[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":250},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-open-msg-file-without-outlook":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"description":240,"extension":241,"meta":242,"navigation":245,"path":246,"seo":247,"stem":248,"__hash__":249},"content\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-open-msg-file-without-outlook.md","How to Open an MSG File Without Outlook and Save It as PDF",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":221},"minimark",[9,18,21,26,34,50,53,57,60,65,74,78,88,92,99,103,106,110,124,128,131,135,138,141,153,161,165,171,175,186,190,193,207,211,214],[10,11,12,13,17],"p",{},"Someone sends you an email saved as ",[14,15,16],"code",{},".msg",", or you find a folder of them in an\nold backup, and nothing on your computer opens them. MSG is Microsoft Outlook's\nown file format, so without Outlook the file usually just shows a blank icon.",[10,19,20],{},"This guide shows how to open an MSG file without Outlook, convert it to PDF,\nand turn many MSG files into one PDF.",[22,23,25],"h2",{"id":24},"what-is-an-msg-file","What Is an MSG File?",[10,27,28,29,33],{},"An MSG file is a single Outlook item saved to disk, most often an email. You\nget one when you drag a message out of Outlook onto the desktop, or save it with\n",[30,31,32],"strong",{},"File > Save As > Outlook Message Format",". It contains:",[35,36,37,41,44,47],"ul",{},[38,39,40],"li",{},"the sender, recipients, date and subject;",[38,42,43],{},"the message body, often stored as compressed RTF with the original HTML\ninside;",[38,45,46],{},"inline images;",[38,48,49],{},"attachments, including other emails attached to the message.",[10,51,52],{},"Unlike EML, which most mail apps understand, MSG is a Microsoft-specific\nformat. Apple Mail, Gmail and most phone mail apps can't open it.",[22,54,56],{"id":55},"open-an-msg-file-online-without-outlook","Open an MSG File Online, Without Outlook",[10,58,59],{},"Fileverter's converter reads MSG files directly in your browser. It works on a\nMac, Windows PC, Linux, Chromebook or phone, and the email is never uploaded.",[61,62,64],"h3",{"id":63},"_1-open-the-converter","1. Open the converter",[10,66,67,68,73],{},"Go to the ",[69,70,72],"a",{"href":71},"\u002Ftools\u002Fmsg-to-pdf-converter","free MSG to PDF converter",".",[61,75,77],{"id":76},"_2-select-one-or-more-msg-files","2. Select one or more MSG files",[10,79,80,81,83,84,87],{},"Drop ",[14,82,16],{}," files onto the page or select them. You can add up to 300 at once,\nand ",[14,85,86],{},".eml"," files can be mixed in too. Each email appears in the preview with a\nheader showing the sender, recipients, date and attachments.",[61,89,91],{"id":90},"_3-check-the-preview","3. Check the preview",[10,93,94,95,98],{},"The converter extracts the original HTML that Outlook stored inside the\nmessage, so layouts, colors, tables and links look the way they did in Outlook.\nImages loaded from the internet are blocked by default, because loading them\ncan tell the sender the email was opened. Select ",[30,96,97],{},"Load remote images"," if you\nneed them.",[61,100,102],{"id":101},"_4-choose-the-page-settings","4. Choose the page settings",[10,104,105],{},"Pick A4 or Letter, portrait or landscape, and normal or no margins. Turn off\nthe email header if you only want the message body.",[61,107,109],{"id":108},"_5-save-as-pdf","5. Save as PDF",[10,111,112,113,116,117,119,120,123],{},"Select ",[30,114,115],{},"Save as PDF"," and choose ",[30,118,115],{}," as the destination in your\nbrowser's print dialog. The text stays selectable and searchable. Select\n",[30,121,122],{},"Download image PDF"," to skip the print dialog; that PDF downloads directly,\nbut its text can't be selected.",[22,125,127],{"id":126},"open-msg-files-on-a-mac","Open MSG Files on a Mac",[10,129,130],{},"Outlook files are a common problem on a Mac, because Apple Mail can't read\nthem. The online converter is the simplest route: drop the file in Safari,\nChrome or Firefox and the email appears. From there you can read it, save it as\nPDF or download its attachments.",[22,132,134],{"id":133},"convert-many-msg-files-into-one-pdf","Convert Many MSG Files Into One PDF",[10,136,137],{},"Exported Outlook folders, legal discovery and HR investigations can involve\nhundreds of MSG files. Opening and printing each one in Outlook takes a long\ntime.",[10,139,140],{},"When you add several emails, the converter:",[142,143,144,147,150],"ol",{},[38,145,146],{},"sorts them by date, oldest first (or newest first, or your own order);",[38,148,149],{},"starts each email on a new page with its own header;",[38,151,152],{},"saves everything in a single PDF.",[10,154,155,156,160],{},"To give every page a unique reference number, run the PDF through the ",[69,157,159],{"href":158},"\u002Ftools\u002Fpdf\u002Fpdf-bates-stamp","Bates\nstamp tool"," afterwards.",[22,162,164],{"id":163},"get-the-attachments-out","Get the Attachments Out",[10,166,167,168,170],{},"Attachments are listed in each email's header, and the converter can download\nthem all at once as a ZIP file, grouped by email. Emails attached inside an MSG\nfile are saved as their own ",[14,169,16],{}," files, which you can drop back into the\nconverter to read.",[22,172,174],{"id":173},"if-you-do-have-outlook","If You Do Have Outlook",[10,176,177,178,181,182,185],{},"On Windows with Outlook installed, double-click the MSG file to open it, choose\n",[30,179,180],{},"File > Print",", and select ",[30,183,184],{},"Microsoft Print to PDF"," as the printer. That\nworks well for one email at a time. The online converter is faster for batches,\nand it doesn't need Outlook at all.",[22,187,189],{"id":188},"why-does-an-email-look-different","Why Does an Email Look Different?",[10,191,192],{},"Most emails convert closely. Differences can appear when:",[35,194,195,198,201,204],{},[38,196,197],{},"remote images are blocked or no longer exist on the sender's server;",[38,199,200],{},"the email was written in plain RTF rather than HTML, which shows as plain\ntext;",[38,202,203],{},"the MSG file is a calendar invite, contact or task, whose special fields\naren't shown;",[38,205,206],{},"the file was saved by a very old version of Outlook, in which case some text\nmay not display correctly.",[22,208,210],{"id":209},"privacy","Privacy",[10,212,213],{},"Outlook emails often hold business, legal or personal information. Fileverter\nreads and converts them on your device and never sends them to Fileverter's\nservers. Scripts are removed, remote images stay blocked unless you allow them,\nand the PDF stays on your device unless you share it.",[10,215,216,217,220],{},"Ready to open your file? Go to the ",[69,218,219],{"href":71},"MSG to PDF\nconverter"," and drop it in.",{"title":222,"searchDepth":223,"depth":223,"links":224},"",2,[225,226,234,235,236,237,238,239],{"id":24,"depth":223,"text":25},{"id":55,"depth":223,"text":56,"children":227},[228,230,231,232,233],{"id":63,"depth":229,"text":64},3,{"id":76,"depth":229,"text":77},{"id":90,"depth":229,"text":91},{"id":101,"depth":229,"text":102},{"id":108,"depth":229,"text":109},{"id":126,"depth":223,"text":127},{"id":133,"depth":223,"text":134},{"id":163,"depth":223,"text":164},{"id":173,"depth":223,"text":174},{"id":188,"depth":223,"text":189},{"id":209,"depth":223,"text":210},"Learn how to open Outlook .msg email files on Mac, Windows or any browser without Outlook, and convert one or many of them to PDF privately.","md",{"date":243,"slug":244},"2026-11-04","how-to-open-msg-file-without-outlook",true,"\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-open-msg-file-without-outlook",{"title":5,"description":240},"blog\u002Fhow-to-open-msg-file-without-outlook","P5w-GujOw0JMqlGDJ1leRfrsrbeXPvwMb4wakOAt_M4",1793823014258]