the Email ID and App Password of your account.
- After preceding emails, click Export and select PST format from the list.
- Pick a folder to store the PST file and hit the Save button.
That’s all!
You can also check the video below and learn the steps to export IMAP emails to PST file format.
Export IMAP to PST Using Outlook For Free
Before moving forward, let us clear that this manual approach has two steps to backup IMAP email to PST. First, you need to configure an IMAP account with Outlook, and secondly export IMAP emails to PST.
Note: You need to install Outlook on your system to complete this task.
- First of all, open the Outlook application and configure your account.
- Then go to the File option > Open and Export > Import/Export.
- The Import and Export Wizard will appear. Here, select Export to File from the list.
- Select the Outlook Data File (.pst) option and click Next.
- Then select the mailboxes you want to export.
- Next, assign a destination using the Browse button to save PST.
- In the end, click the Finish button.
Limitations of the Manual Approach
- During the configuration, there are many chances that you will encounter errors
- A time-consuming process that takes hours
- This operation requires technical knowledge to avoid data loss
- You cannot export selected or required emails from your account
- It does not work with all versions of Microsoft Outlook
Why Backup IMAP to PST File Format?
- To backup IMAP email to PST, users can save their emails on a desktop or external hard drive. It protects your email if anything goes wrong with your IMAP account.
- If users are thinking of switching from one email client to another or from one email service to another. The experts recommend exporting your old account emails and moving them to the new account or new email client. If you export IMAP to PST, you can easily open your emails in your Outlook account.
- With IMAP, you can access your email data online. However, if you want to access them offline, exporting IMAP emails to PST comes in handy.
Conclusion
Creating a backup is the best way to protect your data and access your system offline. Here we have discussed the methods you can use to backup IMAP email to PST file with or without Outlook. Manually, you can export IMAP to PST using the Outlook application, which also has some limitations. On the other hand, with the recommended IMAP Migration Tool, you can export IMAP emails to PST without Outlook in just a few clicks. Apart from that, you can convert OST file to PST with all data items.