Convert Outlook 2011 to Apple Mail, Address Book, Calendars (iCal)
If you have a lot of data stored in Outlook 2011, it can get a bit messy when trying to export all that data into Apple Mail. There are many issues that can come up while performing such a task. And it seldom goes as planned.
There are couple of ways you can move your contents. Some of them are not very efficient and can end up with damaging your data.
Let’s take a look at some of those methods and find out where they lack in offering a user-friendly approach to data export.
Drag and drop method for converting Outlook 2011 to Apple Mail
The most common technique is dragging the Outlook 2011 folders into Mac desktop. This converts the files automatically into MBOX files, which you can import into Mac Mail.
Couple of issues with this technique:
- You have to manually drag each folder onto the desktop one at a time. For users with many folders, this is impractical.
- You cannot do this for contacts and calendar data; it works only for emails.
- Even for emails, this can result in missing items. The resulting MBOX often are defective. You can find missing items such as images, attachments, metadata, headers, etc.
Exporting Outlook 2011 to Apple Mail by IMAP syncing method!
Another approach is to use a dummy IMAP based email account (like Gmail or hotmail). You first need to add that email account in your Outlook 2011 client, drag the folders inside that new email account section, and wait for the data to sync to the servers. After the data is synced/uploaded to the email server, add the same email account to your Apple Mail client. This time, drag the folders from the account section into any locally folder inside Apple Mail. The client will sync/download everything from the servers to the local database.
This too isn’t a efficient approach to data export:
- You need an email account that can offers the space equivalent to the data you want to export. If you are like most users, the reason that made you delete your data from servers and save it into local files in the first place was the lack of storage capacity. So, uploading the same data back to an email account is almost never possible.
- You need internet connection, and depending on the total size and your speed of internet, this method can drag for too long. And obviously, it also consumes your download limit as given by your ISP.
- And once again, the data exported this way can be fragmented. Many items may not be converted or synced accurately. Folder hierarchy, images, metadata, and certain other items are often found to be damaged.
Using an Outlook 2011 to Apple Mail Converter
The third option is to use a third-party software application to convert Outlook 2011 to Apple Mail files.
OLM – OLM is a native data file for Outlook 2011 to store your contents. MBOX, on the other hand, is the data file for Apple Mail for the same purpose of storing data. If OLM file were recognizable by Apple Mail, you’d have no reason to go through all this trouble. You would’ve simply imported OLM files into Apple Mail.
Unfortunately, Apple Mail cannot read the data from OLM files. There is no inbuilt feature that allows you to simply select files with .*olm extension and import data that way.
And thus, we come to the conclusion that the only plausibly appropriate way for data export between Outlook 2011 and Apple Mail is through a third-party file converters. By converting OLM to MBOX, you can achieve your objective.
But again, this rarely goes as planned. Because of the poorly developed Outlook 2011 to Apple Mail converter, this too can lead you to the flawed output files.
But thanks to USL Software for offering “OLM Extractor Pro” that doesn’t take the same route as others. It’s an excellent Mac utility that is capable of converting OLM files to MBOX with the usual run-down of your data integrity. Where most tools outputs the MBOX files in very poor condition, “OLM Extractor Pro” succeeds in preserving the fidelity to almost 100%. Nothing is mis-calculated by the tool. Every miniscule detail from original files are reconstructed into the native architecture of MBOX files.
Final Thoughts on Convert Outlook 2011 to Apple Mail Export
Converting Outlook 2011 to Apple Mail is usually a tricky task. Without the proper tools and information, you could get completely lost and worse, may damage your data.
“OLM Extractor Pro” is now available for you to come out of this situation. It’s the most expert recommended tool for achieving the best results.
Download the trial setup here to convert Outlook 2011 to Apple Mail.