A DIY Guide To Export / Convert Lotus Notes Email To Outlook Manually

Today we will discuss, one of the most asked questions and that is how to export or convert Lotus Notes email to Outlook PST format manually. With the manual techniques, I will also tell you the reason for Lotus Notes to Outlook conversion and a free tool to export NSF files into PST format. So to get an idea of all the above-mentioned points, keep reading

Lotus Notes which is an email client was one of the most popular applications for many users. But with the introduction of Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes has gradually lost its user base. MS Outlook is loaded with some amazing features which no other email clients posses. Due to which, it has created a large base of users within a couple of years. Microsoft is a brand name in this sector, so most of us have a good share of trust on its products and applications.

So let’s see some of the features which make it a standalone product in this category

Reasons For Lotus Notes to Outlook Conversion

There are a number of reasons due to which a lot of users are trying to export or convert Lotus Notes emails to Outlook PST format.

• Microsoft Outlook let users to work even in offline mode
• Provides better email and data management
• Is loaded with more security features than Lotus notes
• The user interface of MS Outlook is considered more user-friendly then Lotus Notes
• In terms of ease of use, MS Outlook is regarded as one of the easiest to use email client as compared to others
• Outlook also need fewer maintenance charges as compared to Lotus Notes
• Sharing data in Outlook is also very easy as compared to Lotus Notes
• And the last feature is that Outlook has been termed as one of the best email clients to undergo multitasking

You may also read: Evolution of Lotus Notes and NSF File Formats

How To Manually Convert Lotus Notes Email To Outlook PST Format

Before converting or exporting your Lotus Notes NSF files into Outlook PST format manually, there are certain things which we need to keep in mind. but if you want to Migrate Lotus Notes to Office 365 then you will have to follow other methods for doing so.
For a detailed comparision between MS Outlook and Lotus Notes, give a read to this blog: Lotus Notes VS Outlook: A Lotus Notes and Outlook Comparison

1. Always keep a backup of your Lotus Note’s emails and other data before converting Lotus Notes email to MS Outlook PST format
2. NSF files are basically the file types used by Lotus Notes to store your data and emails
3. PST format is a format in which MS Outlook stores its files, emails and other data
4. To export/convert Lotus Notes email to Outlook, we have to convert the Lotus Notes NSF files into PST format
5. For a successful conversion, Outlook must be there in your system

Hope now you have an idea about the basics. So let’s start manual Lotus Notes to Outlook conversion.

• Open Lotus Notes
  

  

• Browse and locate NSF files that need to be converted. Click “Open”
  

  

• Now go to ‘File’ and then select ‘Export’
  

  

• Browse and select the location where you want to save the files and in ‘Save as type’ either select ‘Structured Data’ or ‘Comma Separated Value’. Now mention a name to the file and click ‘Export’
  

  

• In both the selection types… select the options that you want to go for and click ‘Ok
  

  

So with the above process, you will be able to export the Lotus Notes NSF files. Now we need to import these files into MS Outlook. To import the saved files, follow the below step by step procedure:

• Launch Microsoft Outlook
• Go to ‘File’ and click on ‘Open’
• Now select ‘Import & Export’
  

  

• Here in the ‘Import and Export Wizard’ choose ‘Import from another program or file’ and click ‘Next’
  

  

• In the ‘Import a file’ wizard select ‘Comma separated values (Windows)’ and click ‘Next’
  

  

• Now browse and locate the files that you have saved earlier and click ‘Next’
  

  

• Here, select the location where you want to import the data and click ‘Next’
  

  

• Now click “Finish”
  

  

This whole process will help you to import Lotus Notes email to Outlook PST format.

Limitations Of Manual Techniques

Manual procedures are good but there are some limitations which you need to keep in mind before going for this:

• The process to convert Lotus Notes email to MS Outlook PST format is a little bit lengthy and complicated for non-technical guys
• There are situations when users get confused with the process even after going through the step by step procedure
• There is a good risk of data loss. So I always suggest my readers to keep a backup of their files
• Not a good way to convert large-sized NSF data into Outlook PST format

For more limitations and challenges, you may check out this article: Challenges faced while migrating Lotus Notes to other clients

Best Way To Import / Convert Lotus Notes Email To MS Outlook PST

If the above manual techniques don’t work, then the only way through which you can import your files is through a third-party software. But the issue here is selecting the best software which can do the work for you.

Even if we search on Google, we will get scores of options but selecting one is a tough ask. As everyone regards itself as the best in the task of converting or importing Lotus Notes email to MS Outlook.

So being an expert, I would like to suggest you one tool which I have used earlier its SysInfoTools NSF To PST Converter.

I have used this software a couple of times and find it very effective. Some of its features are really amazing and make it a standalone tool in this email migration sector

Pros:

• Successfully import and convert Lotus Notes email to Outlook PST
• Can convert all your Lotus Notes emails into Outlook PST data
• Import your emails, contacts, calendars and other mailbox items in PST format
• Support conversion of large-sized NSF files
• Support conversion of single as well as multiple NSF files
• Simple and easy user interface so that even a non-technical guy can also use it, without any technical help
• Can remove encryption from NSF files
• Flexible saving options
• Auto-search and Advanced preview feature to search and preview converted files
• Date Range feature to exclude files that you don’t want to convert
• Support all versions of Lotus Notes NSF files
• Compatible with all versions of MS Outlook version and Windows OS versions

Cons

• Doesn’t support Linux Operating system
• Doesn’t support MAC Operating system

For Lotus Notes To Sharepoint Conversion check out this article: 6 Approaches For A Successful Lotus Notes to SharePoint Migration
And for Lotus Notes To Windows Live Mail Conversion give a read to this blog: Steps to Convert Lotus Notes to Windows Live Mail

Conclusion

If you have gone through the article, you have a fair idea about the manual procedures to convert Lotus Notes email to Outlook PST. These techniques are good but not that useful as they have a lot of limitations. Even keeping a backup is a must if you are going for these techniques.
However, if the techniques don’t work then you may use a third party software which I have mentioned too. But there is a limitation for this software too and that is it doesn’t run on Linux and MAC.

The decision is fully upon you how to go forward and convert your files.

So with this article have tried to tell you everything that you might need to import /export / convert Lotus Notes email to Outlook PST.

Hope you liked this article.