Import OLM to Office 365 & Move Outlook Mac to M365
Apple users often struggle to import OLM to Office 365. This on-premise to-cloud transfer is difficult as OLM files that are primarily designed for MacOS won’t work on any regular Windows systems. That becomes a problem if you lack a Mac machine. You either have to procure a device with Outlook preinstalled or leave the email conversation as it is.
OLM short for Outlook Mac files, is the single point of storage, unlike the Windows machine, where two distinct PST and OST files are present, Microsoft uses a single file type on Apple computers
Why do Users Import OLM to Office 365 at All?
Several reasons at both personal and professional levels may lead to this situation. Some of the most commonly reported ones are explained below:
You took over the account of a colleague who used a Mac.
Your Organization wants to shift away from on-device to cloud-based infrastructure.
Receive orphan OLM files during a manual eDiscovery and want to analyze its contents.
Many other user-specific reasons exist that vary from user to user.
Despite the (n) number of reasons the procedure to get the results is the same. However, we can’t directly jump into the process first we need to ensure that all necessary preparations are done.
Prerequisites for Importing OLM to Office 365
Make sure you have your destination Office 365 account with all correct login credentials. This will not only be used to keep the OLM content but also to test out whether or not the transfer is
Make a copy of all available OLM files and use them for the transfer. This practice helps in the formation of a virtual safety net in case of OLM file corruption.
Now to Upload any Number of OLM files to Office 365, you can perform the following steps.
These steps are valid for Mac devices
Step-by-Step Process to Import OLM to Office 365 from A Mac
There is a high chance that users transfer Mac Outlook to Windows Outlook in a similar manner.
Step 1. First of all, ensure that you have the legacy edition of the Outlook client. For some reason, neither the web app nor the New Outlook client possesses an import mechanism.
Step 2. So after ensuring the correct platform, collect all OLM files in a single folder. Then open up the classic Outlook for Mac.
Step 3. Add your Office 365 account with IMAP settings. Another alternative would be to first convert OLM to PST transfer these PST over to a Windows machine and upload them in an Outlook client from there.
Step 4. Configure your Office 365 account (with IMAP access to enable the two-way sync).
Create a new folder in Outlook
Step 5. Then, once the account is ready, use the Mac Outlook’s built-in import mechanism to bring in all of the OLM files.
Step 7. These OLM files should sync with the cloud on their own. To verify, log on to your intended Outlook/Office/Microsoft account.
The manual process may look simple at a glance, but this is not true, as when users attempt these steps on their own they face all sorts of issues, like missing files, double uploads, and mix-matching of email conversations.
Not to mention that the attachment files can also get lost during the manual handling of large volumes of such files. Therefore, to make sure our reader does not face any such issue we present a professional remedy that can do away with all that’s wrong/time-consuming in the manual process.
Send OLM to the Cloud Professionally
Use the SysTools OLM to Office 365 migration tool, as it helps to import all Mac Outlook files in a jiffy. You can apply a date filter, and customize your selection to move only the most critical OLM files. Just make sure you bring all OLM files to a Windows machine, then download the trial version to check functionality. Once satisfied with the claims, you can purchase the full version from the link below.
Moreover, with 8 different viewing options, users can get an in-depth analysis of their OLM data right within the dashboard. All this is possible in just a few clicks thanks to the user-friendly interface of the application. You can see the process for yourself in the upcoming steps.
Note: The Mac version of the tool does not support direct movement of OLM to Office 365. However, you can use it to convert OLM to PST and then perform a regular transfer.
Steps to Move Orphan/On-Device OLM to the Cloud via this Tool
- Launch and use the add files button to browse and load OLM files.
- Click on the Export button at the top left.
- Choose Office 365
- Type in the Destination account or Upload a CSV. Press Next.
- Wait for Validation to complete, then press Export.
Log in to your Office 365 account and check the emails to see the results of the operation.
Conclusion
The methods described here are more than sufficient to import OLM to Office 365 in the shortest time possible. Due to the unreliable nature of the manual process, it requires extra time to first set up a new Office 365 account then only can the user start with OLM addition. All of this has to be done inside a Mac device. So instead what users can do is use the automated tool described above that eliminates a huge chunk of the manual steps involved.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the maximum size of OLM that can be put inside the O365 cloud?
The only OLM size contained is how much storage is available in your cloud subscription. If you try to fit in data that exceeds your limit Microsoft will pause all incoming and outgoing mail from your account until you clear out enough space.
How long will it take to do a multi-OLM upload in Microsoft 365 manually compared to the automated utility prescribed here?
The time it takes to complete the procedure is highly dependent on the path you take. Manual self-import may appear cheap but the loss of time and productivity add up to hidden costs which are way more than what you pay for a premium tool. If your import data is less then it should not take you more than a few hours however a similar import via professional alternative takes just fraction of a time.
