Method to Move Outlook Offline Folder (.ost) in Simple and Easy Steps

How Do I Change the Location of My Outlook OST File in 2019, 2016, & 2013?

There are not lots of queries where you will require moving your Outlook Offline folder (.ost). But what if you are working with the limited storage in your C drive the OST file is huge. In this situation, it makes sense to change or move it to another location or drive where you have extra space.

The OST file is normally an offline folder that Microsoft Outlook uses to grasp offline copies of numerous mailbox items found on the Exchange Server. The OST data file proves most useful when users have to work in MS Outlook without the means of connecting to the Exchange Server. The OST file will grasp the data before passing it along to the MS Exchange server when the connection is presented.

But the difficulty is the process of moving Outlook offline data files is not as simple as advertised. If you already tried to change the location of your OST folder in Outlook 2019 or 2016, you noticed that the Browse option in Outlook Data File Settings is disabled. This happens because the classic offline mode in Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, or any below has been deprecate.

On the other hand, there are workarounds to move Outlook offline folder, but you’ll need to do some tweaking. Below, you have collection of different methods that will help you move the OST file. Please follow a method compatible with your Outlook edition.

Note: If you have Outlook 2010 or older versions, follow the very last guide to change the location of OST file.

Importing the Outlook Offline Data File in Outlook 2013, 2016 or 2019

If you have Outlook 2013, Outlook 2016 or Outlook 2019, there are three different ways that will allow you to move your OST data file.

If you don’t want to take any type of risk, you can either add a ForceOSTPath register key or make a new Outlook profile and set the new .ost location from there.

There is also a 3^rd method that imply making  a copy OST file that trick Outlook into making you choose  a new location for your OST file. But this method might potentially temper with your Address book, so ignore using it unless you don’t have another choice.

For the sake of preserving things as simple as thinkable, well start with the most simple and easy solution and work our way downwards. Let’s start.

Method 1. Making a New Profile and changing the location of OST File

1. Navigate to your OST file location and copy it to the new location. Skip this step if you wish a completely new OST file.
2. 
   Note: To find out the location of your OST file, navigate to File >> Account Settings and press the Data Files tab. From here, choose your email and press on Open File Location.
3. Press on the Windows key + R, then type, “control mlcfg32.cpl”.
4. Press on Show Profiles from the window of Mail Setup.
5. Press on the Add option and enter a new name of your profile.
6. Now press on E-mail Account and insert your name, email and password before clicking on the Next.
7. Once the setup is complete, make sure to check the box next to Change account settings, before pressing on the Next.
8. Leave the server settings untouched and press on More Settings.
9. Choose the Advanced tab and press on the Outlook Data File Settings.
10. If you wish to use an existing OST file, browse the location where you transferred it and click on Open. In the event that you want a completely new OST file, browse the location where you wish to need to save the new offline folder file.
11. When the OST path is set, press on Finish, wait for the tests to finish and click Close.
12. Return to the initial Mail window and make sure the profile you’ve just created is being used by default. Press on Apply to save your selection.

Method2. Setting the ForceOSTPath register key

Before we start, you should be aware that conducting wrongful modification in the registry can finish break your Outlook. Just follow the steps carefully to ensure that nothing is done incorrectly. Here’s how to set the ForceOSTPath registry entry so that it changes the location of the OST file.

Note: This method only works for a new Outlook profile.

1. Press on Outlook and all associated dialog boxes.
2. Then press on the Windows key + R and enter regedit in the box. Press Enter to launch the Registry Editor.
3. Browse the following subkey: HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \Microsoft \ Office \ xx.0 \ Outlook
   Note: The xx.0 placeholder is an indication of your Office version. Office 2016 is 16.0, and Office 2013 is 15.0.
4. After that right click on the Outlook folder and choose New, then Expandable String Value.
5. Type in ForceOSTPath, then press on Enter to confirm.
6. Right click on ForceOSTPath and press on Modify option.
7. Now insert your complete location where you need Outlook to store the OST file. In my case, that path was E:\OutlookStuff\MyOST. Press on Ok to confirm.
8. That’s it. Now, you can close the Register Editor. Open MS Outlook and see if the location for your OST file has been modified.

Method 3: Using a Copy PDF file to change the location of OST (Outlook 2013 or older)

If you make a decision to choose this method, just keep in mind that it might temper with your address book. By trick Outlook into opening a broken file, you’ll force it to prompt you for a new location for your offline data file. Outlook will then make a new OST file and sync it with your mailbox. Here’s what you require to do:

Note: This method is no longer working with MS Outlook 2016

1. Close Outlook completely and any associated dialog box.
2. Open a File Explorer window and paste “%localappdata%\microsoft\outlook” into the address bar at the top of the screen. This should take you to the location of your OST file.
   Note: If you can’t access this location, click on the View tab in File Explorer and check the box next to Hidden Items.
3. Paste any PDF file into that location. If you don’t have one at the ready, you can make a blank PDF file and move it here.
4. Copy the OST name from your OST file and rename the PDF file with it. Then, modify the name of the actual OST file with an -old at the end.
5. Change the PDF file extension into .ost. Then, press Yes when Windows asks you to confirm.
   Note: If you’re not able to view the extensions, press on the View tab and check the box next to File name extensions.
6. Open Microsoft Outlook. You should be pressed with a message saying that the Outlook offline folder .ost file can’t be used. Hit Ok to bring out the Outlook Data File Settings.
7. Use the new window to change the location of your OST file.
   Note: If you wish to relapse to the old behaviour before changing the location, delete the copy file and remove -old from the actual OST file.

Moving the Outlook Offline Folder in Outlook 2010 or older version

If you’re still using Microsoft Outlook 2010 or any older version, you can transfer the OST files by disabling offline mode and changing the OST location in the Advance tab. But it only works with offline data files used by MS Exchange.

1. Open MS Outlook and go to Account Settings > Account Settings > More Settings.
2. Deselect the box next to Use Cached Mode and hit Apply.
3. Now press on Outlook Data File settings and make use of the Browse option to choose the new location of your OST data file.

Summing up:

In this article, we are providing different methods for resolving the issue of how to move Outlook offline folder or how do I change the location of my OST file in Outlook 2019, 2013, 2016, or any other below version. If you need to save OST file into PST for any Outlook edition, then you can try OST to PST Tool that gives 100% success result, You can also check this software by downloading its free trial version which allows you to save up to first 20 items from Outlook offline folder (.ost) into PST format without any cost.