Moving my pst-file to another location

How can I move the Outlook pst-file from its default location to another more convenient location?

Move PST-file buttonThat is actually easier than it looks; move the pst-file when Outlook is closed to its new location and then start Outlook.

Outlook will now nag that it can't find the pst-file and allows you to browse to the new location. Point Outlook to it and you're done!

Locations of the pst-file

Where? buttonOf course you’ll need to know the current location of the pst-file fist. You can get an overview of your currently connected pst-files via;

  • Outlook 2007
    File-> Data File Management…
  • Outlook 2010 / 2013 / 2016 / 2019 / Microsoft 365
    File-> Info-> Account Settings-> Accounts Settings…-> tab Data Files
  • The Mail applet in Control Panel.

Quickly open the folder location of your pst-file via the Data Files tab.
Quickly open the folder location of your pst-file via the Data Files tab.

The defaults locations are;

  • Outlook 2007
    C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\
  • Outlook 2010 / 2013 / 2016 / 2019 / Microsoft 365
    C:\Users\%username%\Documents\Outlook Files\

Things to be aware of

Behavior & Limitations buttonWhen changing the location of the pst-file, keep the following in mind;

  • Never overwrite any existing pst-files. This will corrupt your mail profile and then you'll need to recreate it.
  • Make sure you point it to the same pst-file and not another or you'll corrupt your mail profile.
  • Don't make Outlook connect to pst-files on a network share. This is unsupported.
  • Don’t make Outlook connect to pst-files stored within synched folders such as of OneDrive or Dropbox. This can lead to endless syncs, data corruption and even complete loss of the pst-file.
  • To change the location of an ost-file see Moving the ost-file of an Exchange, Outlook.com or IMAP account.
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