Do you wish to download emails from Outlook Web App but can't figure out how? You can stop looking; OWA doesn't have a built-in download option. Fortunately, there are ways to export your OWA emails.
We've prepared two methods to help you download emails from the Outlook webmail. One is more suitable for downloading more emails, while the other is better for exporting fewer emails. Nevertheless, you can successfully export your emails with this step-by-step guide.
OWA Doesn't Have a Native Download Option
Outlook Web App (OWA) is a popular web-based email client many organizations widely use. However, one of the limitations of OWA is that it does not have a native download option for emails. That can be frustrating for users who need to save emails for future reference or access them offline.
Since Outlook Web App doesn't have this feature, users must resort to other email export methods. That makes this process more tiring and time-consuming. However, the lack of the built-in download option isn't a flaw or an oversight. Instead, the developers wanted to secure data from uninterrupted sharing since businesses often use OWA. However, users still need to download their emails, but they'll need to do it with another method.
Why Do You Need to Download Emails From Outlook Web App?
There are numerous reasons you need to export mail from OWA. For instance, you may need to save emails for legal reasons. Moreover, you may need to access some emails offline and download them for this purpose. Thus, you'll need to export them with another method since the app doesn't have a built-in download option.
Since businesses usually use Outlook Web App, you may need to export emails to show them to a coworker who doesn't use the app. Most importantly, if you start experiencing technical issues with your email or server, or even if there's a security breach, downloading your emails will ensure you have a backup of them and prevent data loss.
How To Download Emails From Outlook Web App
There are several methods for downloading your emails from Outlook Web App. We've compiled a guide for two, both of which involve forwarding emails to an external email client but require slightly different steps.
Method 1: Use an Email Client + Email Backup Software
Using an email client is a common practice for downloading and securing your emails. Since OWA has no built-in download option, you can use other email clients like Outlook for Mac or Windows. This method's steps are simple and don't require much time. Moreover, including Outlook backup software, such as Wondershare UBackit, will make your life easier when it comes to downloading all emails from Outlook Web App.
- Open the external email client of your choice (here, we use Outlook for Windows) and click File in the top-left corner.
- Select Add Account and enter your OWA email address and password.
- Follow the prompts to configure the email account. The prompts differ a bit depending on the email client you use.
- Once you connect the account, you should see your emails from Outlook Web App in the email client.
- Then, you need to switch to an email backup software. Here, we use Wondershare Ubackit as an example because it offers one-month free trial without any limitation. Download and install Wondershare Ubackit on your computer.
- Launch UBackit, go to Backup > Email Backup.
- Select the Outlook Web emails that you want to download.
- Choose the download destination for your OWA emails and click Backup. You can download them to a local drive, external hard drive, or even NAS server.
- Wait for the backup to complete. Once it's completed, you'll have your Outlook webmail downloaded to the destination of your choice.
External email clients are a common practice due to their convenience and ease of use. Go through some email clients and find the one that works the best for you. You can choose any email client you prefer, but Outlook for Mac and Windows are the easiest ones to connect your Outlook Web App to. For email backup software, we suggest using Wondershare UBackit due to its convenience and ease of use.
Method 2: Attach Emails From Outlook Web App to New Messages
Another way to export your emails from Outlook Web App is to attach them to new messages and send them to yourself. Even though this method may take longer to finish than using an email client, it can be helpful if you need to download just a few emails. On the other hand, the steps are pretty straightforward:
- Open the email you need to download from your Outlook online.
- Click the drop-down menu next to Reply all.
- Click Forward in the top menu.
- That will open a new message window with the email attached.
- Add your external email address as a recipient and click Send.
- When the email arrives, open your external email.
- Click Save As or Export to download the email.
- Repeat this process for every Outlook Web email you need to download.
As you can see, since you can only export one email from the Outlook online at a time with this method, it can be very time-consuming. However, if you only need to download a few critical emails, this process can work just fine since it requires no other programs and software to learn to use.
Conclusion
Enterprises commonly use Outlook Web App for business purposes. Because of that, OWA doesn't have a native email download option to prevent sharing business information. However, users often need to export emails for various reasons, such as offline access, legal and regulatory compliance, technical issues, and security breaches.
Downloading emails from Outlook Web App is also vital for security reasons since it allows for an easy backup for legal reasons, archived emails, transferring to a new email provider, or in case of a hacked account.
Due to these reasons, you need to find a way to export OWA emails. Our guides for two methods will help you with the download. Follow all the steps, whether you want to use an external email client or download emails by attaching them to new messages.