Open OLM files into Windows Systems

Updated On - December 26, 2022 by Nasir Khan |

Reading Time: 5 minutes

MS Outlook is an email client that can be used with both Windows and Mac operating systems. Both save mailbox data in different file formats, though. On Mac OS, Outlook information is saved in OLM files, but on Windows, it is saved in PST format. In this case, there are many reasons why users might want to open OLM files in Windows systems.

Outlook for Mac is the only program that can open OLM files. When Outlook 2011 for Mac came out, the OLM files were made. It can be used the same way MS Outlook PST files on Microsoft Windows can. It means that Mac Outlook stores all the information in mailboxes, like the information in the Inbox, Calendars, Address Books, and a lot more. If the OLM file can only be opened on a Mac, Windows Outlook won’t be able to open it.

If a user recently switched from a Mac platform to any Windows-based system, they have trouble accessing their OLM file-stored mailbox data through the Windows version of Outlook.

How to Add an OLM File to Microsoft Outlook

Before users can export OLM Items to Windows PST, they need to find the whole physical Mac OLM file. You don’t need to read this section if you already have the OLM on your system. Just skip to the manual and professional solutions.

By default, an OLM file is stored in one of two places on the system, depending on:

Documents/Microsoft User Data/Office 2011 Identities/Main Identity

Library/Group Containers/something.Office/Outlook/Outlook 15 Profiles/Main Profile

But in many cases, a user may not be able to find these files even if they go to the hard drive locations mentioned above. Users need to make these files again by storing mailbox data in Mac OLM format so they can access these files.

Steps to open OLM files into Windows Systems:

Go to the Tools menu in Outlook for Mac and click on the Export option. It opens a new window called Export.
Choose the information you want to export from the list in the window. This could be Emails, Contacts, etc.
Then, click Save As to change the file name and choose where users can store the OLM file.
Click “Save” and then save the OLM files.

After making the OLM file, it’s easy to convert it to an Outlook PST file by following the steps of automated solution.

Open OLM files into Windows Systems by Configuring Gmail Account

This method allows the user to use IMAP Server to connect Windows Outlook and Mac Outlook. It’s the same as using an automatic storage device between the two computers to make it easy to copy files. The IMAP server makes it easy for users to get remote files. Let’s start with the steps of manual way to export MAC Outlook emails to Windows Outlook.

Phase1: Create a Gmail account (or any other IMAP server)

If you have one already, go to step 2. If not, you can create a Gmail ID; I think everyone knows how to create one.

Phase2: Set up MS Outlook on Mac OS to work with Gmail

Start MS Outlook for Mac and go to the “Tools” menu, then “Accounts.”
Click the + button on the left side of the Accounts window to add a new account.
Choose the pane for the email address.
Type in your email address, password, and user name for your Gmail account.
Put imap.gmail.com in the box for the incoming server.
Pick the Use SSL Connect option.
Type smtp.gmail.com into the “Outgoing Server” field.
Choose both of the Outgoing Server options.
Put 465 as the port number for the “Outgoing port,” then click “Add account.”
A yellow button shows up on the left side of the window to show that a connection has been made. If the password is correct and the connection is made, it will turn green.

Phase3: Moving information from the Mac Outlook account to the Gmail account

First, right-click on the mailbox folder that needs to be moved and choose “Copy.”
Choose the folder you want to send mail to in your Gmail account.
The search bar at the bottom of the screen shows that messages are being sent.
Refresh your Gmail account when you’re done.

Phase4: Setting up Gmail to work with Windows Outlook

Open MS Outlook and go to File > Info > Account Settings.
In the window that just opened, click New Icon.
Select the type of server you want to add.
Afterward, Check your Internet Email.
Type in your login information, such as your email address, password, and user name.
Choose IMAP Account as the type of account.
Choose imap.gmail.com as the Incoming Server.
For the Outgoing Server, type smtp.gmail.com.
Click on the option that says “More Settings.”
On the Outgoing Server tab, choose “My outgoing server requires authentication.”
On the “Advanced” tab, type “993” where it says “Incoming Server Port.”
Choose SSL as the type of encryption.
Type 465 for the Outgoing Server Port. Press the OK button.
Select “Test Account Settings” and then click “Finish.”

Phase5: Moving mailbox data from Gmail to Windows Outlook

Log in to Gmail and click on the Settings icon.
Choose the option for Forwarding and POP/IMAP.
Click Enable IMAP Option under IMAP Access.
Turn on Auto-Delete On if you need to.
If a user wants to keep a copy of the messages, turn on the Archive option.
Click the option to Save changes.
Open MS Outlook and click Send/Receive message.

This option allows users to easily get their emails from MS Outlook for Mac to Windows Outlook. Unfortunately, the process is lengthy and asks for technical expertise to manually open OLM files into the Windows system. Besides this, a single misstep can result in data loss, and if you’re a businessperson, then don’t use this. Instead, you can use an automated solution and easily convert OLM files into different file formats to make them accessible in the Windows system.

Why should you use Regain OLM to PST converter tool?

Easy Conversion from OLM to Microsoft Outlook PST
All attributes of OLM data (including email, contacts, calendar, tasks, and notes) will be converted.
Contains the original email metadata, including To, CC, BCC, Sent, Received, Date/Time, Subject, and Attachments
PST, EML, MBOX, EMLX, HTML, vCard, MSG, RTF, MHTML, and PDF are all supported for saving converted OLM data.
Transfer Information From OLM to an Online Office 365 Account or a Production Exchange Server
Emails from MAC Outlook (.olm) can be imported into Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, AOL, and other popular services.

How to use Regain’s automated utility?

Firstly, install and open the Regain OLM to PST converter tool.
Now, add the OLM files you want to view and convert.
Following, click on the Export option and choose PST as a file format.
Browse the location to save the resultant PST files and click the Save data option.

Now the tool will process all your added OLM files into PST format, and you can easily open them in Outlook.

Conclusion

In this write-up, I’ve described two approaches to open OLM files in the windows system. I’ll suggest using Regain’s automated utility to ease the process and get an enhanced experience. You can use the Regain OLM to PST converter for free, so you must install and use it once.

Author: Nasir Khan

I am Nasir Khan from India, working as a Content Developer in Regain Software. Here I am writing about our products and their updates. And writing some free solutions from converting emails or Cloud Migration process. We have tools like Email Converter, Emails backup and Cloud migration. View all posts by Nasir Khan

One thought on “Manual Guide to Open OLM files into Windows Systems”

Linda Brandon says:

February 15, 2023 at 5:14 am

Great article! Very useful and well-written information. It’s so useful to have an overview of the different options available to open OLM files on Windows systems.

Manual Guide to Open OLM files into Windows Systems