With the growing number of Outlook users who are moving into exchange 2010, the necessity to import PST file into Exchange 2010 is also increasing. Unless users want to lose all their Outlook data at the time of the migration, moving PST file to Exchange is a mandatory process during migration. To help users regarding their Outlook data import in Exchange Server, we will tell you the steps to import PST file into Exchange 2010 Server.
Prerequisite: The process to import multiple PST files into Exchange can be done with the help of PowerShell command as well as through Exchange Admin Center. No matter which process you implement, it is essential to assign role to the user account that is going to perform the import. You have to run the below command to assign import PST file role to a specific person.
New-ManagementRoleAssignment -Role "Mailbox Import Export" -Administrator
If you have some orphan PST file on your system, you can directly start migrating. If you do not have any PST file, then you need to create or export the PST file out of Outlook. For that, you have to go through these steps:
Open MS Outlook and click on File button from the Menu.
Click on Open & Export > Import/Export.
Click on “Export to a file option”>> Next.
Now click on Outlook Data File (.pst) >> Next.
Select the mailbox name and click Next button.
Click Browse to choose the location to save the PST file.
Choose the option of your choice and click on Finish to save Outlook data in PST file.
Once you have exported all your preferred data in Outlook PST file, you can start the process to import multiple PST files into Exchange.
Here we will tell you how you can move the PST file using “New-MailboxImportRequest” PowerShell command. However, there will be different types of parameters based on your requirement and scenario.
Scenario 1: Import PST File into Selected Folder of Mailbox
Here, a PST file needs to be imported into a particularly selected folder named RecoveredFiles folder, situated in the target mailbox of a user named XYZ. In this case, users have to run the following command:
New-MailboxImportRequest -Mailbox XYZ -FilePath \\SERVER1\PSTFiles\Recovered.pst -TargetRootFolder "RecoveredFiles"
Scenario 2: Import PST File into Existing Folder
In this scenario, the user has to import a PST file into an already existing folder, for example, in the archive folder. In the command for this process, there will be no mention of TargetRootFolder. So, the PST file items get merged in the existing folders. If the folders do not exist, they are created in target folder structure.
New-MailboxImportRequest -Mailbox XYZ -IsArchive -FilePath \\SERVER01\PSTFiles\Archives\XYZ\Archive2007.pst
Scenario 3: Import PST File into Shared Folder
Here, the necessity is to import all the .pst files in a shared folder. Every .pst file is named after the alias of the corresponding user. The command script will import data from all the PST files into their matching Exchange mailbox.
Dir \\SERVER01\PSTshareRO\Recovered\*.pst | %{ New-MailboxImportRequest -Name RecoveredPST -BatchName Recovered -Mailbox $_.BaseName -FilePath $_.FullName -TargetRootFolder SubFolderInPrimary}
Sometimes, users only need to import contacts from their Outlook PST file. If that case they can do two things. First thing they can do is to select only the contacts in place of entire mailbox while extracting PST file from Outlook. Otherwise, you can run this command to import only the contacts from the PST file.
New-MailboxImportRequest -Mailbox Testuser1 -FilePath \\BACKUPSERVER\PST\TestUser1\Outlook.pst -IncludeFolders #Contacts#
Additional Information: Besides PST, MS Exchange also imports CSV file. If you have some Outlook contacts saved in CSV file format, you can also move those files in Exchange. For that you have to run this command in Exchange Management Shell:
Import-Csv “C:\external_users.csv” | ForEach {New-MailContact -Name $_.Name -Firstname $_.FirstName -LastName $_.LastName -ExternalEmailAddress $_.ExternalEmailAddress -OrganizationalUnit “example.com/ExternalContacts”}
Usually, PST files contain the complete Outlook data including email, calendar, contacts, tasks, etc. In situations when users want to import only the Calendar, they can run the below command:
New-MailboxImportRequest -Mailbox Testuser1 -FilePath \\BACKUPSERVER\PST\TestUser1\Outlook.pst -IncludeFolders “Calendar”
Though these techniques are frequently used methods to import multiple PST File into Exchange 2010, they got some drawbacks. These methods are time-consuming and complex. Users need to allot a significant amount of time to perform these methods and they also require sufficient knowledge about the processes. Apart from these, various errors can occur during these methods that can lead to incomplete file transfer and even failure to export data file.
As already stated, importing the files manually require the users to have a technically sound knowledge otherwise they'll have multiple errors while performing it the manual way. This tool is an easy way out to complete the task without any errors or damage caused to the source files.
Step 1: Run the tool and load PST File/Folder/Network
Step 2: Add Credentials of Exchange Server Admin
Step 3: Now, select desired category (mails, contacts, calenders, etc.)
Step 4: The PST Files have been successfully imported.
In this blog, we discussed steps to import PST file into Exchange 2010 Server. They will also learn how to create PST file and how to import the calendar and contacts folder items separately from Outlook data file. If the users go for the manual techniques mentioned here, they will face some limitations. If they want to avoid the limitations, users can use the cited tool for this data import process.
English 
日本の