Overview: Are you also here to know does Outlook export include attachments? In this article, we are going to answer this question and also explain how to save & manage file attachments manually and a professional way to manage attachments without the need of Outlook.

Microsoft Outlook is a popular email client that has items like emails, contacts, calendars, and attachments that are being saved in PST or OST files. Whether you are transitioning to a new system, backing up your data, or cleaning up your data, it’s important to know how to include attachments in your exports.

Also Read: Save Outlook Attachments to Folder Automatically

Does Outlook Export Include Attachments?

Yes, attachments are absolutely included as part of a mailbox export to PST when you use the Outlook Import/Export Wizard. PST files are personal files that contain everything in an Outlook folder like your email messages and their metadata and attachments.

Extract Attachments From Outlook - Manual Methods

Although the attachments are part of the PST file, if you need only the attachments then there are some extra steps to take. Here is how you can do it manually:

1. Drag and Drop Attachments

• Open the Outlook folder containing the emails.

• Double click on each email and drag the attachment to a folder on your local computer.

• Do this for each email with an attachment.

Limitations:

• Time consuming for large mailboxes.

• Not Filterable or batch processes.

2. Use Outlook Search and Save All Attachments

• Use the search bar to save the attachments accordingly.

• Select multiple emails which you want to export.

• Click on an email > right click on the attachment > Save All Attachments.

• Choose a folder to save them.

Limitations:

• Saves email attachments from the selected mails together.

• You aren’t able to filter attachments by type or size.

• Crashes in Outlook when working with a big amount of attachments.

3. Export to PST & Open It Later

1. Go to File > Open & Export > Import/Export > Export to a file > Outlook Data File

2. Choose the folder to export.

3. Next, save the PST file.

4. Then you can open the PST at a later time and perform those manual steps again to extract attachments.

Limitations:

• Attachments remain embedded inside emails.

• There are extra steps that you need to do in order to be able to get to them.

• There is no mass download feature.

Quickly Extract Attachments From All Emails

Does Outlook export include attachments? You have got the answer! There is a better way that is to extract attachments from all mails without the use of Outlook. The best one is to use SysTools Outlook Attachment Extractor. By using this, you can export as many attachments you want with any limit.

Tool Key Features:

• It can extract attachments from multiple PST/OST/BAK files or live Outlook profiles.

• Batch model for folder wise extraction is available.

• Also, it provides filters options: by date, size, file extension.

• Option to maintain folder hierarchy.

• Export attachments into dedicated folders.

• Compatible with Outlook 2021, 2019, 2016 & all below versions.

• Keep message metadata and do not affect email content.

Conclusion

Yes, Outlook exports the attachments to a PST but not to a CSV. Yet built in tools don’t permit exporting attachments as files or from specified folders. Manual methods are not that effective and come with certain drawbacks. To resolve all these, an automated approach is best suited that is described in the blog. It pulls out all attachments in their entire unfiltered way without any manual action being required. When you have to handle a large amount of Outlook data or get ready for migration, audit or storage management, then a professional way is recommended.

FAQ Section

Q. Do Outlook attachments export to CSV?

Ans. No, CSV files only have text fields such as Subject, From, Date etc. Attachments are not included.

Q. Is it possible to strip attachments from OWA?

Ans. By hand, one at a time. There's no way to download a bunch of attachments at once without any third party help.

Q. Does the size of the PST file matter in the case of attachment extract capability?

Ans. Yes. when the size of PST becomes too large then sometimes, Outlook might not export it or make it corrupt. Breaking the oversized PST file is a suggestion.