Microsoft Outlook retailers your e-mail, duties, and appointments as both PST or OST files. These equally do the very same simple task. Nevertheless, there are some distinctions that are essential, relying on no matter whether you want to backup, restore, or shift your knowledge.
To demonstrate the variation concerning PST and OST documents, we have to demonstrate a bit of technological history—specifically, the variance in between the POP and IMAP e-mail protocols. Here’s a rapid overview.
What Is POP?
The traditional email protocol employed in dial-up periods was Submit Office Protocol (POP). The current variation of POP is edition 3 (POP3).
POP downloaded all your emails to the consumer, and then, by default, deleted them from the electronic mail server. This intended only a duplicate of your e-mail was on your computer system. You could configure POP not to delete e-mail from the server.
However, in all those times, people today typically checked their electronic mail from only 1 laptop, so there wasn’t genuinely a need to have to maintain a next copy on the server.
When you use POP, any variations you make in your electronic mail customer aren’t reflected in the electronic mail server. If you delete an email in the email customer, practically nothing takes place on the e mail server, and vice versa.
What Is IMAP?
Web Messaging Obtain Protocol (IMAP) is a much more present day protocol that downloads a copy of your email from the server to the customer on your laptop or computer. Any improvements you make in your e mail consumer are synced with the server. If you delete an electronic mail on your computer, it is also deleted on the e-mail server, and vice versa.
IMAP is a great deal more suited to the fashionable planet. We now obtain the similar electronic mail account on various devices and most folks have “always-on” broadband or fiber connections, and cellular info. Almost everything you do with your electronic mail is synced if you use IMAP.
For instance, if you send an e-mail from your cell phone, you can glimpse in the “Sent” folder on your tablet, and the e-mail you despatched will be there, as perfectly. This is why we advocate working with IMAP unless you have a particular cause to use POP3.
It is also significant to observe that Microsoft uses Messaging API (MAPI) fairly than IMAP for its electronic mail accounts. Although they do vary, MAPI and IMAP equally sync your email messages in between the customer and email server.
POP, IMAP, and PST and OST Files
If you have a POP account, Outlook shops all your emails and appointments in a Private Storage Table (.pst) file. A PST file can be imported into Outlook. This can make it best for relocating your email to a new computer system or creating a backup you can preserve in circumstance your personal computer crashes or turns into inoperable.
Until eventually Microsoft Outlook 2013, PST documents had been also used for IMAP or MAPI accounts. Having said that, starting off with Outlook 2016, the shopper retailers all your email messages and appointments from IMAP and MAPI accounts in an Offline Storage Table (.ost) file.
OST information mechanically synchronize with the email server, as extensive as you have an world-wide-web link. Unlike PST data files, even though, you can’t import an OST file into Outlook—because you don’t have to.
If you’re setting up Outlook on a new equipment and connecting to your email account by means of IMAP or MAPI, all of your e-mails will be on the server, and they’ll download automatically.
Similar: How to Set Up a POP3 or IMAP Account in Microsoft Outlook
The vital big difference involving PST and OST information is the contents of a PST are only out there in that file. The contents of an OST, nevertheless, are also accessible on the email server and any other system you use to access your e mail account.
When Do You Need Them?
Most of the time, you won’t have to fear about PST and OST files. You’re unlikely to see or straight entry both except you go looking for them.
They’re genuinely only vital when you are shifting details to a new laptop or want to archive your emails. If you use a POP3 email account, you will have to copy the PST file to your new computer, and then import it into Outlook, or you will reduce all your e-mails.
If you use IMAP or MAPI, you only need to be conscious of the dimension of your mailbox on the e mail server. If you ever access the greatest size and want to keep all of your emails, you will have to export a chunk of them into a PST file, and then delete them from the e-mail server.
You’ll then nevertheless be able to look at those e-mail if you import the PST file into Outlook, but they’ll no more time be on the email server.