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Guided workflow variation

A PST viewer that does morethan show you the mail.

Reading the archive is step one. PstVault adds what comes next: five filters to narrow a crowded mailbox, a preview listing every attachment, and seven export formats, each with a report of the files saved.

If you need to read a PST and then keep or send part of it, choose a viewer that searches, previews, and exports in one app.

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

Looking is not the same as finding.

A basic viewer shows a folder list and a reading pane, which is enough to confirm an archive opens. Real requests are narrower: every message from one supplier in March, the thread that mentions a contract number, all mail sent to an auditor. Scrolling tens of thousands of rows to answer that eats an afternoon, and a viewer that cannot search body text leaves you guessing which conversation holds the clause.

Where tooling usually breaks

Then the mail has to leave the viewer.

Once the right messages turn up, somebody asks for copies. A display-only program leaves you taking screenshots, pasting text into documents, or printing pages one by one, while attachments remain locked inside the archive. Each workaround drops something along the way: headers, timestamps, inline pictures, or the original files those emails carried.

Where PstVault lands

Search, read, and export from one window.

PstVault pairs its reading pane with filters and an export dialog. Narrow results by sender, subject, body phrase, recipient, or a date range, across one folder or All folders. Select the matches, then save them as EML for mail apps, a bookmarked PDF for reading and printing, an offline HTML copy for any browser, or contact and calendar formats, each accompanied by a JSON report.

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

An auditor’s request for one vendor’s mail

Finance is asked for all correspondence with one vendor across a fiscal year. The mail sits in an archive PST from a mailbox that was closed, and the request names the vendor’s domain.

Type the domain in Sender, set From date and To date to the fiscal year, and choose All folders. Select all results, choose Export PDF, and send one bookmarked PDF with the JSON report listing every message it holds.

Finding the thread that mentions a clause

A project manager remembers a message about a liquidated damages clause but not who sent it or when. The project archive holds years of mail across dozens of folders.

Under More filters, Body takes the phrase and All folders covers the whole file. The search shows its progress and lists matches newest first. The right thread is read in the preview and exported as EML so it can be forwarded from a normal mail app.

Sorting a shelf of old archives

An IT technician inherits a stack of old PST files from departed staff and has to decide which ones hold anything worth keeping before the drives are retired.

Each file opens read-only, and the folder tree with counts shows at a glance which archives hold real mail. Anything worth keeping is exported as HTML reading copies, which open in any browser long after the archive is gone.

Deep dive

What to look for in a PST viewer for Windows

It opens the file on its own. A viewer should read the PST directly, so Outlook does not need to be installed, licensed, or set up with a profile. PstVault opens a .pst from Open PST, from a double-click in File Explorer, or from its Recent list, and shows the folder tree with a message count beside every folder.

Search that reaches the body. Sender and subject filters find most things, but the message you need is often the one that only mentions a name or a number in its text. PstVault filters by Sender and Subject above the list, and More filters adds Body, Recipient, From date, and To date. Filters cover one folder and everything beneath it, or All folders, and a body search shows how much it has searched.

A preview that shows attachments. Reading a message should also tell you what came with it. The PstVault preview lists every attachment with its name, size, and type, inline pictures included, and Save beside each one writes the original file to a folder you choose. Contacts and calendar items show their own fields in the same pane.

Export in the format the next person needs. A lawyer wants a PDF, a review platform wants EML, a colleague wants something that opens in a browser, and a CRM wants a contact table. PstVault exports a selection in seven formats: Email (.eml), PDF reading copy, HTML reading copy, Contacts (.vcf), Calendar (.ics), Contact table (.csv), and Native files, which chooses EML, VCF, or ICS for each item.

PDF that people can navigate. One PDF for the selection, bookmark per item, gives every message its own bookmark, named by date and subject. Supported attachments can be appended as pages and the originals embedded, on Letter or A4 paper.

A record of what you saved. When an export leaves your hands, it helps to know exactly what went into it. PstVault writes a JSON report beside every export with the source, the folder and filters used, each item and the file it became, and the size and SHA-256 hash of every file written.

Read-only and offline. The archive is never written, and existing files in the export folder are never replaced. The app runs in the Windows app sandbox with no network connections, no account, and no telemetry, and it follows your light or dark theme.

Try it before you buy. The Microsoft Store runs a 15-day free trial with every feature, so you can open your own archive and run a real export first.

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 Viewer-only app Outlook with the PST attached Online converter
Runs without Outlook Yes, it reads the PST directly Usually Needs Outlook installed and a mail profile Yes, after the PST is uploaded
Search body text and dates Yes, plus sender, recipient, and subject Varies by app Yes Rarely
Selection to one bookmarked PDF Yes, or one PDF per message Often an upgrade, if offered Print to PDF, without bookmarks Varies by service
Contacts and calendars out vCard 4.0, .ics, and a contact table (.csv) Not usually Through separate export commands Varies by service
Report of files saved JSON report with a SHA-256 hash per file Not usually None Not usually
Where the mail goes Stays on this PC. Nothing uploads. Stays on this PC Stays on this PC Uploaded to the service
How it is paid for One-time purchase in the Microsoft Store Varies An Office license or a subscription Per file or per plan

FAQ

Straight answers—no glossary dump

What is the difference between a PST viewer and a PST converter?

A viewer opens the archive and shows its folders and messages; a converter writes messages out as other files. PstVault does both in one app. It shows the folder tree, the message list, and a preview with attachments, and it exports the messages you select as EML, PDF, offline HTML, vCard 4.0, iCalendar, or a contact CSV, with a JSON report of every file written.

Can I see the attachments before I export anything?

Yes. The preview lists every attachment on the selected message with its name, size, and type, including inline pictures. Save beside an attachment writes the original file to a folder you pick, where you can open it with the app you normally use for that type. Exports can also save every original beside its message, embed them in a PDF, or add supported ones as PDF pages.

Does PstVault work in dark mode?

Yes. PstVault follows your Windows light or dark theme, from the folder tree and message list to the preview and the Export dialog. It is designed for keyboard use as well, with visible focus, and the window works from a compact 960 by 720 size up to a full screen, so the list and the preview stay readable on a laptop.

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

Open a PST file without installing Outlook. From PST to PDF, with a bookmark for every message. The address book inside the PST, out as CSV or vCard.

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