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I’m ready to finally transition from Outlook for Mac (version 16.66.2) to Apple Mail, as part of a move away from an old iMac to a new M2 MBP, and am looking for advice on how to migrate all of the old mail and attachments over to Apple Mail.
I’m currently on a Late-2013 iMac i7 27” running Catalina version 10.15.7.
Any suggestions or guidance welcome. Thank you!
iMac 27″, macOS 10.15
There are some apps that can convert .olm files to .mbox files for migration from Outlook to Apple Mail. Some are available in the Mac App Store. I have not used any of them, so I cannot recommend one.
The "manual" method to move your mail from Outlook to Apple Mail would be to drag your folders (one at at time) from the Outlook folder pane to your desktop (or other location on your drive). Do this one folder at a time. It will create an MBOX file for each folder. But be aware that MBOX files do not work with nested folders, you have to do each folder individually (if you have nested email folders in Outlook it would be best to "un-nest" them first).
Once you have your MBOX files you can import them into Apple Mail. (Mail > File > Import Mailboxes > Files in MBOX format).
I suggest trying one folder first. If that migrates successfully, then do the rest of your folders.
There are some apps that can convert .olm files to .mbox files for migration from Outlook to Apple Mail. Some are available in the Mac App Store. I have not used any of them, so I cannot recommend one.
The "manual" method to move your mail from Outlook to Apple Mail would be to drag your folders (one at at time) from the Outlook folder pane to your desktop (or other location on your drive). Do this one folder at a time. It will create an MBOX file for each folder. But be aware that MBOX files do not work with nested folders, you have to do each folder individually (if you have nested email folders in Outlook it would be best to "un-nest" them first).
Once you have your MBOX files you can import them into Apple Mail. (Mail > File > Import Mailboxes > Files in MBOX format).
I suggest trying one folder first. If that migrates successfully, then do the rest of your folders.
You haven't said whether you have already transitioned to the new Mac, but I will assume that you have. Mail can import email messages that have been exported in mbox format from other email apps, and import mailboxes exported from Mail on a Mac. You can export mailboxes in mbox format. See Mail's help for details on how it's done. Type in the question in the opened Help link. If emails still appear on the server, you can have Mail access them there. As to importing email addresses, etc., that is done using the export/import function which is clearly described in the Help menu information. It's important to use a file format that will allow both imports and exports (the same file format for each function). I hope this helps you.
If you were using IMAP to connect to your email accounts in Outlook, the only thing you need to do is set up the same IMAP accounts in Apple Mail. Under IMAP, all your email is on the server, not your local Mac, so there would be no actual migration involved.
It would be helpful to know what email accounts you have and if each is IMAP or POP. Hotmail? Gmail? iCloud Mail? etc.
Thanks, MartinR. The two email accounts I've been using are both POP using SSL through my internet provider, Comcast. I have them both set to delete server copies after one week so unfortunately all of my mail history is now on my iMac and no longer on the server. Any suggestions based on that additional information?
Sorry, Ronasara, I looked through the Outlook for Mac's available Export options and it appears the only option I have is to export into an Archive format with a .olm suffix. I don't see any reference to an mbox format. When I check Microsoft's Help there is mention of exporting to a .pst file, yet I don't see any command within Outlook's export options that aligns with that format, either.
I have not yet transitioned to a new MacBook Pro, which is on order. I'm just trying to prepare for the migration from Outlook to Mail at this point.
I think at this point what I would do is begin using the Mail app to access Comcast and keep Outlook if only to retain the old emails. You can disable Outlook from getting emails and receiving them or leave it as it is but turn it off so it doesn't send or receive unless you manually activate it.
Thanks, MartinR, for clueing me in on the manual method to "export" each folder individually. That works for me as I only have a few mail folders and none of them are nested. I just tried it for one small folder and it worked!
Thanks, Ronasara, I'll stop using Outlook as soon as my new laptop arrives and only use Apple Mail on the new machine, which will give me a clear transition point.
You are welcome. Enjoy the new Mac.
Migrating from Outlook for Mac to Apple Mail
