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iPad Mail: move emails to external storage

I have an iPad Pro, iPadOS 16. Can I move my iCloud emails to an external drive connected to the iPad? I need to free up some iCloud storage.

iPad Pro

Posted on Apr 19, 2023 5:36 PM

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3 replies

Apr 20, 2023 9:48 AM in response to MaskedRidr

Insofar as iOS/iPadOS is capable, there are no easy ways to export email and mail folders to external storage. If looking to export bulk email for offline storage, you would be best advised to explore any facilities that may be available from your Mail Provider.


The only practical method to export mail messages from iOS/iPadOS devices, to external storage, is to create a PDF-file for each email - however, this will have to be manually repeated for each mail message. For large volume of mail messages, this method is unlikely to be a practical mechanism. Export to PDF only works for any App that can print…


Assuming that the mail message you wish to export is shown, tap the Reply button at bottom right of the Mail window. From the action menu, select Print.


When the familiar iPad Print dialogue page is open, use a two-finger zoom gesture on the thumbnail image of the print page:




This gesture will open a PDF view of the page. From this PDF page tap the Share icon at top-right:




Tapping the Share icon opens the familiar Share sheet. Scroll down the page until you find the Save to Files option:




Tap Save to Files - and choose the destination path to which you wish to save your PDF. When you have selected the path, finish by tapping the Save button.


Rinse and repeat for each email message that you wish to export. When you have created PDFs for all the mail messages of interest, these can be transferred to USB storage - as you are presumably already familiar.


iPad Mail: move emails to external storage

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