Outlook 2007 File Locations

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Outlook 2007 File Locations

A common question is "Where is my Outlook data stored?"

Your Outlook folders are either in a mailbox on an Exchange Server or in Personal Folders .pst files on your system.

Backup and dual-booting between Windows versions all involve using the same files. There is no backup process built into Outlook. To back up, simply exit Outlook, then copy the files you want to back up. Below we provide a chart of Outlook 2007 file locations, followed by notes on particular files.

Microsoft offers a Personal Folders a backup tool which you can use, but since it can cause Outlook to not close properly or quickly and only supports copying the PST, we recommend copying the files yourself or using a batch file or script to make copies before opening Outlook.

These files are also the ones that you'd want to copy back and forth between machines if you need to use the same information at the office and at home, for example. If you have Outlook profiles, name them the same on both machines, so you can use the same files easily. Then use Tools | Account Settings to use the files that you copied.

If you dual-boot, use the same profiles in each operating system. Your profile can point to the same .pst and .ost files, but you would need to copy other files to the correct location on the second operating system.

Windows XP File Locations

Where do you find these files? You can always start by using your operating system's Search or Find command to locate the particular file types. You may need to use Tools | Folder Options | View in Windows Explorer and select Show hidden files and folders.

When using Windows 2000/XP, Outlook stores *.pst, *.ost, *.pab, *.oab, and extend.dat in C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook. Extend.dat, Hotmail, IMAP, and MSN Connector message stores can not be moved.

All other Outlook configuration files are stored in C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook and cannot be moved.

Tip: Copy and paste these lines in Windows Explorer address bar to open the folder:

To access the folder holding the toolbar, VBA, rules, and nickname files, copy and paste:

%USERPROFILE%\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook

To see the message store files, copy and paste:

%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook

Note: Storing Personal Folders on an network file share is not recommended and may cause corruption and data loss.

Type of File	Name or Extension	Outlook Profile Specific	Subfolder under \Application Data\Microsoft
Personal Folders	.pst files		Outlook (default, but .pst files can be anywhere on system)
Offline and Cache folders used by Exchange server, MSN's Outlook connector, and MOOL.	.ost files		Outlook (default, can be moved to anywhere on the system)
Nicknames for AutoComplete	.nk2 files		Outlook
Customized print settings	OutlPrnt		Outlook
Customized toolbar settings	Outcmd.dat		Outlook
Customized system folder views	Views.dat		Outlook
Macros and VBA programs	VbaProject.otm		Outlook
Navigation bar customizations	.xml files	X	Outlook
Send/Receive group settings	.srs files	X	Outlook
Signatures	.rtf, .htm, and .txt files	X	Signatures
Stationery	.htm files		Stationery
Templates	.oft files		Templates
Dictionary	.dic files		Proof
Safe and Blocked senders lists	Stored in mailbox as a hidden message
Installed Add-ins	extend.dat		Outlook-- This file does not need to be backed up, Outlook will create a new copy.

Vista File Locations

Where do you find these files? You can always start by using your operating system's Search or Find command to locate the particular file types. On Vista you may need to browse to Windows Explorer's Organize | Folder and Search Options | View tab and select Show hidden files and folders.

Vista replaces Documents and Settings folder path with a Users path. As a result, in Vista you'll find Outlook stores the PST and OST, in C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook.

Hotmail, IMAP, and Live Connector message stores can not be moved but POP3 and Exchange offline or cache storage can be moved to other locations.

All other Outlook configuration files are stored in C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Outlook and cannot be moved.

Tip: Copy the following lines and paste into Vista's Start menu "Start Search" field to open these folders:

To access the folder holding the toolbar, VBA, send & receive settings, and nickname files, copy and paste:

%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Outlook

To see the message store files, copy and paste:

%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook

Note: Storing Personal Folders on an network file share is not recommended and may cause corruption and data loss.

Type of File	Filename or Extension	Outlook Profile Specific	Folder path under C:\Users\<username>\AppData\
Personal Folders (including SharePoint Lists)	.pst		Local\Microsoft\Outlook
Offline and Cached mode folders used by Exchange server and the Live Outlook connector.	.ost		Local\Microsoft\Outlook
RSS feeds in Outlook 2007	.sharing.xml.obi	X	Local\Microsoft\Outlook
Installed Add-ins	extend.dat		\Local\Microsoft\Outlook This file does not need to be backed up, Outlook will create a new copy.
Nicknames for AutoComplete	.nk2	X	Roaming\Microsoft\Outlook
Customized print settings	OutlPrnt		Roaming\Microsoft\Outlook
Customized toolbar settings	Outcmd.dat		Roaming\Microsoft\Outlook
Navigation bar customizations	.xml files	X	Roaming\Microsoft\Outlook
Send/Receive group settings (Outlook 2002 and later)	.srs files	X	Roaming\Microsoft\Outlook
Customized system folder views	Views.dat
Macros and VBA programs	VbaProject.otm
Signatures	.rtf, .htm, and .txt files	X	\Roaming\Microsoft\Signatures
Stationery	.htm files		\Roaming\Microsoft\Stationery
Templates	.oft files		\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates
Dictionary	.dic files		\Roaming\Microsoft\Proof
Outlook 2007 Safe and Blocked senders lists	Stored in message store as a hidden message

Personal Folders Files

If you are not connecting to Microsoft Exchange Server, all your Microsoft Outlook data is stored in one or more Personal Folders (.pst) files.

Check the properties for Personal Folders in Tools | Account Settings to determine the exact location on your system.

Some people like to export a folder, such as Contacts, to a separate backup .pst file. That's fine for the data, but it does not back up any folder customizations such as views and custom forms. If you want to back up those, too, copy the entire folder to a new .pst file instead of using the export feature.

Also see:

Why .pst Files Are Unsupported Over a LAN or WAN Link

XCLN Default Personal Folder File Creation Path Needs to Be Configurable - hotfix available; provides ForcePSTPath registry value

Offline Folders File

If you use Microsoft Exchange Server, you may have an offline or cache mode folders (.ost) file. You shouldn't need to back it up, since you can always refresh it by synchronizing with the server. However, be sure you understand the procedure for Recovering data from offline folders. If something ever goes wrong with your Exchange Server mailbox, this technique can save time and information, but you must apply it before you try to connect to the server again.

Personal Address Book

Most Outlook users no longer use a PAB because the Personal Address Book (.pab file) is depreciated. If you still have a PAB, the contents should be imported into your Contacts folder.

Other Files

Outlprnt file contains your custom print settings.

Some other miscellaneous files, not necessarily worth backing up:

Extend.dat -- Information about installed add-ins. Will be recreated if you delete it.

Outitems.log -- Outlook items to be placed automatically in the Journal

Offitems.log -- Office items to be placed automatically in the Journal

Frmcache.dat -- Outlook forms cache file. See How the Microsoft Outlook forms cache works.

Accounts

Account information is held in the user's Windows registry, not in a file. If Outlook 98 or 2000 is in Internet Mail Only mode, you can use the Tools | Accounts | Export to export account details, but not passwords.

Tools

Easy Email Backup	Easy Email Backup can backup data from Outlook as well as Outlook Express, Internet Explorer, My documents folder and Desktop. You can also select and add data from other folders to the backup file. Use it to create backups on a regular basis with �Quick Backup�, a single click backup option and burn your backup directly to a DVD or CD ROM without using any disc burning utility or upload your backup to a FTP location. Version 2.0.0.160
Mobiliti	Use Mobiliti to synchronize and backup files from any source to any destination including external drives, FTP, or WebDAV locations. While not limited to backing up your Outlook data, you can use it for unattended and transparent backup and synchronization of large Outlook files in seconds, including at startup, shut down, when logged to the network, or any time, via any type of connection. The real time synchronization ensures that source and destination files are always in sync. Basic, Plus and Enterprise versions available. Version 7.1
OutBack Plus	Backup your Outlook Personal Folders (.pst files) in a compressed, zip compatible, archive for a smaller and more easily managed file. All of your critical Outlook control files are included in the backup - Signatures, Stationery, Wizard Rules, etc are preserved for easy recovery. OutBack Plus allows you to restore the backup data to the same or another machine. Automatic reminder to backup after a set number of days - according to your needs. Also backs up Documents and Desktop folders, Internet Explorer Favorites, Cookies, offline folders and Firefox Browser data. Works with Outlook 2007, 2003, 2002 (XP), 2000, and 98, on Windows Vista, XP, Media Center, 2003, Windows 2000, Windows ME, and Windows 98. Version 6.
Outlook Backup	Backup and restore Outlook data files, interface options, and settings. Backup and restore operations can be run from the command line, with your favorite Windows scheduling program for unattended operation. Supports Outlook 2007, 2003, 2002, and 2000. Version 2.899.
OutSource-XP	OutSource-XP automatically collects all important Outlook 2002/2003 files and lists them so you can choose the files (and settings) you want to backup. The unregistered version of OutSource-XP v2 saves the files into a pre-selected backup-folder, but does not compress the files. The registered version compresses the backup into one single file, and offers a Quick-Backup feature which creates a backup just with a single mouse-click. Version 2. Supports Outlook 2007.

Notes

If your network is set up so that you can use Outlook at any machine ("roving profiles"), your Outlook files may be in a different location. Try using Start | Find to locate each type of file. If you don't see any .pst files after you search, you may need to adjust the settings in Windows Explorer to show hidden and system files. Choose Tools | Folder Options, then switch to the View tab, and select Show hidden files and folders.

Personal Folders .pst files are among the files that are normally not included in a Windows 2000 (or later) offline files synchronization. However, you can edit the system policy that controls the file types so that .pst files can be included. See Error Message Files of This Type Cannot Be Made Available Offline.