How To Download Hotmail Folders
Delete a Folder in Outlook on the web at Outlook.com. Any folder that you create in Outlook can be deleted when you no longer need it. The exception is that the default folders such as Drafts, Inbox, and Sent Mail cannot be deleted. When you delete a folder, the email messages in that folder are also deleted.
Helping people with computers... one answer at a time.
Downloading Hotmail messages to your computer is easy - or it's not - depending on your account. I look at some ways to download Hotmail messages, including the one I actually use myself.
by Leo A. Notenboom, © 2006
How do I move all my Hotmail folders to my computer or external hard drive? Do I have to do each file/email individually? Or is there a way to save them all quickly.
•
I'm a little reluctant to answer this question. Why? Because it'll continueto make me sound like a broken record:
This is yet another reason not to use or rely on Hotmail foranything important.
How do I download Hotmail emails to computer? Steps to Save Hotmail Emails to Computer 1. Run Hotmail backup tool and login with Hotmail account. Select a format to download Hotmail emails. Browse a location to save Hotmail emails. Click on Start to save Hotmail emails to computer. Even downloading Hotmail mailbox periodically is a good practice but a Hotmail user can only move the mail items within folders, s/he cannot download Hotmail emails directly to their PC or hard drive. For saving the mailbox items you can opt for some simple hacks and can successfully backup Hotmail emails to PC.
It is possible, but it's not officially supported, and things that do workdon't work as completely as you might like.
•
First, if you have a paid Hotmail account, then I suggest yousimply configure Outlook Express to download your email. I haven't done this insome time, so I'm not sure whether you'll get any folders other than the inbox. Ibelieve Outlook Express uses a private webmail protocol that might well supportfolders. One way or another you'll see them or you won't in OutlookExpress.
Make sure that you then copy all your Hotmail folders to the personal folders onyour machine - simply dragging and dropping the folders or the messages shoulddo.
Now, if like most folks you're using the free version of Hotmail,you're in a more difficult situation.
OutlookExpress support for free accounts is being phased out. You can try it, butI wouldn't expect it to work. If it does work, consider yourself very lucky andfollow the instructions above for paid accounts. And do it soon, because yourability to read Hotmail in Outlook Express is going away sooner orlater.
If that doesn't work, there are third party tools that might let youdownload yourHotmail inbox into your regular POP3 email client. I'll be honest - I don'ttrust most of them. Some claim to be free and are not. And in almost allcases, you need to provide your Hotmail user ID and password to a third party.That makes me really uncomfortable and sounds like a great scam forstealing your account.
But if they work, they are a solution. You can use them to download yourinbox into your local machine's email program.
I stumbled onto a similar solution while researching this article that Ifeel better about. If you run Thunderbird as your email client, there's a webmail extension that allows you to download and sendemail through your webmail accounts, including Hotmail. It appears to be a fine solution. I trustit more than the previously noted similar solutions because it's coming from asource I trust: mozdev.org. Not that everything there is somehow beyondreproach, but it is public and open to peer and consumer scrutiny and gives mea slightly higher level of confidence that it's at least not some kind ofscam.
Regardless of your approach, an important thing to remember is that if you've spent a lot of effortorganizing folders and contacts in Hotmail, you may still be seriously out ofluck. Many of the solutions here don't address the contact list at all andsimilarly handle only the inbox. You may be able to download messages by movingthem back into your inbox on Hotmail and then downloading, but that's obviouslyless than ideal.
And finally - I really, really hope you're investigating this as a step onthe road to moving your important email away from Hotmail. Or you'reat least setting up a backup strategy that you'll adhere to religiously.
If you heard the repeated stories of delivery problems, disappearing folderand contacts, lost accounts and other problems, you'd understand why I soundlike a broken record.
Article C2855 - November 27, 2006 «»
You may also be interested in:
Are free email services worth it? Free email services and accounts are convenient and ubiquitous. But free email services aren't the right place to keep your important information.
December 2, 2006 10:13 AM
another option is to use 'windows live mail' program that works like outlook express especially for hotmail and is oficially supported although the program may still be a beta , but it works perfectly and syncs with msn messenger as well
DavidDecember 2, 2006 2:22 PM
Hi all.
Just tried the webmail extension on my Hotmail.co.uk and Yahoo.co.uk accounts and it downloaded a few test mails a treat! Works well.
I was previously using another notification program that sits in the tray (notification area) and the icon rotates to notify of new incoming messages. Mails can also be read and sent from within the interface, which might be more useful to some folk, rather than opening the e-mail client. It`s called ePrompter (www.eprompter.com). The interface looks a bit 'lego-land' but it works and mail checks can also be scheduled.
December 3, 2006 1:40 PM
hey can i please chck mi inbox i neet to print of my stuff
cluekDecember 4, 2006 1:39 PM
thank you
cluekDecember 4, 2006 1:52 PM
how do i text message?????????
NICOLADecember 18, 2006 7:42 AM
HOW DO I SEND AN EMAIL
YANIRADecember 22, 2006 9:32 PM
NOW DO I DOWNLOAD MY HOTMAIL MESSAGES TO MY COMPUTER
DavidDecember 25, 2006 7:13 AM
Re:
HOW DO I SEND AN EMAIL - NICOLA
NOW DO I DOWNLOAD MY HOTMAIL MESSAGES
TO MY COMPUTER - YANIRA
To send via Hotmail, go to 'Write' and just select the Hotmail account from the drop-down menu from the arrow to the right of the 'from' box in Thunderbird. You`ve probably got somethng else selected as the default.
To download messages, it just works as normal if you have the extension installed properly. You should have all the acounts available, dropping down from the little arrow in the right of the 'Get Mail' box. I`ve tried various combinations of sending/receiving mail on the different accounts and, so far, it seems to work pefectly. Really good extension.
March 30, 2007 4:58 AM
how do i receive & sent e-mails from my hotmail account from my nokia e61.
I need to know User ID nr, inbox & outbox server?
Thank you
September 15, 2007 8:14 AM
why does all of my inbox mail do into the delete . i im not recieving any mail except that way since the change over?
nirmalNovember 21, 2007 12:44 AM
downdoal hotmail
egzonaNovember 25, 2007 3:20 AM
i want to download hotmail
amyApril 12, 2008 8:57 PM
again i'm amy,i can download yahoo but i can't download hotmail,so can you help me cause i want help,thank you,have great life,lol buy
CarylMay 26, 2008 7:13 PM
Leo, Hotmail will no longer honor Outlook Express to view my e-mails. I have to many folders and if I keep it on my account, I've used up all my storage. HELP! I need to store all my folders to my computer and I'm lost. I'm not computer literate so any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated. They close down June 30th. Otherwise I only know to do each e-mail separately.

May 27, 2008 10:12 AM
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
This was actually answered by the article you're commenting
on, as well as several others on the site, including this
one:
http://ask-leo.com/how_do_i_download_my_windows_live_hotmail_to_my_machine.html
Short answer: Outlook Express will no longer work. You'll
need to upgrade it to something else, or as I've recommended
for years: stop using Hotmail for this kind of thing.
Leo
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.7 (MingW32)
iD8DBQFIPEBOCMEe9B/8oqERAptdAJ9YHlDzrxIHGaZYXTYIQmZHcq9bGQCdHAjA
v6CoiMr+xytQ2fiV/T6YEBM=
=7w4l
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
June 2, 2008 10:51 PM
thanks for the help. we need more places like this with simple straight answers

June 3, 2008 11:14 PM
why wont my computer let me download hotmail
RichardAugust 31, 2008 7:55 AM
I am downloading emails from a free Hotmail account using Nuance PDF Converter Professional (about $60). I have to do it one at a time. (I’m using Internet Explorer). I click on the email I am viewing to bring up the menu, then select ‘Print’. Then I select ‘DocuCom’ as the printer. The next menu allows a file name and whether to create a new PDF or append to an existing one. The web page on the screen at the time you select ‘Print’ is what you get – as a snapshot. Animated GIF’s for instance are not animated after downloading. URL’s can remain active in the PDF document (it’s an option in the Converter). It’s not a ‘folder-at-one-go’, but the end result is worth the clicking.
niamhNovember 6, 2008 3:19 PM
hi,
i appeared to get a virus from bebo during the week which i have sorted out wtih avast. however my hotmail wont' open at all on my computer at home now the page keeps tyring to download before timeing out...any help?? it wroks fine in work...
How To Download Hotmail Folders Firefox
clarkDecember 28, 2008 10:38 AM
I noticed that you can print a whole page of hotmail e-mails in one pdf file by checking the box near the top of the page and then clicking on the printer icon at the top. That served my purpose for saving messages to my computer.
Clark
M!R0December 30, 2008 1:57 AM
You can download your hotmail emails to your PC via windows live mail program...it works well, but that saves them on my PC, I didn't find the folder where those emails are kept, but atleast it's a step ahead :)
Nano7November 17, 2009 11:54 AM
For those that don't use Outlook and want to move their Hotmail emails to their own computer, there is one option that you can use which works with entire folders or individual emails. It's a work around of sorts but here's how....
To Save Entire Folders:
Open the folder you'd like to save and click the little square box at the top left of email window (same box you'd check to indicate all the files for deleting). Once all the emails have a check next to them, click the little printer icon that appears just above where you click Reply (this icon appears to the right of your New | Delete | Mark As | Move to) and it will open a box which will contain all the emails contents in a long list, as well as the printer options window, which opens on top of that box. Close the printer options window, highlight the box content and save it as a Notepad file to a new folder on your computer.
November 17, 2009 11:57 AM
To Save Individual Emails:
Go to the folder with the email you wish to save to your computer, check the box next to it and click the small printer icon to the far right of New | Delete | Mark As | Move to. This will open a box with the open contents of the email, as well as opening the printer options window over it. Close the printer options window and highlight the contents of the email and save it with Notepad to the file of your choice on your computer.
December 14, 2009 2:57 PM
I have to say, excellent advice and commentary! Thank you so much, the PDF tip was a life saver.
jakeMarch 2, 2010 12:52 AM
my computer thinks that i have an older version of msn but i don't and it wont let me log in wat can i do.
Juzt EazyJuly 6, 2010 8:27 AM
Hey Leo I read you knocking Hotmail (that went out along time ago). What about gmail you can't even download them you have to print. Hotmail is by far the most versatile email on the planet. Read the post your viewers will teach you how to.
Boz
October 14, 2010 12:44 PM
After you've save your Hotmail emails using the 'save to file' method, how do you read? When I try to open them using Hotmail, nothing happens and when I try to open them using Note Pad, Word, Acrobat all I get is code?
RobertDecember 16, 2011 3:33 AM
Hi Leo!
mozilla's Thunderbird worked nice for me and I have a hotmail account! My problem was I could not save emails and through the years I could not get anything to connect to hotmail correctly in order to download the emails properly.
This had gotten out of control over 19000 emails in my inbox and needing 300 or 400 hundred of them makes it tough. I've been thinking for years just dump them on a disk to look through at my leisure. I have a degree in computers also been using them since 1982.
(I use windows 7) Had no problems with hotmail as long as you follow the minimum usage guidelines pretty much a use it or lose it policy. (Your account must be used at least once a month or things could vanish)
(Also tried Outlook not compatible, and windows live which was buggy and sloooooowwww!!!!!!)
Thanks Leo!
•
Comments on this entry are closed.
If you have a question, start by using the search box up at the top of the page - there's a very good chance that your question has already been answered on Ask Leo!.
If you don't find your answer, head out to http://askleo.com/ask to ask your question.
Hotmail Folder Missing
Hello everyone! Due to the unavailability of a dedicated backup solution in Office 365, people often ask – how do I export emails from Outlook Web Access to my desktop? It turns out to be quite a simple task with an automated software named as Office 365 Backup & Restore, which is really quick and safe utility. Read this tutorial to know the comprehensive step-by-step process to know how to export emails from OWA to PST data to local Windows system.
Complete Guide to Download Emails from Outlook Web App
It is true that Microsoft provides no direct approach in O365 that can export emails from Outlook Web App to PST on desktop. In such a situation, you can take the help of reliable and highly efficient SysTools Office 365 Backup & RestoreSoftware.
A simplified way for cloud-to-local backup in the least amount of time. It backs up Outlook 365 emails files into PST or EML file formats at any desired location on the local system. Adding to it, the tool gives you flexibility to restore the emails, contacts, calendar entries, journal, and task from a local .pst file to Office 365 account despite any subscription plan.
Steps to Export Emails from OWA to PST with Office 365 Backup Tool
Now, let’s understand how the tool takes backup of Outlook 365 Inbox mails, including other folders along with pictorial representation.
Here is the trial version of the software:
Step 1: Install & Open Software
- First of all, you have to install Office 365 Backup software. Download either demo or licensed version of tool. However, you can save only 100 Outlook 365 messages and 25 other data components locally.
- After the successful installation of tool, open it. On the welcome screen, there is a Login option. You need to click on Login button to continue the process.
- Now, enter the credentials of either O365 administrator (to backup multiple mailboxes) or the end-user. If you login as an administrator, then always check the box of Application Impersonation. Afterwards, click on Sign in button.
- The two options displayed on software interface i.e., Office 365 Backup & Office 365 Restore. Here, we are going to take backup of Outlook 365 emails, so, go with Office 365 Backup option.
Hotmail Folders In Outlook
Step 2: Select the Mailbox(es) for Backup
- If you login as an O365 end-user, then exclusively the primary mailbox associated with your mailbox will be shown on the tool dashboard. Here, you can select mail folder(s) whose data you want to save on the local system.
- If you login as Office 365 administrator, then you need to upload a CSV file that consists information of all the users whose emails are going for backup process. For this, you need to click on Browse and add a CSV file. In case, if you do not want to save the messages of all added users, then you can choose the desired location by checking its corresponding checkbox.
Step 3: Select On-premise Location
In the next step to export emails from OWA to PST, opt for a location on Windows system to save the resultant Outlook 365 email backup file. To do this, click on Browse to open its panel. In case, if you want to make a new folder, then click on Make New Folder and create a new one. Else, select an already existing folder and click OK.
Step 4: Open Export Wizard
Once you are done with the above step, click on Export to open its dashboard. Now, you need to opt for email format i.e., PST or EML. To backup Outlook 365 emails along with contacts and calendar, then opt for PST file. EML is basically to save emails of Office 365 only.
There is an option of Naming Convention that only enables when you opt for EML format. Its prime aim is to manage the emails with a unique name. So, after backup, one can easily identify the message.
Apart from this, you can use Date Filter to download emails from Outlook Web App of a particular timeline. You only need to enter time in From & To box. Once you select each option, then click on Start.
Step 5: Real Time Status of Backup Process
As soon as you click on Start button, a new panel open on the software interface. Here, you can view and analyze the following things.
Export Hotmail Folders
- User ID
- Mails Count
- Calendar Count
- Contact Count
- Process Status
- Destination Folder Path
If there is an emergency, then you can also hold the ongoing Outlook 365 email backup process using Pause button. After that, easily resume it from the point where it was paused.
Closing Thoughts
After reading this article, the users who have the question that how to export emails from Microsoft Outlook Web Access can get the answer. Here, we have discussed a simplified path that can easily export emails from OWA to PST or EML format. So, use the expert recommended workaround and download emails from Office Outlook Web App without any data loss.
