Overview: The main objective of this article is to tell users how to take backup of email from Office 365. There are methods explained here for the same for both the technocrats and non-techies. Find out what these solutions are and apply the one that suits your level of technical knowledge or seems fit.
User Query:
“Why do we need to create a backup of the data stored in Microsoft 365 mailboxes?” Asked a user.
Scenario:
Such users believe that their data is safe on the cloud and will never be compromised or anything. Well, let me clear the confusion, it can be compromised, deleted, corrupted, or hacked.
Still don’t feel the need to learn how to take Office 365 backup?
To elaborate on the situation, the data is universally accessible being stored on the cloud. This means that whoever uses the cloud can get into your account, hack it, and delete your data with a few efforts.
Scary? Other than this, there are always ransomware issues. Sometimes, an unknown link is sent in an email which when opened, will encrypt all the messages and the user is asked for ransom to get these files unencrypted.
Then there is always the factor of accidental deletion and corruption due to virus attacks.
Let’s see how to overcome them in a step by step guide. Follow the complete guide to know all the possible ways for the same.
How to Take Backup of Email from Office 365 in Different Ways?
When you search for ways to create a backup of your data, there comes a lot of information about which solutions can be used and which one is a better option.
Here, we have come up with the easiest solutions in the technical background as well.
A smart yet non-technical workaround that can easily be understood by novice users as well is explained here in detail.
Also Read: How to Recover Shift Deleted Files from Computer – Explored Here
There are manual methods explained too which are easy too but do not always work for the best. Moreover, they still have several short comings as well.
Moving on with the methods!
Solution #1 – Smartly Learning How to Take Office 365 Backup
For this smart solution, you first need to install the Office 365 Email Backup Tool on your Windows or Mac OS machine.
The software is an effective solution of creating a backup of the mailbox data selectively or in bulk, whichever you desire.
You would also love to know: How to perform Office 365 tenant migration safely. Follow this linked guide to learn the step by step guide to perform this operation without any hassle.
You have the facility to save data from all the categories including Emails, Contacts, Documents, Calendars, etc.
Along with these categories is a Date-Range filter which can be applied for setting a duration of time by choosing the dates “from” and “to”.
This will help you to learn how to take backup of email from Office 365 for certain emails only which fall under the selected period of time.
There are many more features provided like Concurrent Backup for exporting mailboxes in batches, maintaining the folder structure, restoring data from backup if needed, etc.
Moreover, right now this tool comes with a free demo that user can easily download it on their computer. And then they can easily backup two users’ accounts for free, without paying anything. Users can self verify the working and performance of this software.
Take a look at the steps of the tool.
What Are the Steps for Using the Software to Create Backup?
Step 1. Run the software and click on the Setup tab for choosing the Source platform like Office 365 and Destination platform as Outlook.
Step 2. Scroll down and for learning how to take Office 365 backup for selective emails, mark the Email Category and apply the Date-filter for the same.
Step 3. Now, enter the credentials for Office 365 admin account in the Source Click on the Validate option to assign permissions, and hit the Next button.
Step 4. Then, select the destination and size of the end results in the Outlook platform. Choose the Validate button and click on Next.
Step 5. Choose the option to add the user ids for mapping via Fetch Users or Import Users
Step 6. Click on the Start Backup option to complete the procedure.
Solution 2 – How to Take Backup of Email from Office 365 Manually?
The emails can be exported as a backup in three different formats i.e. PST, PDF, & HTML for which we will explain the methods separately.
First Technique: Exporting Emails as HTML Format
Step 1. Log in to your Office 365 account and open the email you want to export.
Step 2. Right-click on the email and choose the Save as
Step 3. In the window that displays, you have to select the destination for the end files.
Step 4. Choose the Save as Type option and click on Webpage.
Step 5. Hit Save to finish the operation.
Second Technique: How to Take Office 365 Backup & Save Data in PDF Format?
Step 1. Perform the steps for explained to save data in HTML format.
Step 2. Now, open MS Word and click on the File option and choose Open to view the newly saved file.
Step 3. When the file opens, select the File tab and click on the Save As
Step 4. Go to the PDF option in the drop-down menu of Save as Type.
Step 5. Press the Save option to export the data in PDF format.
Third Technique: Exporting Data in Outlook Data File Format
Step 1. For learning how to take backup of email from Office 365, you should first configure your account with the Microsoft Outlook application.
Step 2. After that, click on the File menu and choose the Open and Export Select Import & Export option.
Step 3. From the Import/Export wizard, choose the Export to a File option and hit Next.
Step 4. Then, move to the Outlook data file (.pst) option and click on the Next
Step 5. Mark the Subfolder option to include them for backup and choose the folders from the Browse Hit Finish to complete copying the data.
However, there are certain limitations of these manual methods to understand how to take Office 365 backup as listed below:
- The procedures for converting data to HTML or PDF formats are difficult to perform for bulk messages as they export emails one by one only.
- The Outlook method deals with the complication of configuring an Office 365 account with the MS Outlook application which can lead to certain errors.
- Due to the repetitive procedures and configuration settings, it becomes even more complex and tedious.
- Technical knowledge is required to perform the configuration which every user doesn’t have.
Final Observation
The methods to learn how to take backup of email from Office 365 are explained here with their benefits and limitations for a clear vision. Moreover, three different techniques are available for users to perform this operation. Now it depends upon the user and his needs whether he choose the manual method or automated method.
Although, with the help of the software, the backup can be created rather easily without any hindrances getting in the way. The manual methods are useful for certain messages or situations only. For novice users, the software solution is the best option to be hands-on.
