If you’re a regular Outlook user, you must be aware of the fact behind its size limitation. Which version of Outlook are you using? Is it 2003 or any earlier version? Or, is it 2007 or any later version? An over-sized PST file can cause serious problems including Outlook performance issues and mailbox corruption. Hence, it is important to split PST file to avoid any kind of Outlook related issues.
Limitations of Outlook PST File size
Older versions of Outlook, such as: 2003, 2003, 2000, 98 and 97, use ANSI PST file. If your PST file is saved in ANSI format, this means it can only store up to 2 GB of mailbox data. ANSI PST file has a maximum size limitation of 2 GB. Newer versions of Outlook, such as: 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2016, use Unicode PS file. If your PST file is saved in Unicode format, this means it can store up to 50 GB of mailbox data. Unicode format is much better than the old ANSI format.
Being an Outlook user, you must take care of your PST files. Make sure they never reach to their maximum size. Such issue is often seen with ANSI PST file which has maximum size limitation of 2 GB. If your PST file is saved is ANSI format and about to reach to its maximum size, it may cause serious problems for you. You may face performance issues in Outlook client. Sometimes corruption may also be occurred due to oversized file. But if the PST file crosses its maximum size limit, corruption will definitely take place.
How to overcome this situation?
There are two best solutions to overcome the situation of over-sized PST file. First, you can compress PST file, so the actual file can be reduced and you’ll get more free space in your PST file. Second, you can split PST file into multiple smaller parts to avoid corruption. In this blog post, we’ll learn how to split PST file into multiple parts without causing any changes or alteration.
Possible ways to split PST file?
There are two methods you can use to split PST file: a manual procedure that requires no 3rd party software or any other cost; and a professional PST Split software. You must try the manual trick first as it’s free and as effective as a professional solution. Though Microsoft Outlook can’t split PST file, but it supports few built-in features and functions which can be used to move mailbox data from one PST file to another. Archive, Move to Folders and Import & Export features are available, you can use any one of them.
Here I’ll show you how to use Move to Folders feature. Follow the steps given below:
Step 1: First of all, launch Microsoft Outlook client on your system.
Step 2: Before you can move anything, create a new Outlook data file (.PST) file.
Step 3: Once the file is created, click File tab on Menu bar > Open > Import.
Step 4: On Import and Export Wizard, select Export to a file in the options. Click Next to continue the process.
Step 5: On Export to a File window, select Outlook Data File (.pst) in the option and click Next.
Step 6: On Export Outlook Data File window, select the file first and then the mailbox folder you want to export from. Click Next to continue the process.
Step 7: Click Browse and select the new file you’ve created earlier. Before you can click Finish, you can also define other options.
Step 8: Within a few minutes, the selected mailbox folder will be exported to the new PST file.
You need to follow the same steps to export every other mailbox folder to new PST files.
PST Split Software – Professional Solution to Split PST File
However, the manual trick is definitely a tedious and time-consuming task. It may take several minutes to hours if you’re having a large mailbox. Or sometimes the manual trick fails or doesn’t work for you. In all such situations, you can try a professional solution. PST Split Software is the excellent way to split PST file into multiple smaller parts. This software provides you different options to split PST file, such as:
- Split PST file by file size;
- Split PST file by date;
- Split PST file by senders’ email IDs
Conclusion:
In this blog, we have discussed two possible ways to split PST file i.e. manual and professional. However, I will suggest you a professional solution as it is a simple and user-friendly tool. Non-technical users can easily operate this tool without taking any technical assistance. Furthermore, in case, if your Outlook PST file gets corrupted due to over-sized of PST file, you can try PST Recovery tool.
