Question Migrating Outlook to the Cloud

[ScottNY]

After decades of using Outlook only with a local PST file, I see the need use Outlook online. I need my different devices to be able to access old emails and for access to sync and be consistent across my PC, my tablet, laptop, etc. I have the proper license, but have no idea how to clean up my local PST, upload eveything to the cloud and then get it to work seamlessly between devices. Has anyone found a good resource I can use? I don't even mind spending a few dollars if it works. Thanks.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

1st, dump the .pst

.pst files were never designed to be used over a network and WILL corrupt when used in that manner.

 

[Alabalcho]

Make an experiment: Connect your Outlook to fresh Outlook.com account over IMAP, and copy couple of folders over that account. On another PC (or same PC but with different user account), connect to that same Outlook.com account and see whether you can live with that. You'll have to play games, however, if you keep same PST file for multiple EMail accounts.

And last (but not least): Having local .PST and having a backup of it makes you independent on Internet.

 

[ScottNY]

Ex -, I had a feeling the pst file would be part of the problem. Alabalcho, I think I understand what you are saying, but is there a guide or something with more detail you can point me to? I see where you are going but I have a combination of local folders, which I also want to move to online, and some other IMAP folders to move and am not sure exactly how to do the experiment you suggested.

Thanks!

 

[Alabalcho]

I have never done that, and I doubt I'll ever do. But I regularly copy / move items between local PST and IMAP folders, so it can be done.

 

[britechguy]

If one wants to be able to access one's e-mail across devices and to be able to set up an existing account under a new e-mail client and have all the mail associated with it "just be there" then using the two existing protocols that do that, IMAP (generic and more common) or Microsoft Exchange is the way to go.

There's no muss, no fuss. The e-mail client is just exactly that, a client, with local copies of a certain number of the most recent messages and their message bodies kept so they can be accessed if you're offline, but where all messages are permanently stored on the e-mail server. Folders are also created and stored on the server.

You can, of course, create copies of things in your IMAP folders in local folders as well, but I've never yet found a reason to do so.

One of the reasons IMAP came into existence was the recognition that people were increasingly going to need to have seamless access to their e-mail across devices and platforms, and to be able to change computers, e-mail clients, etc., with ease. It's now been around way more than long enough to prove that it does exactly what it was set out to do.