How Well Does DataVare PST to PDF Converter Handle Large Outlook PST Files? Full Review

Introduction

Managing a big Outlook mailbox is never easy, especially when you need to keep important emails for legal, business or personal reference. Outlook keeps mailbox data in PST files. But sharing or archiving emails directly from these files is not very convenient because they require Outlook to access the content.
PDF has become one of the most preferred formats for storing email records due to its universal accessibility, preservation of formatting and suitability for long-term documentation. I recently had to archive a big Outlook mailbox into PDF files and I decided to try a dedicated conversion solution. This review is based on my real world testing experience, what worked well, what I noticed doesn't work well and the final results.

Understanding File Formats

What is PST File?
A PST (Personal Storage Table) file is the main data file for Outlook and it stores:

E-mail
Attachments
Contacts
Calendar Items
Tasks
Notes
Journals

PST files tend to grow over time making it more and more difficult to open, search and manage.

Why Convert PST to PDF

There are several benefits to converting Outlook emails to PDF:

Easier document sharing
Long-term email archiving
Improved compatibility across devices
Printable email records
Prevention of accidental mailbox switching

My Outlook Inbox

The mailbox I wanted to archive had the following:

48,725 e-mails
3,864 attachments
1,482 contacts
512 calendar entries
146 notes
PST file size: 11.8 GB

My goals were simple:

Archive all emails
Keep attachments
Maintain original formatting
Retain email metadata
Complete the process and don't miss any folders

Manual Methods I Have Tried

Before I used a software, I looked at some manual methods.

Method 1: Print emails to PDF
In Outlook, you can convert individual emails to PDF using the Print feature.
This works for a couple of emails, but repeating that thousands of times just isn’t realistic.

Method 2: Print to PDF Using Microsoft
I also tried to print multiple folders with the Microsoft PDF printer that is built-in.
The conversion to email was slow and required constant oversight.

Method 3. Copy Important E-mails
Another option was to copy only some messages into the PDF.
This worked for a couple of emails but wasn't practical for an entire mailbox.

Why You Can’t Do It Manually

Each manual approach had one or more challenges.
Time-Consuming
It takes hours to save thousands of emails one at a time.
Hard to control
Big mailboxes have lots of folders and subfolders that are difficult to organize manually.
Risk of Losing Emails
Manually selecting the folders led to a higher likelihood of emails being skipped.
Metadata Problems
Some methods failed to retain email properties during export in 3/5 cases.
Can't handle Large Files

There was no way to deal with an 11.8 GB mailbox manually.

Tool-Oriented Approach

I tested DataVare PST to PDF Converter to make it easy for you.
The install took a matter of minutes and the interface was easy to use. I searched the PST file, previewed the mailbox, selected the PDF as the saving option, selected the destination location, and converted the file.
The software provides a feature to preview mailbox folders before conversion to ensure that the correct Outlook file has been selected.

My Real Experience of Testing

The conversion was an Outlook PST file with almost twelve gigabytes of information.
When I finished, I randomly checked over 800 emails from different folders.
My observations were:

Email formatting was maintained.
Embedded images rendered correctly.
Attachments were present.
Sender and receiver details were still valid.
Subject lines and time stamps were consistent with the original mailbox.
The folder organization was not changed during the process.

During testing we didn’t see any duplicate emails.

Key Benefits

User Friendly Interface: Navigation is easy and straightforward for both novices and experienced users.
Can Handle Large PST Files: Converting large outlook archives did not show any observable slowdown.
Keeps Email Formatting: Layouts were the same after conversion.
Preserves folder structure: Maintained original mailbox structure.
Stores Metadata: Sender information, recipients, time stamps and subject lines remained the same.
Performance: The conversion was carried out successfully with no corruption or unexpected interruptions.

Constraints

Limited Trials: Full conversion features require licensed version.
Windows-based only: The tool is only installed on Windows and no support for Mac OS and Linux.

Steps in Conversion

Installed the app.
Select the Outlook PST file.
Previewed the mail box folders.
Select PDF as output format.
Choose the destination location.
Conversion started.
Checked the exported PDF files.

The overall flow was simple and easy to follow.

Pricing

The software is available in several license editions.
Personal License

Personal use
Install on 2 machines
One-year validity
Priced at $29

Business License

Small business and commercial use
Install on 50 machines
Lifetime validity
Priced at $99

Enterprise License

Large organizations and commercial use
Install on more than 100 machines.
Lifetime validity
Priced at $299

Before buying, you can evaluate it with a free trial.

People Also May Ask

Q1. Can it handle very large PST files?
Yes. In my testing, it handled an 11.8GB Outlook PST file.

Q2. Do you save email attachments?
Yes. The attachments were correctly attached to their respective emails.

Q3. Does it maintain the original folder structure?
Yes. Folder/subfolder structures were not changed.

Q4. Is technical knowledge needed?
No. The interface is simple enough for a beginner.

Q5. Does it maintain the email formatting?
Yes. Formatting, time stamps, from/to information, recipients and subject lines were all unchanged after conversion.

Final Verdict

After experimenting with various approaches, we discovered that dedicated conversion software was much more practical than manual methods when it came to large Outlook archives. Manual techniques were slow, repetitive and not suited for thousands of emails.
In my experience the conversion process handled a large mailbox very well, retaining formatting, folder organization, metadata and attachments. This method is a trusted and quick solution for those users who want to archive Outlook emails to PDF files without wasting hours on manual work.