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Save an email as a file in Outlook

In Outlook, save an email as a file to your computer. By default, Outlook saves messages as email files. Outlook can’t save a message directly as a PDF or Word document, but with a few extra steps you can convert to these file types.

Note: These steps are only for the Outlook desktop app.

Select the appropriate tab below to save an email as file, PDF or Word document.

Outlook will save the message directly to your computer as an email file.

  1. Open Outlook.
  2. To open the email you want to save, double-select it. The email will open in another window.
  3. On the File menu, select Save As.
  4. Choose a folder for your file.
  5. Next to File name, enter a name for the file, and then select Save.

The email will be saved to your computer. If you’re using Outlook for Windows, the email will be saved as an MSG (.msg) file. If you’re using Outlook for Mac, it’ll be saved as an EML (.eml) file.

On Windows 10 and Mac devices, save the message directly as a PDF using the Print menu. In other Windows versions, you’ll need to save it as an HTML file and then convert it to a PDF in Word.

  1. Open Outlook.
  2. To open the email you want to save, double select it. The email will open in another window.
  3. Depending on your device, complete the following:
    • Windows 10:
      1. On the File menu, select Print.
      2. On the Printer menu, select Microsoft Print to PDF, and then Print.
      3. Choose a folder for your PDF, enter a file name, and then select Save.
    • Other Windows versions:
      1. On the File menu, select Save As.
      2. Choose a folder for your PDF, enter a file name, and then select HTML for the file type.
      3. Select Save.
      4. Open Word.
      5. Select File, and then Open. You may need to select a location to find the folder containing your file.
      6. Select the HTML file that you saved.
      7. Select File, then Save As, and then PDF (*.pdf) as the file type.
      8. Select Save.
    • Mac:
      1. On the File menu, select Print. A new window will open.
      2. On the dropdown menu at the bottom of the window, select Save as PDF.
      3. Choose a folder for your PDF, enter a name for the file, and then select Save.

The email will be saved to your computer as a PDF (.pdf) file.

Save the message as an HTML file and convert it to a Word document.

Note: These steps are only for Outlook on Windows. If you’re using a Mac, your only option is to copy and paste the email content directly into a Word document.
  1. Open Outlook.
  2. To open the email you want to save, double-select it. The email will open in another window.
  3. On the File menu, select Save As.
  4. Choose a folder for your file.
  5. Next to File name, enter a name for the file.
  6. Choose HTML as the file type, and then select Save.
  7. Open Word.
  8. Select File, and then Open.
  9. Select the HTML file that you saved.
  10. Select File, then Save As, and then select Word Document (*.docx) as the file type.
  11. Select Save.

The email will be saved to your computer as a Word document (.docx) file.

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