In multiple cases, You might need to export PST from office 365. for example you a employee leave the company its may required to save PST data file for legal purposes or when you migrate user from office 365 to other mail services.
It is possible to export by their own but it would be complicated to when you need to export multiple users PST data. Microsoft provides facility to download PST file using Microsoft 365 admin center.
Prerequisites to export Export Mailbox to PST in office 365
Global Administrator do not not have eDiscovery role to export data by default you need to assign permission first in Compliance Portal.
To Assign eDiscovery permission in compliance portal you need to follow the below steps.
using Global administrator, login to Compliance portal -> Roles & scopes -> Permissions -> Microsoft Purview solutions -> Roles
In the Roles groups for Microsoft Purview solutions section search for “eDiscovery” Select eDiscovery and click on Edit
you are in the eDiscovery Manager where you need to choose user to whom you wish to assign eDiscovery permission
Go to Choose users -> search the user ->check the box and click on “Select“
after choosing user click on Next
review you setting, If your do not have any changes requirement in your setting click on “Save”
Here, you have successfully assign eDiscovery permission to your admin user and now the permission assigned user have the ability to search content and download required data file.
now will go to search content section to prepare and download data file.
To download data login to Microsoft 365 admin center -> Compliance -> Search Content -> New Search
Write your name of your Search content and fill description and click on Next.
In the location section Enable “Exchange Mailboxes” and search the user list you wish to export PST
Once you search the users there would be a checkboxes for the user list. select your users(You can select Multiple users at once). Click Done
As you can see “2” user are selected to be exported, Now click on Next
As here, we do not have any search criteria will just click on Next as shown in the below figure.
Review your selection details and submit content search.
Once content search status changed to Completed from starting click on name you have defined.
Go to summery option and click on “Actions” Button and “Export Results“
On Export results
Output options – select All Items
Export Exchange Content as – One PST file for each mailbox
Click on Export
Your Export Job is created
Go back to Content search again and click on Export, Select your search(recently created)
wait for the status changed to “The Export has completed. You can start downloading the results“.
there is a export key which need to be copied to clipboard and click on “Download results“.
Here you will be prompt to download the “Microsoft Office 365 eDiscovery Export Tool” Once application download Popup occurs click open (It might ask to install the application, just install it).
After installation eDiscovery Export Tool will be open. Paste the Export kay you have copied in previous step. and define your download location. click on “Start“
the application will start calculation the download time and further just leave until it downloads your desired PST file.
Here, the download and processing has completed. click on Close.
Congratulations! Your PST file is downloaded successfully and ready to use. go to your specified location you have provided before in Export tool.
