Exporting messages to/from Outlook

May 24, 2006 4:46 PM

How do I export Outlook messages without losing the dates/times?

This question has been asked and answered before, but I just don't get it (VB code... huh, what's that?). I'm hoping someone can explain the answer to me in easy layman's terms.

I need to export many, many messages from a computer with Outlook 2000 to one with Outlook 2003 (both use Windows) and it's critical that I keep the original send/receive dates. The way I would normally go about this is to click File -> Import and Export -> Export to a file -> Comma Separated Values, and then click on the folder I want to export. This would allow me to save the csv file, which I could then import into the other version of Outlook. BUT, when you do this it saves numerous types of fields I don't want (e.g., mileage), but the date/time field is missing. Nor is date/time an option when mapping the fields.

How can I do this export but keep the date/time? As suggested in the thread linked above, I tried to simply copy all the messages listed in the folder into Excel (one of the fields was "Message" which I obviously inserted for this purpose only). But once copied into Excel, the formatting went all awry.

Help! Thank you!

posted by zharptitsa to computers & internet (4 comments total)

Um, can't you just use the PST file format, or did I miss something?

Wait, you say "from a computer with Outlook 2000 to one with Outlook 2003" but you also say "into Excel".

Is it one, the other, or both? (My answer works for the first one, not the second.)
posted by tiamat at 5:04 PM on May 24, 2006

Try this:

File -> Import and Export -> Export to a file -> Personal Folder File (.pst)

That will create a .pst file that you can then open with Outlook 2003, and should preserve all the send/receive dates.
posted by trip and a half at 5:08 PM on May 24, 2006

This post (fourth result on a Google search for "transferring messages from outlook 2000 to outlook 2003") indicates that it's really as simple as tiamat indicates:

First I made a copy of my old PST file (there is all the data you saved in Outlook; emails, appointments, rules etc.) and put it in a save place (you can burn it on a CD for example). When I opened Outlook 2003 for the first time, I cancelled al the operations and closed Outlook. Then I deleted the PST file Outlook 2003 created, and opened Outlook again. Now it cannot find the PST file and it asks to locate the PST file. Here you point out to your old PST file with all the data and you are ready. Maybe you have to make a few adjustments, but you will find the folders you made and your emails. You don’t have to start the rules wizard because there still effective, though you have activate (some of) them.

posted by Doofus Magoo at 5:10 PM on May 24, 2006

Thank you! The reason I had never thought of using a PST file before was because... this is the first time I ever heard of such a thing. (Okay, maybe instead of "layman" I should have said "novice.") And I swear I did extensive fruitless Google searches before posting my question. Anyway, thank you. It worked. :)
posted by zharptitsa at 5:32 PM on May 24, 2006