How to Merge PST files without Duplicates?

In Microsoft Outlook, all your mailbox data is saved in a PST [Personal Storage Table] file. If you have multiple email accounts in Outlook, then it is obvious that you will also have multiple PST files. This creates difficulty in managing Outlook data files, which stores emails, contacts, calendar, notes, events, schedules, and etc. To overcome the task of managing multiple PST files, you can merge/combine all the PST files into a single PST file. Merging multiple PST files may help you in streamlining your data management.

But, merging/combining PST files can be a challenging task. Often, users face the issue of duplicate mail items while merging the PST files. In this article, we are going to explore different methods which can help you in merging multiple PST files into a single PST file without duplicates. We will also highlight the benefits of combining a number of PST files into a single PST file to improve your data management task.

Benefits of Merging Multiple PST files into a Single PST file 

There are numerous benefits of merging a number of PST files into a single PST file, especially for those users who manage a heavy volume of emails and other data in Outlook. Following are the benefits of merging multiple PST files:

• Data Management: When you have a large number of emails and other data to manage in Outlook, it is beneficial to streamline them to organize your emails in a better way. You can do it by combining PST files together, rather than managing multiple separate PST files. A consolidated file makes it a lot easier to locate, organize, and manage your emails, and other items of Outlook data, like contacts, calendar, notes, tasks, and etc.
• Saves Time and Reduces Risk of Data Loss: By combining multiple PST files into a single PST file you can save time. It can also reduce the risk of data loss, as multiple smaller PST files are prone to error.
• Easy to Search: When all your multiple smaller PST files are combined into a single PST file, then it becomes easier to search for a specific emails or items.
• Enhance Outlook’s Performance: A number of PST files can affect your Outlook performance and slows down the application, especially if the PST files are large. Merging them into a single PST file can improve Outlook’s performance, and ensures that you may not have to experience application pause when working on the typical things in Outlook.
• Storage Space: If you are running on low storage space, then combining multiple PST files into a single PST file can consolidate the PST files and free up storage space on your system.

Methods to Merge PST files without Duplicates

There are various methods to merge multiple PST files into a single file to streamline your data management. We are going to discuss a few of the methods to make things easier for you and other users.

Method 1: Use Outlook Import/Export wizard to Merge PST files  

Microsoft Outlook enables you to open and import PST files into your Outlook profile. This Outlook feature ‘Import/Export’ wizard can be used to export mail items from your existing profile or PST files to a new or existing PST file on your computer.

The Outlook Import/Export wizard can be easily used to merge or combine all your mail items from multiple PST files into a single PST file which includes all your mail items without duplicates.

In this method you can create a single PST file from multiple PST files. All you are required to do is  to create a new blank PST file and then export all mail items from different PST files to the newly created [blank] PST file. Follow the steps given below:

• Open your Outlook on your system.
• Select File, go to Info, and click on New Items. From the dropdown, select ‘More Items’ and click on Outlook Data File.



• Choose a desired location on your system to save the new PST file. Enter a name and define a location to save the new blank PST file.

Now, you can merge the other PST files into the new PST file. Follow the steps given below:

• In your Outlook, click on File, select Open & Export, and click ‘Import/Export.



• Now, from the Import Export Wizard, click on “Import from another program or file” option and then click next.



• Click on the Outlook Data File(.pst) and then click “Next” to proceed.



• Now, click Browse to locate the PST file which you want to import to the blank PST file, and check the ‘Don’t import duplicates ’ option, and click ‘Next’.



• Select the new PST file you created, tick the box that says “Import items into the same folder,” check “Include subfolders,” and click “Finish.”



• The process will import all the mail items in the Outlook data file (PST) to the [new] blank PST file. You can simply repeat the steps, as mentioned above to merge another PST file.

The manual/native method of using Outlook Import/Export wizard to import multiple PST files into a single PST file is significantly lengthy, as you need to repeat the process to merge multiple PST files.

Method 2: Use Stellar Merge Mailbox for Outlook Tool to Merge PST files without Duplicates

The manual solution is considered to be lengthy, and can be cumbersome for users who have large amount of PST files to merge. In such scenario, the best possible solution and option is to employ a professional tool/software like Stellar Merge Mailbox for Outlook.

The PST merge tool is a specially designed to merge multiple PST files into a single PST file with complete integrity and precision. It also ensures that you merge specific mail items from your PST files as you require, avoiding duplicates.

Stellar Merge Mailbox for Outlook can merge a number of PST files without duplicates effortlessly in a quick time. The tool maintains the original folder hierarchy when merging the information of multiple PST files.

The tool is especially designed to meet the ever-challenging task of merging multiple PST files into a single PST file without duplicates. It offers users efficient features enabling them to remove duplicate emails from PSTs effortlessly, using its ‘Remove Duplicate’ filter option. Moreover, it also allows the users to merge ‘Password protected’ PST files. All you need to do is to enter the password to merge the PST files. You can merge multiple passwords protected PST files seamlessly.

You can follow the steps given below to merge PST files without duplicates using the merge PST files tool:

• Download the software from the product page.
• Open Stellar Merge Mailbox for Outlook on your system. You can Drag & Drop to add PST files or go to File to select PST files that you want to merge, and then click on Next.



• Under the saving options, check on Merge PST or Join PST to merge or combine the PST files.



• Select the mail items, folders, and subfolders that you want to merge.
• Select the ‘Remove Duplicate’ option from the top.



• Then, click Merge. The tool will automatically start merging all PST files and leave duplicate mail items. Once the merging is complete, you can click Open Folder link to see the merged/unified PST file.

Now, you can store the subsequent PST file at a desired location and import or open in Outlook to access or view the mail items when you want.

Conclusion

Merging multiple PST files into a single PST file can simplify the management task for users. But, often merging PST files into a single PST file can be problematic due to duplicate mail items, causing discrepancies.  Hence, a user needs to be mindful while merging multiple PST files to avoid duplicates.

There are few solutions to merge PST files, which can be employed to avoid duplicates. You may apply the manual method, using Outlook Import/Export wizard, to merge/combine multiple PST files into a single manageable PST file. But the manual method has certain limitation which makes the solution time consuming and cumbersome. Therefore, a professional software like Stellar Merge Mailbox for Outlook can be employed to have an accurate and efficient result. It is a readymade solution for users with multiple PST files, wanting to merge for a better management of their PST files.  The tool is effective and can easily merge/combine multiple PST files into a single PST file quickly, with great accuracy and data integrity.