How to Save Outlook Message as PDF – Know Here
For users who are searching ways for how to save Outlook message as PDF, this blog post is your ultimate destination. We will showcase the most widely used methods to save MSG emails to PDF format. Keep reading to know more.
Table of Contents
We rely on emails for our daily data sharing, receiving, and management of crucial and confidential data. Email is a fast, inexpensive, and accessible method used in business, healthcare, law, the court, and many other fields. MSG is one of the email formats that can only be accessed using MS Outlook.
PDF is a portable document format that does not depend on any definite application. It became apparent to convert many Outlook emails to PDF with attachments. Here are some examples and reasons.
Why Save Outlook Message As PDFs?
- For Statutory Sector – Emails that are saved in PDF format become accessible and retrievable at the moment. Especially in cases of industrial regulatory activities.
- Archive Outlook emails – If you want to archive your email data, the best way is to save it as a PDF file. This not only provides the benefit of confidentiality but also prevents data tampering.
- Free email storage space – Emails especially with heavy attachments take up significant storage space. It can slow down the performance of your application’s platform. Convert multiple Outlook MSG emails to PDF with attachments to save the email storage space.
The list of factors motivating users to save Outlook emails as PDF files is endless. But, what is a sure-shot way to fulfill all of your requirements while converting Outlook MSG emails to PDF documents?
Techniques to Save Outlook Messages
We will demonstrate the methods and choose the best one that fulfills your needs and save Outlook messages as PDFs.
- New Outlook for Desktop
- Outlook Web App
- Oulook Classic
- Taking Screen Shot
- Bulk email conversion to PDF (With attachments)
- Professional Tool for Mac Machines
- Conversion to HTML via MS word (Lengthy & tedious without attachment)
- Conversion via Adobe Acrobat (Must have an annual expensive subscription)
Click on any method to see its steps.
Use New Outlook for Desktop to Get Messages in PDF
- Open Outlook.
- Select any email (only one).
- Hit the Print icon in the toolbar.
- Inside the Print window, expand the Printer dropdown and pick “Save as PDF.”
- You can retain or change the default settings to fit your requirements better.
- Once done, hit “Save.“
- This will launch the Save As box; from there, select a location, rename your document, and hit “Save.”
Repeat steps 2-7 for every other Outlook message you want in PDF format.
Save as PDF on Outlook Web App
- Login to Outlook
- Pick one Message.
- Hit Print.
- Inside the new window expand the Destination menu and select either Save as PDF or Microsoft Print to PDF any one will do.
- This will launch the final Save Print Output As window, where you’ll browse for an existing folder or create a new one to keep this PDF, enter a suitable file name, and click Save.
The process is quite easy and there is no denying it. However, this simplicity comes at the cost of reduced options. Like the New desktop app in the OWA here too you can only download one email at a time. This is not a surprise considering both apps are almost identical when it comes to UI. If you want to convert Outlook messages to PDFs en masse use the classic edition.
How to use Outlook Classic Edition for Converting Outlook messages to PDFs
Unfortunately, new Windows machines dont ship with a classic edition you have to install it on your own. After installation also add the account whose messages you need in portable document format in the classic edition.
If you use the new version, then the classic variant may be able to directly sync. However, messages may still take a while to appear. Once everything is set begin the process.
- If you want a copy of your entire mailbox PDF you can select All emails together by pressing the Ctrl + A keys together.
- Bulk selection of emails is possible by holding the Shift key and selecting the first and last message in a list.
- A more refined version of choosing multiple emails together is holding the Ctrl key and hitting the messages with your cursor.
- After the selection is done don’t waste time by looking for a print option in the tool bar. You won’t find it there. The classic edition hides the option inside the main File menu.
- So go there and click on Print.
- Expand the Printer option and select Microsoft Print to PDF.
- Then press the Print button at the top.
- This will prompt another ‘Save Print Output As‘ window. Simply browse to your desired location, enter a file name, and click ‘Save‘.
Take a screenshot of Outlook Message and save that image as a PDF on a Windows PC
For this you have to use the legacy snipping tool so look for it using the Windows search bar.
- Pin it to the taskbar as you will need it for the time being.
- Launch Outlook (Classic/Web/New) and open a message.
- Open up the snipping tool click on new, hold the cursor, and select the Outlook message area you want to print.
- As soon as you release the cursor a new window opens with a preview of what you are about to print.
- Click on File and select Print…
- From the Printer options select Microsoft Print to PDF and hit Print.
- This will open yet another Save Print Output As window. There you have to pick a location, type in an appropriate name, and hit Save.
Doing this allows you to save part of an Outlook message in PDF format.
Likewise, you can open the attachments (docs, spreadsheets, etc) in the Default Outlook preview take their screenshot (SS), and save the results in a portable document file.
If an Outlook Email message is particularly large you can adjust the viewing options. Hold the Ctrl key and scroll down with your mouse, this will zoom out and help you accommodate the entire message in a single SS.
If quality drops down beyond acceptable limits then you must use the traditional print option of Outlook. Moreover, sometimes Outlook is unable to preview some attachments, so you have to download those in their original format, open them on your computer, and take a ss or save them as PDF.
Bulk Outlook MSG Email Conversion to PDF (With Attachments)
SysTools MSG to PDF Tool allows unlimited PDF conversion. This does not restrict the maximum size for PDF files. Every PDF file type is supported, regardless of the PDF source and application, and automatically converts emails to PDF.
- Launch the MSG converter on your machine.
- Add Outlook MSG files or folders.
- Preview emails and choose desired files and folders to convert.
- Select the PDF format and click the “Export” button to start the conversion process.
Tip – This utility allows to convert contacts, calendars, notes, tasks, etc. along with emails.
It is available for both Windows and Mac operating systems of all versions. This is how you can save Outlook message as PDF format.
Steps to Save Outlook Messages as PDF on Mac Machine
- Download and install MSG to PDF Converter Mac Tool.
- Add the Outlook files that have to be transferred.
- Then press the Change button to select the destination location of your choice.
- Select PDF format from the various export options available.
- Apply the PDF settings as per your need and click the Export button.
Highlighting features of MSG Converter
- Date filter option to precise the MSG email to PDF format
- No size limitation over emails and attachments
- Maintain the data integrity and meta-properties of emails
- Will not disturb the hierarchical folder structure
- Advanced setting of Bates numbering and Date stamping
- Compatible with all the Outlook, Windows, and Mac versions
Conversion to HTML via MS Word (Lengthy and tedious)
- Open the Outlook Message that you wish to convert into PDF
- Click on the File tab >> Save as tab.
- Choose the folder location to save the HTML file.
- Now name the file by giving it a title.
- In the Save as Type prompt, select HTML from the dropdown menu to save the file.
- Then open the Microsoft Word app.
- Go to File >> Open tab and select your recently saved HTML file.
- Afterward, select File >> Save As, select PDF (Name of file.pdf) from the dropdown list.
- Click the Save button.
Unless the user only seeking to convert a single email this email is suitable for one-time use only, it’s tedious and time-consuming for many Outlook email files.
Conversion via Adobe Acrobat (Must have an annual expensive subscription)
Prerequisite – Users are required to subscribe to Adobe Acrobat for an annual charge. Moreover, Adobe has ended customer support for this program.
- Open Outlook and click Adobe Acrobat in the toolbar menu.
- Choose one of the two available options. A) Attach as Adobe PDF B) Attach as secured Adobe PDF
- Choose either Create New PDF or Append to Existing PDF option
- Select an email right-click it and select the “Convert to Adobe PDF” option from there.
- Name the file by giving it a title and click the “Save” button.
- Now you can go back to the location where you saved the PDF.
Verdict
Saving emails as PDF files is often a necessity for regular Outlook users. Archiving emails keeps track of your financial or legal mail. Checking all these requirements we brought a blog answering how to save Outlook message as PDF format. There are four globally used methods shown, choose the method that suits you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you convert Outlook messages to PDFs that are in my junk folder?
As long as messages are still there, i.e., if they have not crossed the 30-day threshold or been manually deleted by the user, the print option is still available.
However, beware, as whenever you mark a message as spam or Outlook itself puts an incoming message in junk, it also makes embedded images and attachments unviewable.
So, when you print (i.e., save as PDF), you may lose out on important data in the Outlook message.
What are the limitations of using Outlook Clients to download messages in PDF format?
First and foremost, the most severe drawback is that you are restricted to one message at a time. As soon as you select a second item, the Print option disables. Moreover, attachments don’t get saved alongside the PDF.
You have to change the settings manually. The bulk option although available in the classic edition merges all messages together in a single PDF.
Reducing efficiency and forcing users to manually split their PDF.
Are there any keyboard shortcuts that I can use to save time?
After selection press Ctrl + P to open printer settings directly on any version of Outlook. Moreover, the best time-saving option is to use a professional tool.
