How to Import Mac Outlook into Mac Mail?
Importing OLM files to Mac Mail is not possible. OLM (short for Outlook for Mac) file is a proprietary file format compatible only with Outlook 2011. Therefore, many users have come up few manual solutions to transfer their data across the clients.
The first and foremost method that many users would employ for importing Mac Outlook to Mac Mail is drag and drop method. It goes like this: –
- Drag and Drop Method
- IMAP Method
- Using Professional Tool
(1) Drag and Drop Method to Import Mac Outlook into Mac Mail
Open Outlook, drag the folders into Mac Outlook one by one, and that’s it!
What this does is it converts all the items within Outlook folder into Mac MBOX files. Then, you can simply import MBOX back to Apple Mail. It needs to be done separately for each folder and it doesn’t apply to contacts and calendar folder.
Given that you don’t have many folders (otherwise it would become hectic), it might sounds like a decent method to import Mac Outlook. After all, dragging and dropping files or folders is the most basic of computer tasks (like copy and paste). But sadly, it is not that effective. The conversion of data is usually incomplete, resulting in fragmentation of your files. You can see errors like missing images, broken attached files, missing non-English text, and other corruption issues.
Obviously, this method isn’t exactly effective for users with large database, nor is it fit for migration projects in a workplace environment. It might be of some use if you have one or two folders to move that do not contain any important and sensitive information.
(2) IMAP Method to Import Mac Outlook to Mac Mail
Second approach is using a dummy IMAP based email account, or your existing email account that has a large data capacity, equal to the Outlook data you want to export. It is also a rather simple sounding solution, and is very similar to cloud-services.
You add the email account to Mac Outlook. Drag the folder that contains the offline Outlook 2011 data into the folder for your new email account. Let the data sync to the servers through IMAP services (that most email services offer these days). Next, add the same account to Mac Mail and now drag the folders from the email account section to any local directories. Now let the data sync from the servers to the client.
Again, the approach sounds simple in theory but in practice, it is far from it. And we recommend to stay away from it for few reasons: –
- It requires high data usage limit (because the data is getting synced two times: upload and download)
- It requires an email account with high data capacity allowance, almost equal to the Outlook data you need to move.
- And it can be hectic for some users with slow internet connection and can take a lot of time to finish
- lastly, this method too doesn’t give accurate results. Some of the items might be lost during transition.
(3) Pro Method to Import Mac Outlook to Mac Mail
Another, and most recommended approach is to use a commercial tool that converts data to appropriate formats as required. In this case, what you need is a professional OLM to MBOX converter. Such a converter would only require you to select OLM files for conversion and the rest of the job will be done automatically. It doesn’t require internet connection or signing in to any services. Everything occurs on your machine offline.
There are few converters that let you import Mac Outlook to Mac Mail by converting OLM to MBOX, but the best one we have come across is “OLM Extractor Pro.” It works quickly, has an intuitive interface, built by a reputed company (USL Software), is backed up by 24×7 customer support, it converts all languages text, and more.
Download to Import Mac Outlook into Mac Mail
Download the free trial setup here: http://www.olmextractorpro.com/download-now/.
So the final verdict is that importing Mac Outlook to Mac Mail can be hard, for both advanced users and beginners. It is either necessary to know beforehand what you are doing and be experienced in handling with email data. Alternatively, you can try commercial tool like “OLM Extractor Pro” (link for free trial version given above) that makes it super simple and accurate for anyone to comfortably migrate your emails, contacts, and other items.
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Try ‘OLM Extractor Pro‘ to import Mac Outlook into Mac Mail.