Saved an old Hotmail account
I had a Hotmail address from twenty years back that I barely use. Wanted a copy before it got deleted for being idle. Signed in through the Microsoft window, picked PST and it saved the lot without a hitch.
Core features
Outlook.com Backup Tool, Step by Step
The run in five screens, from the Microsoft login to a finished backup file.
Connect
Sign In on the Microsoft Page
Choose Outlook.com and the server fields load by themselves. A Microsoft login window then asks for the address, password and any Authenticator prompt. Once approved, the folder list opens.
Microsoft keeps the token, not the tool. Microsoft dropped app passwords for personal mail, so none is needed. Back up multiple accounts in a single pass, every one signed in separately.
Folder selection
Choose the Outlook.com Folders to Keep
Focused Inbox, Other, Archive, Junk Email and Deleted Items sit in one tree with message totals. Keep two decades of mail in one go or save a single old folder.
Every folder and subfolder has its own tick box. Junk and Deleted can stay behind with one click, and blank folders can be tucked away in compact view.
Message preview
Preview Outlook.com Messages First
Open any message in a reading pane with four expert views alongside. Before an old account closes, this is how the owner confirms the right letters, receipts and photos are being saved.
Content displays body, from, to and subject. Message header traces every server hop, properties gives size, importance and attached files, and hex and raw message reveal the original source.
Selective backup
Back Up Outlook.com Mail by Date or Sender
Set filters first and only matching mail is written. Years of shopping newsletters stay behind while bank letters, tickets and family mail come along.
Bracket the backup with a from and to date, search by sender, recipient, subject or body, keep only mail with an attachment, set a size threshold and leave Junk Email and repeat copies out.
Output options
Send Outlook.com Mail to a File or a Second Mailbox
The target is the final step. Select a folder, a plugged-in drive or a shared network path. Mail can also go to another mailbox instead of a file, and document formats are named to a pattern.
Outlook PST, plus MBOX, EML and MSG for Thunderbird or Apple Mail, and PDF, HTML, CSV or TXT for reading on any device. Move mail into Gmail or another IMAP server with the email migration tool.