In the Exchange Server, a public folder serves as a shared location and provides an easy way for users to collect and organise information. These folders also allow users to share information, such as messages, calendars, documents, contacts, etc., with other users in the organization or a workgroup. This also helps save storage space on the Exchange Server as there is no need to share a document or other content with every user. The document or other content that is saved in the public folder can be accessed by all the users.
Like user mailboxes or other data, sometimes, you need to export the public folders from the EDB file for various purposes, such as backup, archiving, or migrating. Though you can export user mailboxes using the PowerShell commands or the Exchange Admin Center (EAC), there is no direct or native method to export public folders from EDB file. In this article, we will provide some ways to export public folders from EDB file to PST.
Methods to Export Public Folders from EDB File to PST
Here are some methods you can use to export public folders from EDB to PST.
Method 1) Use Outlook to Export Public Folders to PST
Launch Outlook and click on ‘File‘.
Select the ‘Open & Export‘ option.
Click on ‘Import/Export‘.
In the Import and Export Wizard that opens, click on ‘Export to a file‘ and click ‘Next‘.
In the Export to a file window, select ‘Outlook data file (.pst)‘ and click ‘Next‘.
You will see a window with the full structure of mailbox items. Select the public folder you want to export and click ‘Next‘.
Note: If you want to export some specific data from the public folder, click on ‘Filter‘.
On the next window, choose a location to save the exported PST file and select one of the options for the duplicate items. Then, click the ‘Finish‘ button.
You will get a prompt to set a ‘password‘ to encrypt the PST file. This is optional. You can leave the password field empty and click ‘OK‘.
The export process may take time, depending on the size of the public folder.
The above process to export public folder to PST file is efficient but it has some limitations, such as:
- If the public folder is large, Outlook may crash during the process.
- If the process is interrupted, there is no option to resume the export process. The export process needs to be start again.
There is no way to know the status of export process.
Method 2) Use an EDB to PST Converter Tool
To easily and quickly export public folders from EDB file, you can use a specialized EDB to PST converter software, such as Stellar Converter for EDB. This software can open EDB file (online or offline) and present all the file items, including public folders, on the screen. The software interface is quite user-friendly as it is similar to Outlook. From the list of items, you can select the public folders and export them to PST and various other formats. You can also export the public folders and other items directly to a live Exchange Server or Microsoft 365 (Office) account. Here are some notable features of this software:
- It can open EDB file of any size and of any Exchange Server version.
- It can export public folders of any size without any hassle.
- It can even extract data from dismounted EDB databases and save it to PST and other formats (EML, MSG, RTF, PDF, and HTML).
- It allows selective conversion of mailboxes and individual items.
- It also offers an option to automatically split the converted PST file into smaller files.
Conclusion
There are various scenarios where you need to export the public folders from EDB file. However, there is no native utility in Exchange Server to directly export public folders to PST. Above, we have mentioned the stepwise process to export public folder to PST using Outlook’s Import/Export feature. However, the process is time-consuming and has certain limitations. Therefore, the best option is to use a specialized EDB to PST converter software, such as Stellar Converter for EDB. This software can open online or offline EDB files of any size and selectively export the file data to PST and various other formats with complete integrity. You can the select the public folders you want to export and export them to PST format in just a few clicks.
