Exporting Office 365 Mailboxes to PST Files Using the Microsoft Office 365 Ediscovery Export Tool

Microsoft Office 365 provides various tools and features to manage and maintain your email data. One of these essential tools is the ediscovery export tool, which allows you to export mailboxes from Office 365 to PST files. In this article, we will explore how to use the in-place eDiscovery mechanism as a workaround to export Office 365 mailboxes to PST files.

Why Do You Need an Ediscovery Export Tool?

Microsoft doesn't provide any dedicated tools for exporting mailboxes from Office 365 directly to PST files, unlike on-premises Exchange. This is where the ediscovery export tool comes into play. The eDiscovery mechanism in Office 365 is designed to help administrators and compliance officers identify, preserve, and analyze data across the organization.

How Does the Ediscovery Export Tool Work?

The PST export process in Office 365 is performed using a ClickOnce application, which requires Internet Explorer 10 or later versions, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome with the ClickOnce add-in installed. The process can be done on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7 and later versions.

Which Exchange Plans Support Ediscovery?

Ediscovery is supported in all Exchange Online plans as well as selected Office 365 plans. This means that you can use this mechanism to export mailboxes from your Office 365 account, regardless of the plan you are subscribed to.

Why Use the Ediscovery Export Tool?

There are several reasons why you might need to use the ediscovery export tool. For instance, you may want to add an extra layer of protection to your Office 365 data or migrate away from Office 365 altogether. In these cases, the eDiscovery mechanism is your only option, other than opening the mailboxes in Outlook and using its Import/Export functionality.

Step-by-Step Guide to Exporting Office 365 Mailboxes to PST Files

To export an Office 365 mailbox to a PST file using the in-place eDiscovery mechanism, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your Office 365 account as an administrator.

2. Go to the Security & Compliance center and navigate to the 'eDiscovery' section.

3. Click on 'New case' and give your case a name and description.

4. Select the mailbox you want to export from the list of available mailboxes.

5. Choose the date range for which you want to export data.

6. Select the types of content you want to include in the export (e.g., emails, calendar items, contacts).

7. Click on 'Export' and select the PST file format as your output option.

8. Choose a location to save your exported PST file.

In this article, we have seen how to use the Microsoft Office 365 ediscovery export tool to export mailboxes from Office 365 to PST files using the in-place eDiscovery mechanism. This workaround can be used to add an extra layer of protection to your data or migrate away from Office 365 altogether. By following these steps, you can easily export your Office 365 mailboxes to PST files and manage your email data with ease.

Microsoft office 365 ediscovery export tool