This is a sponsored article and was made possible by Stellar. The actual contents and opinions are the sole views of the author who maintains editorial independence, even when a post is sponsored.

Some people see Microsoft Outlook as an email application. If you’re a true Outlook power user, you know it’s much more than that. You can use Outlook to manage nearly every aspect of your life once you’ve truly mastered it.

If you live in Outlook as some people do, backing up and storing your data becomes increasingly important. You can rely on your Exchange server to a certain extent, but at some point you want to manage your data with more powerful tools. That’s where Stellar Converter for OST comes in.

What Is Stellar Converter for OST?

If you’re not an Outlook diehard, you may not know what an OST file is. In a nutshell, this is the single file that stores all of the data on your Exchange server offline on your computer. The file extension stands for Offline Storage Table.

This file doesn’t just contain your email. An OST file holds your calendar data, your tasks, contacts, notes, and all of your other Outlook data. That makes it pretty important.

An OST file isn’t portable, meaning you can’t just open it in another email program. For that, you need to convert it into another format, and that is what Stellar Converter for OST does. The most common format you may want to convert your OST into is PST, which is a Personal Storage Table. That said, Stellar Converter for OST goes far beyond that.

Features and Pricing

In addition to PST, Stellar Converter for OST can export to a variety of different formats. These formats include email formats like EML and MSG. The app also supports other formats like RTF, HTML, and PDF, making it extremely flexible. The software supports Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, 2003, 2002, and 2000.

Generally, you’ll be using the app to convert files on your local drive, but that is not all it is limited to. You can save a converted PST file to a network drive, for example, which could be useful if you’re using the software in an office setting.

The software exports all mailbox items – emails, contacts, attachments, notes, journals, calendars, deleted items, etc. – to PST format. The software can export encrypted OST files to PST format.

You can extract individual email messages from the OST file based on the following parameters: “To,” ‘”From,” ‘”Subject,” “Date,” etc, and convert them to MSG, EML, RTF, HTML, and PDF formats.

One thing you’ll notice upon launching the app is how similar it looks to Microsoft Outlook. Not only does this make sense, but it serves a function in that looking at the app you’ll immediately remember what you’re doing. Functionality aside, the aesthetic touch of mirroring Outlook is a nice choice.

Pricing

If you’re installing Stellar Converter for OST on a single system, you can opt for the Corporate license which costs $99. The Technician option is more advanced and lets you install the software on up to three systems, adding a number of features for $249. These features include batch conversion, exporting directly to Office 365, Live Exchange and saving as other formats including MBOX, DBX, and CSV. You can also split and compact the converted PST file.

Finally, you can opt to go for the Stellar Toolkit for Outlook, which costs $299. This adds even more features, including the ability to repair corrupt or damaged Outlook PST files. It also unlocks a full suite of eight tools. These will let you manage Outlook data in various ways, including compacting PST files and recovering lost passwords.

Using Stellar Converter for OST

The first step in using Stellar Converter for OST is locating your OST file. You may be thinking you have no idea where that is, but fortunately, that doesn’t matter. Simply select the drive to search (usually your C drive), and Stellar Converter for OST will find the file for you.

Conversion

If you have multiple Exchange accounts set up in Outlook, you may need to choose which file you want to open. If you’re not sure which is which, you can just try opening one and converting. This does nothing to your original OST file, and the built-in preview feature will let you see your email messages and other data.

You don’t even have to let the entire conversion process finish. You can choose the “Stop” option at any time and look at what has converted so far. Once you’re sure you have the right file, you can continue the conversion process until it’s completed.

Exporting

After converting, you can choose how you’d like to export your data. This will depend on what you’re doing with it. For backing up your emails, you’ll probably want to use PST, since Outlook can easily import this format. You can also use the PST format to import your Outlook data into other email clients. You might also use this format to move from Exchange to another type of server.

As for the other formats, these are more specialized cases. As with PST, you can use the EML and MSG formats to move your email to other clients and/or servers. You might use HTML if you want to load Exchange data on to a company Intranet. If you need to print out a record of emails – for legal use, for example – the PDF format may come in handy.

Conclusion

Some software tools have you wondering if you might find a use for them. With other tools, you immediately know whether or not you need it. Not everyone is going to need Stellar Converter for OST, and that is essentially by design. That being the case, if you know you need this software, you won’t find a more powerful option.

The price is on the high side, yes, but if you weigh that against the importance of your data, you might find it’s worth much more.

Kris Wouk is a writer, musician, and whatever it’s called when someone makes videos for the web.

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