Knowledge Base Article #321238
Can I import Outlook email messages into Intellect?
Importing mail messages is more difficult than importing other types of data into Intellect (but still not hard!). The reason for the difficulty is that Outlook doesn't offer a reliable way to export your email messages as .EML files, a standard format for exporting email. Even without this feature, there is still a way to get your email out and into other programs.
Outlook Express (currently Windows Mail) is another email client from Microsoft, but one that can both import from Outlook AND export EML files. It is also already installed on your machine by Microsoft, too. In later versions of Windows, this is called Windows Mail but serves the same function. If you open Outlook Express, on the File Menu is an Import option where you can import Messages from Microsoft Outlook. Again, this won't harm Outlook, but would copy the emails you stored there to Outlook Express.
Open your My Computer and put it side by side with Outlook Express (or Windows Mail). On your local drive, make a new folder to use for transferring messages between Microsoft's mail program and Chaos Intellect. In Windows Mail / Outlook Express, go to a folder, select all the messages and drag them to this new folder you made on your hard drive. Windows Mail / Outlook Express will create separate .EML files for each of the messages you selected. Once done, open Intellect in place of Outlook Express, go to the Mail area and choose or create a folder to add these messages to. Highlight the .EML files and drag them to the listings for the folder in Intellect. Two drags and two drops and you're done with that folder and can move on to another one, if desired.
There are separate third party program that have the ability to export from Outlook to several formats including .eml files. While some users have gone this route and been successful, to us the Outlook Express or Windows Mail option is the easiest and the cheapest (since it is free). If you do decide to look elsewhere, one tool we know of is called Aid4Mail at http://www.aid4mail.com .
Keywords: import, outlook, messages, merge, convert, eml, export, mail
Modified Date: 10/4/2010
wrt, DMD
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