Outlook .pst Viewer

How to open a PST file without Outlook

1. Drop the .pst or .ost file onto the box above, or click to choose it.
2. The folder tree appears on the left with the number of items in each folder. The Inbox opens first when there is one.
3. Click a folder, then a message. Download its attachments, or save the message as an .eml file.

What PST and OST files are

A .pst (Personal Storage Table) is the file Outlook uses for archives and exports: a single database holding mail folders, calendar, contacts and tasks. An .ost is the same structure used as Outlook’s local cache of an Exchange or Microsoft 365 mailbox.

People usually meet one at an awkward moment: an archive handed over when leaving a job, a backup made before a laptop was replaced, mail exported by an IT department, or an old file found years later. Outlook for Windows is the program built to open it; webmail, phones and most other mail programs cannot. If all you want is to find a few messages or attachments, installing and configuring Outlook is a lot of work.

What it does

• Shows the folder tree, hiding the empty system folders Outlook creates.
• Lists each folder’s items with subject, sender, date and an attachment marker. Search filters the open folder by subject or sender.
• Opens a message with its recipients, plain-text or HTML body, inline images and attachments. Messages attached to messages open in place.
• Saves a message as a standard .eml with its attachments, and downloads all attachments of a message as one .zip.
• Reads both modern Unicode files and the older ANSI format from Outlook 97–2002. For ANSI files a text-encoding picker appears, because those files do not record which language they were written in.

Limits you should know about

• It is a viewer for mail. Calendar entries, contacts, tasks and notes are listed and show their title and notes, but not as a calendar or address book.
• There is no bulk export of a whole folder or file; messages are saved one at a time.
• The file is read in small pieces as you browse and is not loaded into memory. Testing was done with data files of up to 16 MB, so very large archives have not been measured.
• A damaged file may fail to open. Nothing is repaired or modified; the file is only read.

Privacy

A PST is often years of someone’s working life. This page reads it locally in your browser. It is never uploaded, there is no account, and remote images in the messages are blocked so that opening old mail does not contact anyone.

Frequently asked questions

How can I open a PST file without Outlook?

Drop it on this page. The folder tree and messages are read in your browser, and you can open any message and download its attachments. Nothing needs to be installed.

Can it open OST files as well?

Yes. An .ost file has the same internal structure as a .pst and opens the same way. HTML message bodies and inline images from an Outlook.com cache file were tested.

Can I export emails from a PST to EML?

Yes, one message at a time. Open the message and choose “Save message as .eml”. The body, inline images and attachments are included, and an attached message is carried along as an attached message.

Why do folder names look garbled in my old PST?

Files from Outlook 97–2002 use the ANSI format, which does not store the text encoding. Choose the right language in the encoding picker that appears above the folder list and the names are decoded again.

Is my PST file uploaded?

No. The file is read directly from your disk by your browser, in small pieces as you browse. Nothing is sent to a server.