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Guided workflow variation

From PST to PDF,with a bookmark for every message.

Lawyers, accountants, and family historians tend to ask for the same thing: the emails as a document anyone can open. PstVault writes your selection as one navigable file or separate ones, turning attachments into pages.

Filter to the messages you need, choose Export PDF, pick one combined file or one per message, and add attachments as pages.

Pay once. Own it forever.

One-time purchase on the Microsoft Store · No subscription · Instant install

Get it from Microsoft

Buy through the Microsoft Store—instant install, automatic updates, and a Microsoft receipt for easy expensing. No account needed on our site, and no subscription on Store purchases.

Full PstVault overview
One-time purchase No telemetry Local-first

windows · no outlook needed · pst never changed · nothing uploads · 15-day free trial

If this sounds like your week

Printing emails one at a time does not scale.

The usual approach is opening each email in Outlook, printing it to a PDF printer, typing a name, and repeating. Forty emails means forty dialogs, forty names, and a pile of separate PDFs nobody can navigate. Attachments get left behind, because printing an email produces its body plus a line naming whatever was attached.

Where tooling usually breaks

A stack of separate printouts is hard to hand over.

Whoever receives the set wants to page through it in order, jump to a particular day, and see the invoice or photo that came with each email. Loose printouts with generic names fail all three. Merging them afterward in a PDF editor adds another tool, another pass, and another chance to drop a page or shuffle the sequence.

Where PstVault lands

One export, one navigable document.

PstVault writes the PDF straight from the archive. Choose One PDF for the selection, bookmark per item, and each message starts on a fresh page with its sender, recipients, date, subject, text, and inline pictures, bookmarked by date and subject. Append supported attachments as PDF pages adds PDF, PNG, JPEG, and plain-text attachments after their message, and Embed original attachments in PDF carries the originals inside.

Pay once. Own it forever.

One-time purchase on the Microsoft Store · No subscription · Instant install

Get it from Microsoft

Buy through the Microsoft Store—instant install, automatic updates, and a Microsoft receipt for easy expensing. No account needed on our site, and no subscription on Store purchases.

Learn more about PstVault

windows · no outlook needed · pst never changed · nothing uploads · 15-day free trial

What you get

Feature highlights

Opens a PST without Outlook

reads Outlook data files directly, from Open PST, a double-click in File Explorer, or the Recent list, and shows every folder with its message count.

Finds the mail you need

Sender, Subject, Body, Recipient, From date, and To date filters across one folder and everything beneath it, or All folders, with results listed newest first.

PDF your way

one PDF for the selection with a bookmark per item, or one PDF per item, on Letter or A4, with PDF, PNG, JPEG, and text attachments appended as pages and the originals embedded.

EML and offline HTML

standard .eml files with headers, bodies, and attachments inside, and sanitized HTML reading copies with local pictures that open in any browser.

Contacts and calendars

vCard 4.0 files or one contact table (.csv) for Excel, and calendar events as .ics with recurring series and time zones; Native files picks the format for each item.

A report of everything saved, and the PST untouched

a JSON report lists each item, its format, and the size and SHA-256 hash of every file written; the PST is read-only and nothing uploads.

Especially when

  • Open a PST file from an old backup or a former colleague without installing Outlook or setting up a mail profile
  • Find the handful of messages that matter in a large archive by sender, recipient, subject, body text, and date
  • Hand over selected emails as one bookmarked PDF, standard EML files, or offline HTML, with the attachments kept
  • Keep the archive unchanged and the mail on the PC, with no upload, no account, and a report of every file saved

Who benefits

Real-world scenarios

Correspondence for a lawyer

A contractor’s lawyer asks for every email exchanged with a homeowner over a renovation, as one document. The emails sit in the contractor’s archive PST, and the contractor no longer uses Outlook.

He types the homeowner’s address in Sender, chooses All folders, and selects all results, then repeats with Recipient for the replies. Export PDF writes each set as one bookmarked PDF, with the attached change orders appended as pages and a JSON report beside it.

A family email archive to print

A family finds twenty years of email in a PST on a parent’s old computer, including long letters to the grandchildren with photos attached, and wants printed copies for everyone.

PstVault opens the archive read-only, a date range picks out the years that matter, and One PDF per item writes each letter as its own file on Letter or A4, with pictures in the text drawn in place and attached photos appended as pages.

Monthly records for the bookkeeper

A small business keeps invoices and receipts that arrived by email, and its accountant wants one PDF per month rather than an archive file she cannot open.

Set From date and To date to the month, type invoice in Subject, select all results, and choose Export PDF. The combined file is named after the archive, the message count, and the export time, so each month sorts on its own.

Deep dive

Inside a PDF exported from a PST

One file or one per message. In the Export dialog, PDF files offers two layouts. One PDF for the selection, bookmark per item, writes the whole selection into a single document with a bookmark for every message. One PDF per item writes a separate PDF for each message instead, which suits sets that will be filed or sent individually.

Letter or A4. Page size sets the paper for the whole export, so the PDF prints cleanly on either side of the Atlantic. Every page carries a Page n of m footer.

What a message page shows. Each message starts on a new page with its sender, recipients, date, and subject, followed by the body text laid out paragraph by paragraph, and the PNG and JPEG pictures that sat inside the message drawn where they belong. The attachments the message carried are listed with it.

Attachments as pages. Turn on Append supported attachments as PDF pages and each PDF, PNG, JPEG, or plain-text attachment is added as pages right after its message, so the invoice follows the email that delivered it. This works independently of the two options below.

Originals inside or beside. Embed original attachments in PDF carries each attached file inside the PDF itself, where a PDF reader lists it for saving. Also save original attachments as files writes every original, inline pictures included, beside the PDF, named after its message. Use one, both, or neither.

Names that sort. A combined PDF is named after the archive, the number of messages, and the time of export, so repeat runs never collide. Separate PDFs are named by date and time, then subject, so a folder of them reads in order.

A report next to the PDF. Every export writes a JSON report into the same folder: the source archive, the folder and filters behind the selection, each message with the file it went into, and the size and SHA-256 hash of every file written, read back from the folder after saving.

On your PC, start to finish. The archive is opened read-only, the PDF is a new file that never replaces an existing one, and nothing is uploaded. PstVault makes no network connections and has no account.

How it is built

Built to read the archive and leave it exactly as it was.

Read-only by design

The PST is opened read-only and never written. Every export is a set of new files in the folder you choose, written under a temporary name and committed without replacing any existing file.

Nothing leaves your PC

PstVault runs in the Windows app sandbox with no declared capabilities, makes no network connections, and has no account and no telemetry. Its HTML copies load no remote content.

A report for every export

Each export writes a JSON report with the source, the filters behind the selection, every item and the file it became, and the size and SHA-256 hash of each file written.

Head-to-head

How PstVault compares

Feature PstVault Print to PDF from a mail app Online converter
Runs without Outlook Yes, it reads the PST directly Needs the mail app with the PST attached Yes, after the PST is uploaded
Many messages, one bookmarked PDF Yes, a bookmark per message, or one PDF per message Separate printouts, without bookmarks Varies by service
Attachments as pages PDF, PNG, JPEG, and text attachments appended after each message Printed separately, if at all Varies by service
Original files kept Embedded in the PDF, saved beside it, or both Saved by hand, one at a time Varies by service
Where the mail goes Stays on this PC. Nothing uploads. Stays on this PC Uploaded to the service
Record of the export JSON report with a SHA-256 hash per file None Not usually

FAQ

Straight answers—no glossary dump

How do I export a whole PST folder to PDF?

Open the PST, select the folder in the tree, and choose Select all results above the list. Choose Export PDF, pick One PDF for the selection, bookmark per item, or One PDF per item, set Letter or A4, then choose Choose where to save. Selecting a folder includes everything beneath it, so its subfolders come along in the same export.

Are attachments included in the PDF?

Yes, in up to three ways at once. Append supported attachments as PDF pages adds PDF, PNG, JPEG, and plain-text attachments as pages after their message. Embed original attachments in PDF carries the original files inside the PDF. Also save original attachments as files writes every original, inline pictures included, beside the PDF, named after the message it came with.

How are the bookmarks and file names arranged?

In a combined PDF, every message gets a bookmark with its date, time, and subject, in the order of the selection, so the bookmark pane works as a table of contents. The combined file is named after the archive, the message count, and the export time. With One PDF per item, each file is named by date and time, then subject, so the folder sorts by date.

What happens to the PST when PstVault opens it?

Nothing changes. PstVault opens the PST read-only and never writes, moves, or renames it, so the archive is the same after a hundred sessions as it was before the first. Exports are new files in a folder you choose: each one is written under a temporary name and then committed, and a file that already exists there is never replaced. Run another export from the same archive whenever you need a different format or selection.

Where does my mail go when I use PstVault?

Only to the folder you choose. PstVault runs on your PC in the Windows app sandbox with no declared capabilities. It makes no network connections, has no account, and collects no telemetry. The preview shows message text, and the offline HTML copy loads no remote content and runs no scripts, so opening an old message never contacts anyone. Settings and the recent-file list stay in the app’s own local storage.

How do I get PstVault, and can I try it first?

PstVault is a one-time purchase in the Microsoft Store, and the listing shows the current price in your currency. The Store runs a 15-day free trial with every feature, so you can open your own archive, search it, and export a test set before you buy. There is no subscription and nothing to activate in the app. It runs on Windows 10 version 2004 or later and Windows 11, on x64 and ARM64 PCs.

Related pages

Every message out of the PST as its own .eml file. A PST viewer that does more than show you the mail. Open a PST file without installing Outlook.

The mail is already in the PST.
Get out the messages you need.

PstVault opens an Outlook PST without Outlook, finds mail by sender, recipient, subject, body, and date, and exports it as EML, PDF, offline HTML, vCard, ICS, or CSV with a JSON report of every file. The PST is never changed, nothing uploads, and the Microsoft Store runs a 15-day free trial.

Pay once. Own it forever.

One-time purchase on the Microsoft Store · No subscription · Instant install

Get it from Microsoft

Buy through the Microsoft Store—instant install, automatic updates, and a Microsoft receipt for easy expensing. No account needed on our site, and no subscription on Store purchases.

Open full product page

Microsoft and Outlook are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. PstVault is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft.

Technical specifications

Technical specifications for procurement

Spec Implementation
Data Sovereignty Reads only the PST you open, read-only, from the Windows file picker or a File Explorer double-click; writes new files and the JSON export report only to the folder you choose, never replacing an existing file; settings and the recent-file list stay in the app’s own local storage
Telemetry Status None; no account, no telemetry, and the app makes no network connections
Core Runtime .NET 10 and WinUI 3 (Windows App SDK), packaged as MSIX; runs in an AppContainer with no declared capabilities; reads the PST with its own managed reader, with no Outlook or MAPI needed
Network Requirements Fully functional offline; the app makes no network connections
Deployment Compatibility Windows 10 version 2004 or later and Windows 11, x64 or ARM64; one-time purchase on the Microsoft Store with a 15-day free trial
Inputs Outlook data files (.pst) in the Unicode format created by Outlook 2003 and later; open from the file picker, a File Explorer double-click, or the Recent list
Search Sender, subject, body, recipient, and a from and to date, across one folder and its subfolders or all folders; results listed newest first
Export formats Email (.eml), PDF reading copy, HTML reading copy, Contacts (.vcf, vCard 4.0), Calendar (.ics), Contact table (.csv), and Native files (EML, VCF, or ICS per item)
PDF options One PDF for the selection with a bookmark per item, or one PDF per item; Letter or A4; PDF, PNG, JPEG, and text attachments appended as pages; original attachments embedded
Attachments Save any attachment from the preview, or save every original, inline pictures included, beside its message on export
Export report JSON report per export: source, folder and filters, each item with its format and output file, and the size and SHA-256 hash of every file written, read back from the destination
System requirements 4 GB of RAM and 300 MB of disk space plus room for exports; 8 GB of RAM recommended for archives above 50,000 messages