How to Split Large PST files in Outlook 2019?

When a PST file goes beyond a certain size there is a chance of it getting corrupt. Moreover, large size PSTs can undermine the performance of your Outlook. We have explained in detail, the benefits of splitting PST files to smaller size and also discussed a few methods which can be used to split your PST files.

PST [Personal Storage Table] file is an Outlook data file. The file format is used in Outlook to store all Outlook information [data] and exports emails, contacts, calendar, notes, events, journals, schedule, tasks, and etc. PSTs are of two types; Unicode and ANSI, depending on the Outlook version you are using. The ANSI PST format supports Outlook 97 to 2000 editions. However, Outlook 2003 to 2019 versions of the application supports Unicode PST file.

The PST files have size limitation in different Outlook versions. In Outlook 2003 and 2007 have a size limit of 20 GB and in Outlook 2019,2010 2013 and 2016 had the maximum size is 50GB. If a user doesn’t split/break the Outlook data file before it reaches its maximum size, it will become too large to handle and can lead to file corruption.

To avoid the situation where you may lose your important Outlook data and affect the access and performance of your Outlook application, you must split or break the size of your PST file to a manageable size.

Why to Split Large PST file to smaller sizes?

There are numerous reasons to split large PST file into multiple smaller PST files. The most common reasons being:

• Large size PST files can affect the performance of Outlook application. It may slow down the app, and therefore, the effective solution in this case is to split large PSTs into small sizes.
• When a PST file exceeds the limit of an allowed size, it affects the user. You won’t be able to access emails or send/receive new email messages.
• There are high chances that your PST file gets corrupt due to its sheer size. Therefore, the best solution is to break/split the large PST into smaller sizes.

To keep your PST files [data] safe and free from corruption, you need to split the large PST files into smaller sizes in Outlook 2019. But, Outlook 2019 does not provide any assistance or in-built utility feature to split PST files. Therefore, you need to find a credible solution [manual method or professional assistance] to split your PST files.

How to Split large PST files into smaller sizes?

There are different manual approaches to prevent Outlook from facing issues of file corruption and performance due to PSTs large size. Following are the steps which you can employ to make the Outlook performance efficiently.

Method 1: Use Archive feature to Reduce size of PST file

By using archive feature you can reduce the size of large PST files by year. It allows you to manage your PST file on yearly basis. You can split and reduce the size by following the steps given below:

• Open your MS Outlook application, and go to File.

• Select Info, click on Tools from the option, and then click on ‘Cleanup Old Items’.

• You will get an Archive dialog box. Check the button ‘Archive this folder and subfolder’ from the options.

• Find ‘Archive items older than:’ below the item box, and select the date from the drop-down to archive PST files before the mentioned date. 

• Now, under ‘Archive file’, ‘Browse’ the desired location and select to save the archive.pst file, and then click OK to complete the procedure.

Method 2: Use Import/Export Option to Split Large Size PST File

In Outlook, you will find Import/Export wizard. This feature of the application can be used to split large PST file into small size PSTs. Follow the steps given below:

• Open Microsoft Outlook.

• Go to ‘File’, select Open & Export, and click on Import/Export.

• From the Import/Export wizard, select ‘Export to a file’, and click on Next.

• Now, select the Outlook Data File [.pst].

• Choose the required folder to export. Check ‘Include subfolder’ option, and click on Next.

• Click ‘Browse’ to select the location where you want to ‘save the exported file’. Also, ensure to check ‘Do not export duplicate items’ and click Finish.

The above, manual, methods are free to use but comes with limitations and risks. You can use any of the methods to split your large PST file to minimize its size, however, these methods require technical knowledge, and pose great risk of data loss and you need to repeat the steps for each additional PST file you want to create.

You can avoid these issues which are native to manual methods by using a better, effective and efficient solution like Stellar Splitter for Outlook.

Method 3: Split Large size PST file with Stellar Splitter for Outlook

Stellar Splitter for Outlook is significantly used to split large PST files into smaller sizes. It is designed to suit the need in convenient and effective way. You can simply use the tool and select and split PST files in various different criteria, offered by the tool, such as Date, Size, Mail ID, Date Range, and etc. The tool simplifies the splitting. You can use the tool and split oversized PSTs into smaller parts within a few steps.

You can follow the given steps to split/break your large PST file quickly and easily, and save your data from getting corrupt.

• Download the Stellar Splitter for Outlook from the official website.
• Install the tool, and launch it.
• From the interface, select ‘Drag & Drop to add PST’ or choose ‘Add PST’ for large PST file.

• Now, select the splitting option. You will get Split the PST based on size, date, or mail ID or just check mark ‘Select & Split’.

Now, click ‘Browse’ to choose the desired location to save the file.

• And then, click on ‘Split’.

The tool will automatically split your PST file/files into smaller sizes based on your selected preference or criteria. This process is quick, secure and reliable to split single or multiple large sized PST files into smaller PST files. The other advantage that Stellar Splitter for Outlook offers its users is that it maintains the original file/folder hierarchy and structure.

Conclusion: Microsoft Outlook uses repository PST file format to store all its important data such as emails, tasks, notes, events, journals, and etc. Sometime, the PST files exceed the maximum size limit which can cause serious issues like data corruption and Outlook performance. To evade and restrict such an issue to happen, a user needs to split large PST file into multiple small sizes. But, there is no direct method to split the PST file in Outlook.

However, you can use Outlook’s native features like Archive and Import/Export to manually split oversized PST files. But the limitations which come along the manual method make it a cumbersome approach. Therefore, the better technique or solution to split PST file into smaller parts is to employ professional tool like Stellar Splitter for Outlook. It can perform the splitting task in a few quick steps, and moreover maintains the original folder hierarchy and integrity of the PST files.