This article will show you how to manually split large PST Outlook data files using the built-in Outlook options.
If the PST (Personal Folder File) file becomes large or exceeds the recommended limit, you may experience performance issues in Microsoft Outlook. Oversized or large PST files are prone to corruption, leading to data loss.
It is vital to check on the PST file size periodically. If the PST becomes large, you can split the large PST file into multiple smaller files which can help to improve Microsoft Outlook performance and prevent corruption in the PST file.
In this article, we will outline the methods to split large PST files into multiple smaller files manually using Microsoft Outlook’s built-in function.
Table of Contents
Content Summary
Clean Up Old Items with Archive
Import/Export function
Move with Copy to Folder option
Conclusion
Clean Up Old Items with Archive
Follow the below steps to use the archive feature in Microsoft Outlook to split large PST files:
Step 1: Open the Microsoft Outlook.
Step 2: Click on the File tab.
Step 3: Click on the Info option on the left sidebar.
Step 4: Click on the Tools icon button.
Step 5: Click on the Clean Up Old Item option from the Tools menu.
Step 6: Choose a folder to archive.
Step 7: Enter a date in the box labeled with Archive Things Older Than.
Step 8: Click on the Browse button to select the location to save the archive file.
Step 9: Click on the OK button to finish the archiving process.
Import/Export function
Follow the below steps to use the Import/Export feature in Microsoft Outlook for splitting the large PST file.
Step 1: Open the Microsoft Outlook.
Step 2: Click on the File tab.
Step 3: Click on the Open & Export option on the left sidebar.
Step 4: Click on the Import/Export icon button.
Step 5: Select the Export to a file option in the Import/Export wizard. Click on the Next button.
Step 6: Choose the Outlook Data File (.pst) option in the Export to a file window.
Step 7: Choose the folder to export.
Step 8: Click on the Browse button to select the location to save the file.
Step 9: Don’t export duplicate items and click on the Finish button.
Move with Copy to Folder option
Follow the below steps to split the large PST file using the Move to Folder option in Microsoft Outlook:
Step 1: Open the Microsoft Outlook.
Step 2: Click on the File tab.
Step 3: Select Account Settings > Account Settings.
Step 4: Select the Data Files.
Step 5: Click on the Add button to create a new PST file.
Step 6: Open the default PST file from the home screen.
Step 7: Select the items you wish to move to the newly created PST file.
Step 8: Click on the Move button at the top menu.
Step 9: Choose the Copy to Folder option from the Move menu.
Step 10: Select the PST file from the option to copy the specified items to the folder.
Step 11: Click on the OK button.
Conclusion
Splitting the PST file manually is a time-consuming and tedious process. You may lose important data if you accidentally delete or modify any item while moving the data.