How to Save an Email in Outlook

When you receive an important email, you can save it in a few different ways. This can come in handy in case the email gets misplaced or deleted. You can save the email as a file on your PC or another folder in Outlook as a draft or even save it as a PDF. It is also possible to export the email to a PST or CSV file. 

You can do all these actions using Outlook’s desktop client. Now, let’s discuss how you can save an email in Outlook.

How to Save an Email in Outlook?

Outlook gives you the option to save emails on your PC or to cloud storage. While these emails can be in any of the aforementioned formats, the process of saving them can differ.

Via Import and Export

You can save an email in Outlook as a .pst file. To save your email via the import and export option, follow these steps.

1. Open Outlook. 
2. Go to File > Open & Export.
   
3. Click on Import/Export.
4. Select Export to a file.
5. Click on Next and select Outlook Data File.
6. Click Next.
   
7. Click on the folder where the email you want to export is located and click Next.
8. Click on Finish.
9. You can add a password to protect the folder. It will ask you to enter it again.

Save as a PDF

You can save an email in your Outlook as a PDF. You cannot do this directly, but you can use the Print feature in Outlook to do so. Follow these steps to save an email as a PDF file. 

1. Open the Outlook app.
2. Select the email you want to save.
3. Click on File at the top left corner.
4. Click on Print. Choose Microsoft Print to PDF from the dropdown menu.
   
5. Click on Print again and give your file a name.
   
6. Select where you want to save it and press the Save button.

Save as Word Document

You can save an email in Outlook to a Word document. While you cannot do it directly, you can save it as an HTML file and open that in Word. This protects the formatting as well as the header information. 

1. Open Outlook.
2. Click on the email you want to save.
3. Go to File and select Save As.
   
4. Select where you want to save the email.
5. Give your file a name.
6. Open the drop-down menu for Save as type and select HTML.
   
7. Press the Save button. 
8. Now go to Word.
9. Open the HTML file that you saved.
10. Go to File > Save As > Browse.
    
11. Open the drop-down menu for Save as type and select Word document (*.docx).
    
12. Press the Save button.

Save as a Template

You can create a template to include information that stays constant despite who the receiver is. This can include your name, address, and signature. Saving a message as a template will allow you to send emails in less time. 

1. Open Outlook.
2. Select an email or Click on New Email at the top left corner.
   
3. Enter your message in the Message text box.
4. In this window, go to File > Save As.
   
5. Open the drop-down menu for Save as type and select Outlook Template. You can also select other options. These options are:
   • Text only: This will save only the text from the email without any formatting or images.
     • Outlook Message Format: You will be able to open this file type later in Outlook.
     • Outlook Message Format – Unicode: This is similar to the Outlook Message Format except that it can store international characters that can be read by Outlook 2003 and later. This is the default format. 
     • MHT: This file will be saved as an archive on the web page, and you will only be able to view it in a web browser.
       
6. Enter a name for your file, select a location and press the Save button.

Save to Another Folder in Outlook

You can save an email by moving it to another folder in Outlook. You can do this by either moving the email or only copying it. Please note that when you move the email, you can only access it from this new folder.

Moving the Email

1. Right-click on the email you want to save.
2. Go to Move.
3. Select the folder where you want to save it.
   

Alternatively, you can also follow these steps.

1. Go to Outlook.
2. Click on the email you want to save.
3. Click and drag it to the folder where you want to move it.
   
4. Release your mouse.

Copying the Email

1. In Outlook, click on the email you want to save.
2. From the ribbon, click on Home > Move.
   
3. Click on Copy to Folder.
   
4. Select a folder and press the OK button.

Alternatively, you can copy an email to another folder using the ribbon. To do so, follow these steps.

1. Go to Outlook.
2. Select the email you want to save.
3. Right-click on the email and drag it to the folder where you want to move it.
4. Release your mouse.
5. Click on Copy.