Nilesh Kumar | February 22nd, 2018 | Technology
There are many organizations that keep their data as a backup. That data can be very old. If we talk about email data, then many organizations are using Outlook and they may have their individual Outlook messages in MSG file format. Now, the problem comes when a user does not know how to open old MSG files without Outlook. Due to the old backup, it is difficult to open and read data from MSG file of the updated version of MS Outlook. Therefore, this query is asked by many users as shown: What is the milky way.
Free MSG Opener app View MSG Emails without any supportive application tool. Software allows you to load Outlook MSG files with help of Dual Options mode. MSG Viewer software show all Emails folder and element of MSG emails freely. Open and View MSG email.
- The MSG viewer helps to view and take action on such messages and that too without the help of Outlook. This helps users to read the emails without the need of Outlook. This software is available online and also for download. There are free software and a priced product too.
- Another good solution for viewing MSG files for free is MailsDaddy Free MSG Viewer. The software load multiple MSG files at once and preview its content along with attachments even if MS Outlook is not installed.
“I am currently working in an organization where we are using MS Outlook for email handling. I want to access some of the old Outlook MSG emails to gather some information. I am unable to open those files in my current version of MS Outlook. Can anyone suggest me any safe method to open MSG files without MS Outlook email application? All the efforts will be appreciated!!”
“I found some old MSG files on my cousin’s laptop. Due to the emergency, he requested me to open those emails on his laptop. But I don’t have any application to read the contents of the file. Can anyone help me out by opening these old MSG files? Thanks in Advance!!”
MSG file is not a text file that can be opened easily. It requires MAPI type of application to access the data within the Outlook MSG file. So, in the following blog, we will discuss all the solutions that a user can try to solve his queries.
Open Old MSG Files Without Outlook Manually
Nowadays, every user has any of the browsers installed in their system like Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Opera, Mozilla Firefox, etc. So, one can easily open and read old MSG files without any email application on their browser. But, for that, it is required to have the page in HTML format as browsers support this type of file format. Select the email and change the extension of the file from .msg to .html by right-clicking on the file and then, click on Save As and choose HTML format. After that, open that HTML page with any of the browsers. Now, you can read all the contents of the MSG file.
Drawbacks of the Manual Solution
There are many limitations that are associated with this manual approach. Some are listed:
- It is difficult to open a bulk number of emails at the time. This method can open one email at a time and it will take a lot of time to open all the MSG emails.
- It is not possible to view attachments in the browser. HTML file will not save any attachment with the email.
- Lots of efforts are required to open each and every email.
Alternate Solution to View MSG Emails Without Outlook
Above approach is quite easy to perform and one can easily open and view Outlook messages. But these limitations can restrict this approach to be used by many users. But there is no need to worry as a user can use SysTools Free MSG Viewer Tool in order to avoid all the limitations. It is easy to open all types of MSG files even it is old. There is no limitation on the file size. One can open old MSG files without Outlook of any size. It is possible to open multiple MSG files in a single folder at the same time. Therefore, one can access, explore, read and view entire contents from the Outlook MSG file in a very effective and simplified way.
Last Words
It is true that one can easily open old MSG files without Outlook email application with the help of this manual approach. But, if we talk about limitations, then it is difficult for some users to opt for the manual technique. So, we have also discussed the free and easy approach to do that task. It is recommendable to use the automated solution over the manual procedure as it can save your time as well as efforts and will give you accurate results as required. Therefore, try the easy and free solution to view all the individual Microsoft Outlook email messages.
Accessing a different PST file through Microsoft Outlook without overwriting (and potentially corrupting) your current PST file is very difficult to do. Most users who attempt this end up wiping their active PST and for that exact reason, it's preferable to use a PST file reader instead.
4 Best PST Reader You Should Never Miss
After researching the best solutions, we've pulled together the important details about the 4 best Outlook PST readers and assembled them in our guide below.
1Best Free PST Reader - iMyFone ScanOutlook
Time and time again we recommend iMyFone ScanOutlook for all PST/OST related tasks, and for good reason. It offers widespread support of all Outlook versions and as you'd expect, it's a wonderful PST file reader.
Features
View PST files from any Outlook version (2003. 2019) for Free
Access all items in PST file including contacts, notes, tasks, attachments, and more
Scan and recover your permanently deleted items from your PST file
Export data from PST files as HTML, MSG, EML, RTF, and PDF
Repair corrupt, infected, or damaged OST/PST files
After checking out these features and downloading iMyFone ScanOutlook, jump into the guide below to use it as a simple PST reader.
Step 1. Launch ScanOutlook on your computer. A list of data files found in the default Outlook installation will be shown.
Step 2. Either select one of these PSTs or use the manual select feature. Once you've chosen a PST, click 'Repair' to proceed.
Step 3. After a short scan and possible repair, everything in the PST will be accessible. You can navigate through this data using the menu on the left.
Step 4 (optional). If you want to export data, tick the box next to the file and click 'Export Selected' at the top of the window.
Step 5 (optional). Now choose one of the saveable formats, a save location, and press 'Export'.
Exporting is completely optional so if you just want to use ScanOutlook for viewing a PST file, this is doable without the final steps. As you can see, this is a basic yet effective program which is ideal for viewing PST.
2Kernel Outlook PST Viewer
Kernel Outlook PST Viewer is also a great program that offers a simple solution to view whatever data your PST file is storing.
ProsProvides an easily readable data tree after scanning PST
Can open PST files in bulk and simultaneously
Displays all email data (timestamps, recipients, subject lines, etc)
Scans and displays corrupt/damaged PST files if the damage isn't too severe
Allows users to create informative reports about the PST data
Free to download, doesn't require a license!
This free program is as simple as it gets and is easy enough to use that nobody will get stuck or confused when they use it. Being able to read multiple PSTs at the same time and create data reports are two unique features that make Kernel Outlook PST Viewer stand out, but there are some negatives.
ConsReportedly slower performance than other PST viewers
PST files with intense damage cannot always be opened
3Sysinfo PST Viewer
All the features that we generally need in a free PST reader without Outlook can be found in Sysinfo PST Viewer. With a simple interface easy navigation, you can expect viewing your PST files with this program to be a cakewalk!
ProsOpens and views corrupt Outlook PST data
Lets users preview data before exporting to a new file (emails, attachments, and more)
Doesn't require Microsoft Outlook to be installed
Includes 3 scanning modes to make sure as much data as possible can be viewed
For the cherry on top, if you're using the viewer and don't feel like it's done a good job, a moneyback guarantee is in place. For the most part this is a great program but of course, we can't ignore the disadvantages.
Unable to export data from PST files into another EML, MSG, or DBX file
Requires $49 license purchase for access to all features
4FreeViewer PST File Viewer
Msg Viewer For Outlook Mac Free Trial
The final addition to our list is FreeViewer PST File Viewer. Considered more of a PST analysing tool than it is an Outlook PST reader, FreeViewer is surprisingly effective and users are rarely disappointed by the results it delivers.
ProsMsg Viewer For Outlook Mac Free Mac
Repairs and displays corrupt PST files
Provides detailed information about all the data inside of PST
Has 2 scanning options depending on if PST is damaged
Preview and selectively extract data from PST files
Includes advanced PST viewing tools (such as bypassing password protection)
Being able to access encrypted PSTs is an impressive feature that this free PST reader has. We've all been there. forgetting your Outlook password and not being able to read the most recent emails is a disappointing experience.
ConsNot actually free (requires a paid upgrade to access premium features)
Although it functions great, the interface is somewhat unappealing
Conclusion
So, without the tricky reconfiguring of Microsoft Outlook, you can download one of these PST email readers and access the file's data easily. iMyFone ScanOutlook always delivers great results and is a reliable tool for all things OST/PST. Whether repairing a corrupt data file or simply reading the data, that's the tool to use.