How to Split PST File in Outlook 2019/2016/2013/2010 Manually?

Personal Storage Table or Personal Folders File (PST) is a proprietary data file format used by MS Outlook for storing emails, tasks, calendar events, and other items. This file is also used to archive or backup emails and other items, and to migrate mailbox data between email accounts in Outlook.

When the PST file becomes oversized or too large, then the performance of Outlook slows down. When the PST file reaches its stipulated limit, users face difficulty while sending and receiving new emails. Large or oversized PST file is also highly prone to corruption or damage. To improve the performance of Outlook application and prevent corruption in PST file, it is suggested to keep the file size smaller, preferably below 10 GB. For this, you can split your large or oversized PST file into smaller files.

In this article, we have mentioned different ways to split large PST files in Outlook 2019/2016/2013/2010 manually.

Methods to Split PST File in Outlook

Following are some efficient methods to split PST files manually into smaller sizes.

Method 1: Use Archive Feature in Outlook

You can use the Archive option in Outlook to archive old or redundant emails to a new local PST file. This helps you split the PST based on a date range or mail folder.

Here are the steps to archive Outlook PST file data:

Open your Outlook (2021, 2019, or 2016).
Navigate to the File tab and click on Tools.

Select Clean Up Old Items.

Note: In Outlook 2013, navigate to File > Info > Cleanup Tools > Archive.

In the window that opens, you will see multiple options to archive PST file data. Check the Archive this folder and the sub-folder option.

Choose the folders you want to archive.
Set the date in the Archive items older than field and select a location on the system to save the archive data.
Click OK to complete the process.

Method 2: Use Outlook Import/Export Wizard

You can also use the Outlook Import/Export function in Outlook to export PST file items, such as emails, contacts, calendar, tasks, and more from your profile to a new PST. Follow the given steps to perform the process:

Start Outlook and go to the File option.
Select Open & Export and click on Import/Export.

On the Import/Export window, click on Export to a file option and hit Next.
Choose Outlook Data File.
Select the Folder and Sub-folder to export and click on Browse to select the desired location.
Check the Do not export duplicates items option and hit Finish.

Note: You can follow the above steps to create additional PST files.

An Easy and Automated Way to Split Large PST Files

The above manual methods are helpful for splitting PST file size but they’re

time-consuming and require technical proficiency to complete the process. To avoid the limitations of manual methods, you can use a specialized PST splitter tool, such as Stellar Splitter for Outlook to split the PST files. It is an excellent tool for splitting Outlook PST files into smaller ones, with complete data integrity. It also allows to split PST file based on different criteria, such as email address, date, size, date range, and more. It’s an ideal solution for those looking to quickly and easily split multiple PST files at once.

To split the PST file using the software, follow the given steps:

Download, install, and launch the software on your Windows system.
Choose the PST file you want to split. You can either drag & drop or click on Add PST tab in the ribbon. If you don’t know the location of PST file, click the Find PST button.

To upload multiple PST files for splitting, go to the Select Batch File option in the ribbon.
Now, you can see multiple splitting options in the window, such as by date, by size, by email id, and date range.

Choose the desired option to split the PST file.
After that, click on Browse tab to select a location on your system to save the resultant PST files.
Click the Split button at the bottom.

Conclusion

Oversized or large PST files can lead to various problems in Outlook. You can split your large or oversized PST file by following the manual methods mentioned in this article. However, in order to manage multiple oversized PST files, manual methods will not be that effective. So, you can use a professional PST splitting tool, like Stellar Splitter for Outlook. It allows you to split multiple oversized PST files with various useful filters and helps you save time and effort.