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Export Emails to CSV: 3 Easy Ways to Convert Email Data into CSV
Quick Answer: You can export emails to CSV files using an email client like Outlook Classic for Windows or Thunderbird. There is specialised Email to CSV converter software that lets you continually convert mails to CSV especially when dealing with larger mailboxes from any email service provider without manual efforts of account configuration.
Note: Limited email providers also have direct export to CSV option in their native interface but is not a universal method.
Email data holds crucial information apart from message bodies like Sender & Receivers address, Subject, CC/BCC, Message ID, metadata etc. It can play a crucial role for multiple organization tasks like compliance, audits, data analysis and filtering. Thus, saving email messages in CSV format along with these attributes is important.
The method to export email data to CSV depends on your email service provider, size of mailbox and urgency. Here we have given a step-by-step method for your needs.
What Does It Mean to Export Emails to CSV Format?
Saving emails in the CSV (Comma-Separated Values) which is a spreadsheet based format means mapping email attribute like Sender, Recipient, Subject, Email Body, Date, Time, CC, BCC, Message ID, Email Headers, and other metadata in correct rows and columns. These CSV files exported from mailboxes can be accessed inside Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, CRM etc. for further processing.
| Sender Details | Recipient Details | Email Subject | Received Date | Message Content | Email Folder | Message Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| From | To / CC / BCC | Subject | Date | Body | Folder Name | Email Metadata |
Disclaimer: The field that you may see in your export may vary based on the method used.
Important: CSV is a plain text based document format which stores data in tabular format. It is not an email format hence cannot be directly back into a cloud account.
Why Export Convert Email Messages to CSV? Real Cases
“I want to save our company’s email data into CSV files mapped properly to reduce data cleansing time for tracking frequent clientele, categorise them based on project and conversion rate.”
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“We recently got a new email marketing and CRM platform and what to add all the older email conversion and enquiry forms from the email into but it only takes CSV files and we have 5 support IDs.”
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Converting email data to CSV is also common for legal teams for case documentation, HR for communication, Sales team for follow-up tasks and various other personal needs. This is due to its easy portability, less size, low-risk of corruption, accessibility and sorting abilities when combined with tools like – Excel, Power BI etc.
How to Export Emails to CSV Files? 3 Tested Methods
There are both free-manual approaches using email client and automated tool that lets you save emails in CSV format. Here is a quick comparison between them, so you can choose the more suitable method for your need:
| Factor | Using Email Client – Free Manual | Using Automated Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Best For | Individual level personal exports/ Occasional Task | When dealing with multiple mailboxes/ Continuous Need |
| Fields Created | Basic data exports – sometimes email body is missed | Detailed exports with all metadata |
| Detail Mapping Accuracy | Low, missing details | High |
| Selective Export | Limited based on mailbox | Advanced filters based on date, sender, subject etc. |
| Email Service Compatibility | Email client may not be compatible with all service providers | Supports multiple email services like Gmail, Yahoo, Office 365, BT Mail, Proton Mail |
| Bulk Account Exports | Not Possible | Possible |
Before you start to download emails as CSV files ensure the following requirements are met, for seamless export without interruption:
- You have correct credentials to connect to your email account along with an app-password if you have 2FA enabled eg: Required for Yahoo Mail.
- Your disk drive must have required storage space to store the exported files.
- Attachments will not be saved with the CSV files as format does not support it. You will need to save them separately.
Method 1: Convert Emails to CSV Using Thunderbird – Free Way
Thunderbird is an open source desktop email client available for all Mac, Windows & Linux devices to help export mails to CSV with the help of ImportExport Tools NG add-on. Here are the steps to follow:
- Download and open Mozilla Thunderbird.
- Configure your email account using IMAP.
- Go to Menu >> Themes & Extension and then add ImportExport Tools NG.
- Right-click the email folder you want to export (such as Inbox or Sent Items).
- Choose ImportExportTools NG >> Export all messages in the folder.
- Select CSV as the output format.
- Choose the destination on your computer and press Save.
Method 2: Backup Emails to CSV Using Outlook – Only Windows
Outlook Classic with its in-built Import/Export Wizard lets you export emails from any IMAP configured account as CSV files. It can also let you export multiple emails folders selectively at once.
Before you begin the export ensure that you have already configured your account in Outlook Classic for Windows, afterwards you can begin the process. The method does not work with the Outlook New, Outlook Web App or Outlook Web App.
- Go to the Microsoft Outlook on your PC.
- Click on File >> Open & Export >> Import/Export.
- Select Export to a file and click Next.
- Choose CSV as the saving option.
- Select the email folder you want to export as CSV.
- Choose where do you want to save the final output on you PC and then press Finish.
Limitation of Email Client to Save Emails in CSV Format
- Will fail for mailboxes larger than 4GB (in Thunderbird) and 50 GB (in Outlook) due to practical cap.
- Need to separate exported folders & subfolders separately to avoid missing fields.
- Output often has gibberish characters due to lack of unicode support.
- Also account configuration and complete synchronisation may fail or can be extremely time taking.
Method 3: RecoveryTools Email to CSV Converter Automated Solution
RecoveryTools Email Backup Tool is a professional software for Mac & Windows that lets you save emails from multiple email providers like Gmail, Yahoo, Office 365, Proton Mail, iCloud etc in CSV format with exact mapping of all email attributes from multiple accounts in one go.
Note: Free-trial version of the tool is also available to extract email data in CSV format limited to 25 emails per folder.
Quick Steps to Export Email as CSV Files Using Tool
- Download and open the tool on your PC.
- Select your email source from the left panel.
- Connect your account via credentials.
- Select the folders you want to export as CSV.
- Choose CSV as the saving option from drop down.
- Then select the saving location and lastly press the backup.
Why an Automated Tool is a Better Solution for Mailbox Export to CSV?
RecoveryTools Email to CSV converter has multiple advanced features that lets you skip the manual efforts when needing frequent export from multiple accounts to CSV.
- Batch Mode: Save emails from multiple accounts to CSV formats at one. You can directly connect via impersonation or by adding CSV with multiple user lists containing email ID and credential.
- Security of Account Data: The tool complies with international privacy guidelines like HIPAA, CCPA, GDPR, SOC etc. Your password is not stored within the application and your data remains within your device and not uploaded to any other server.
- Accurate Email to CSV Field Mapping: The output CSV is very well structured, no data field item is mismatched. The tool creates multiple additional fields like – CC/BCC, folder name, email body that may not get exported with the manual clients.
- Automated Export Feature for Well Managed Continuous Export: You can schedule backup emails to CSV format and set the frequency daily, monthly, weekly etc. You can also get incremental export feature to avoid duplicacy only export new/modified emails since the last export.
FAQs: Convert Emails in CSV Format
Q: Isn’t there a native way to save emails as CSV directly via native application?
Yes, although there are some emails providers with the native export to CSV option.
Q: What emails get exported to CSV from emails?
What fields are created in the final export depends upon the method used. General fields such as sender, recipient, subject, date, message body, and other available metadata are created.
Q: Does exporting emails to CSV include attachments?
No. The CSV file has the email info in a structured format not the attachment files themselves. Some methods may include attachment names but they are stored separately in the folder not inside CSV.
