It is common to have two or more Outlook PST files, but managing these files is a major problem. To manage all PST files, users are looking for a way how to merge two PST files in Outlook 2016 and other versions. Do you also have several PSTs and now want to merge them into a single file? If so, sit back and relax. This blog will walk you through it step by step.
Manual and automated solutions known as Outlook PST Merge Software are discussed here. You can choose any of the methods according to your requirement.
Before you go any further, take a look at the overview of PST and why it is necessary to merge 2 PST files into one.
PST (Personal Storage Table) is known as Outlook Data File. You can say it is a backup file, one can export Outlook emails, address book, notes, tasks, journals, and calendar data in .pst file format. The file can be imported into the Outlook application anytime.
When & Why Should You Need to Merge PST Files?
- To maintain the performance of Outlook and avoid data loss issues, it is a good choice to merge two PST files in Outlook 2016 and other previous versions.
- Users want to import their old versions of PST files into a larger single PST file that can be used with a new version of Outlook. This is actually quite easy to do, but you’ll need to merge them into a single file to achieve this.
- The user planning to switch from Outlook to a new email client such as Thunderbird. This time, he/ she need to combine multiple PST files into one for easy migration.
- Sometimes, users have multiple folders with the same name and they want only one folder like inbox. This can be possible by merging Outlook folders into a single one.
How to Merge Two PST Files in Outlook 2016?
It is true that Outlook does not have an option that you can use to merge 2 PST files into one. But using two indirect techniques this can be accomplished. To do so, you need to first make a new PST and then import the old one to the new one.
Phase 1: Make A New Blank PST File
- In Outlook, go to the Home Tab.
- Here, click on New Items.
- Select More Items.
- Choose the Outlook Data File option.
- Now, browse and select the location to save the file.
- Also, name the file and click OK.
The New PST file is created in Outlook. Next moving to the second step to accomplish the task how to merge two PST files in Outlook 2016.
Phase 2: Import Old File into Newly Created File
- First, go to the File tab in the Outlook application.
- Select the option Open & Export > Import/Export.
- From the Import and Export Wizard, pick the option “Import from another program or file”.
- Next, choose “Outlook Data File” under select the file type to import from.
- Next, Browse and select the PST file to import. Below, choose options according to your choice.
- Select the folder to import from and also check the Include Subfolder box.
- Check “Import items into the same folder in” and hit the Finish button.
It’s done! These are the overall steps you need to follow carefully to manually merge 2 PST files into a single one.
What If You Have Multiple PST Files and Want to Combine Them into One?
Well, to merge multiple PST files, you need to execute all the above-discussed steps. The extra thing you should need to do is repeat the phase 2 steps (import) for each PST file. Because Outlook gives permission to import a single PST file at one time. So, sadly but you need to repeat the import process for every PST you need to merge.
Looking for something that will quickly combine multiple Outlook PST files into one?
If you do have not enough time to execute the same steps for each PST file to merge, then the only solution to this problem is the automated software mentioned above. This is the best software to merge or join PST files together with all data items. This will allow users to merge two PST files in Outlook 2016 and other versions such as 2019, 2013, 2010, 2007, and also able to merge several PST files into one.
The software is completely a secure platform that offers accurate results to its users. It will remain email properties and folder hierarchy as original without doing a single modification.
Steps to Merge Multiple PST Files Without Duplicates are;
First, download, install and run the software on the Windows PC. After following these steps to achieve this:
Step 1. Click on Add Files or Folder and select PST files.
Step 2. Choose the option Merge or Join then click Next.
Step 3. Select folders and choose the merge options as needed.
Step 4. Select items which you want to merge.
Step 5. Select and remove duplicate items and click the Next button.
The merging process will start instantly. In just a few minutes, all the PST files are merged into a single PST file.
Overview of Features Provided by the Tool
- Merge in New PST: You can choose this option if you want to merge 2 PST files into a new PST file. To do so, click on the Change button and select the location on your system to save the merged PST file.
- Merge in Existing PST: This option will allow you to merge multiple PST files to an existing PST. For this, click Browse and select the existing PST in which you want to combine.
- Merge in Outlook Profile: With this option, you can merge two PST files with an existing Outlook Profile. This option requires the installation of Outlook.
- Join Option: The Join PST option will enable you to join two PST files by creating a fresh folder for the joined PSTs.
- Merge Option: With the help of this option, it becomes easy for the user to merge Outlook folder with the same name into a single one. Like you can merge two or multiple inbox.pst to a single inbox.pst file.
Final Words
Both manual and automated methods are discussed here to solve the query: how to merge two PST files in Outlook 2016. The manual process is completely free and works great if you want to merge 2 PST files into one. It has two steps that you need to follow in order to complete this task. To merge multiple PST files into one, we recommend professional software. Since it takes an hour to manually and users have to repeat the same process for each PST file. So choose any solution and get your job done.
