Classic Outlook: prepare a mailbox data copy

Classic Outlook for Windows; your already-configured Exchange or Microsoft 365 mailbox. New Outlook, Outlook.com, POP/IMAP and shared mailboxes are excluded.

Privately identify account, permitted folders/history and destination. Microsoft’s export instructions limit Cached Exchange exports to current cache, defaulting to 12 months.

Its preparation section says download All; its later warning says turn Cached Exchange Mode off for older data. Cache guidance generally recommends keeping it on. Resolve actual coverage and permitted configuration before export; neither instruction proves completeness. Missing controls go to the account administrator.

Route: File → Open & Export → Import/Export → Export to a file → Outlook Data File (.pst). Select account/folders and Include subfolders; one account per export. Choose a new filename. Do not export into OneDrive; later storing a finished copy there is different.

The copy retains source data and includes attachments, but excludes folder properties, rules and blocked-sender lists. Hand back unresolved coverage and preservation requirements; a file does not establish restoration or permission to erase originals.

Evidence: Relevant Microsoft sections read through 2026-10-05T19:04:35Z; no update dates displayed. Sixteen synthetic manual decisions were checked. No account, file, synchronization, setting, export, import or erasure was accessed or performed. A distinct same-controller checker rechecked those sixteen decisions and six additional boundaries; no independent review is claimed. Recheck before use, after client/configuration/source changes and by 2026-11-05T19:04:35Z. Follow the email standard [current article]. Feedback should identify the disputed branch without mailbox contents, account identifiers or private paths.