How to Analyze Content of PST Files?

You have important PST files and want to read the content of the files in detail. But you don’t know who can provide in-depth analyses. For this reason, we will provide you with various methods that can help you analyze content of PST files.

MS Outlook is one of the email programs that is used in every field of work. Whether it’s for personal or professional use, PST files are also becoming popular for transferring files from one place to another. The PST file is a proprietary file format of Outlook that stores all mailbox items such as emails, contacts, calendars, events, journals, etc. Also, you can password-protect the PST file. That’s why many users prefer this file to share their important data.

Digital forensics and any other related professionals use PST files as part of their daily work to store and share their data. Therefore, they need a great way to view data from the Outlook PST file in depth. There are some methods available to view the file.

Methods to Analyze Content of PST Files

A PST file is created for Outlook, so if you have Outlook, you can use it to read PST files and analyze them. But if you don’t have the program, then you use a third-party tool to view the file. As we compare both methods, the tool is better than the manual as it is solely developed to view your PST file and do in-depth analysis of your file. whereas Outlook is a free-to-use method. Thus, for analyzing the data in a PST file, there are two ways.

• Manual method: open our PST files in the Outlook program.
• Automated method: use a tool to read the file.

Manual Method to Analyze Content of PST Files

This method is free to use, and if you want to share the file, you can easily do this.

1. Open the MS Outlook program and click on the File option.
2. Click on the Open and Export option.
3. Select the Open Outlook data file (.pst) and click on Open.
4. After that, your file will display, and you can click on the emails one by one to view your data.

Limitations of the Manual Method

This is the only manual way to read PST files, but despite that, there are some problems you can come across while analyzing your file.

• This method is only applicable if you have Outlook installed on your system.
• To analyze the file, you have to open the files one by one, which is very time-consuming.
• After you import, the hierarchy of files is not in the correct order.

Thus, the manual method is not as good an option as it seems. Therefore, the software method is a great way to view data of Outlook PST files in depth.

Professional Way to Analyze Content of PST Files

The manual method can only be used if you have downloaded Outlook, but if you have not, then FreeViewer PST Viewer Tool is one of the best software available that presents you with in-depth analysis of your PST files. This software is used in all versions of the Windows operating system. Moreover, it offers various features as well.

Features of Software

• The software provides a complete preview of your PST files with attachments.
• You can also view damaged and corrupted PST files easily.
• It has two scanning options to scan your PST file for any issues.
• The software has multiple preview modes to view your files.
• You can also export your PST file into PDF and other file formats as well.

Steps to Analyze Content of PST Files

1. Download and launch the software. Click on Add File at the top of the screen.
2. Click the browse button beside Select File and go to the location where your PST files are.
3. Open the files and select Advance Scan if your file is corrupted. Click again on the Add File option.
4. Now select the folder where your PST files are.
5. To check calendar, contact, and other mailbox items, see the left bottom of the screen and then click on the option you want to view.
6. For attributes, the option is above the files, and preview mode is below.
7. Click on Upgrade to Pro to export your files as PDFs.

Conclusion

In this article, we understand methods to analyze content of PST files. Outlook is one of the main ways to read your files. However, if you don’t have the program or require a way to read the files without any issues, then use the software. The software is recommended by experts and is very helpful to the users.