How to Extract Excel Attachments From Outlook?

Overview: If you have been facing large amounts of emails containing Excel spreadsheets while attempting to download them all from Outlook. To do it one by one would surely be a tough task. From companies dealing with reports to project data, invoices, and analytical sheets, it may be very much important to extract Excel file attachments from Outlook. This blog explores the reason why and how to extract Excel files from Outlook manually and via an automated tool for bulk mode operations.

Also read: how to archive attachments in Outlook?

Why Extract Excel Attachments from Outlook?

Below we discuss common reasons users extract Excel files from Outlook emails:

Downloading one attachment after another really looks time consuming.
Extracting them all at once will take comparatively less time and the job will be accomplished more efficiently.
Having all Excel attachments in one folder is a perfect way for conducting bulk data analysis, backups, and sharing.
When large Excel files are extracted to external storage, the users witness a noticeable reduction in the size of their Outlook mailbox.
These are cases when the Outlook performance becomes slow due to the files taking up a lot of your up space.
Sometimes, for compliance and legal auditing purposes, exporting a few classified file types such as Excel is a must.

How to Extract Excel Attachments From Outlook? Manual Methods

We will discuss various methods and solutions down below. Have a look at all these methods sequentially.

Method 1. Drag & Drop Method

This is a method to use when needing just a few Excel files:

1. Open Outlook.

2. Select the emails with excel attachments.

3. Drag and drop the excel files from the reading pane to any folder on your computer.

Limitation: Very hard when you have 20 emails or if you have attachments that are hidden because they're located deep in subfolders.

Method 2. Save All Attachments from one Email

1. Open the email.

2.Click the attachment icon or right click on any attachment.

3. Select Save All Attachments.

4. Choose the excel files (. xlsx,. xls) if you want.

5. Lastly, save the folder location to save them.

Limitation: This is for one email at a time which does not work for batch processing.

Method 3. Using Outlook Rules + VBA Script (Advanced)

You can create a VBA macro to filter on incoming emails and extract based on .xls or .csv files. Here is a basic code which you need to follow:

>>>

Sub SaveExcelAttachments()

    Dim olMail As Outlook.MailItem

    Dim olAtt As Attachment

    Dim saveFolder As String

    saveFolder = "C:\Extracted_Excel_Files"

For Each olItem In Application.ActiveExplorer.Selection

        If olItem.Class = olMail Then

            For Each olAtt In olItem.Attachments

                If Right(olAtt.FileName, 4) = "xlsx" Or Right(olAtt.FileName, 3) = "xls" Then

                    olAtt.SaveAsFile saveFolder & "\" & olAtt.FileName

                End If

            Next

        End If

    Next

End Sub

<<<

Limitations: You must have macro permission, some technical skill, and will not work with closed emails or all folders automatically.

Extract Excel Attachments From Outlook - Automated Solution

If you need to regularly extract Excel attachments from Outlook PST, OST, or BAK files in bulk, then opt for SysTools Outlook Attachment Extractor. It is an excellent & efficient option for doing this. It prevents users from the repetitive process of manually downloading attachments, especially when there are hundreds or thousands of emails and attachments sitting in folders.

Features:

Extracts only Excel files like .xls, .xlsx using extension filters
Works with PST, OST, BAK, and MSG file types
Allows for the bulk extraction of attachments from multiple emails or folders
Exports while maintaining the folder structure.
Supports Outlook 2021, 2019, 2016, and earlier versions.

Conclusion

At the end, we have seen whether you are working in HR, finance, data analytics, or had to manage multiple Excel spreadsheets. Knowing how to extract Excel attachments from Outlook could save you hours of manual effort. The manual method is handy for multiple emails. But if you're looking to extract a number of Excel files in bulk and filter them, then there are professional tool available that make it easy to perform the recovery.