As you probably know, Microsoft Office 2007 has never been the main focus of our site. Even so, many of our visitors requested a guide on how to migrate their e-mail to Microsoft Office Outlook 2007. We are trying to listen, as much as possible, to what our readers ask, so we decided to create this guide in order to help them with this request. This was not an easy task as there are many scenarios to cover.

This is why we limited the scope of this tutorial only on how to migrate your e-mail from Outlook Express, Windows Mail and other versions of Microsoft Office Outlook.

If you are already using Microsoft Outlook 2003 or 2007 and you want to upgrade to Windows Vista and/or Microsoft Office Outlook 2007, then you should first create a backup. To do that, read our guide on how to backup your Outlook inbox.

If you are using Windows 2000 or Windows XP and Outlook Express as your default e-mail client, the procedure is a bit complicated. That's because Outlook 2007 cannot import your e-mail from a backup folder. Outlook 2007 imports your e-mail only if it is installed on the same machine & operating system with Outlook Express. If you plan to migrate to Windows Vista and Outlook 2007, then you need to install Outlook 2007 on your Windows 2000/XP machine, migrate your e-mail and then create a backup from Outlook 2007. Only then you can install Windows Vista and Outlook 2007 and import your e-mail from the backup created in Windows 2000/XP.

Another solution would be to create a backup of your Outlook Express e-mail, install Windows Vista, migrate everything to Windows Mail and then import it to Outlook 2007.

Import your e-mail to Microsoft Office Outlook 2007

First, you need to go to the File menu and click on Import and Export.

The Import and Export Wizard will open. Depending on the e-mail client you are importing from, you will have different options.

Importing your Outlook e-mail backup

If you had Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 or 2007 installed and you have created a backup before migrating, select Import from another program or file.

In the Import a File window, select Personal Folder File (.pst) and press Next.

In the Import Personal Folders window, click on Browse.

Navigate to the location where you have stored your e-mail backup, select the ".pst" file and press Open.

Now, you will return to the Import Personal Folders window. Press Next and the importing procedure will start.

Import your Windows Mail / Outlook Express inbox

If you want to import your Outlook Express/Windows Mail backup to Outlook 2007, then select Import Internet Mail and Addresses.

In the Outlook Import Tool window select Outlook Express 4.x, 5.x, 6.x or Windows Mail. Also, check the Import Mail and Import Address book boxes and press Next.

In the Import Addresses window you can set how you want duplicates to be handled. Select the option you prefer and press Finish.

The importing procedure will start and, depending on the size of your inbox, it may take from a few seconds to a few minutes to finish.

Import your Outlook Express / Windows Mail account settings

After you have imported your e-mail, you should import your account settings. To do that, in the Import and Export Wizard window, select Import Internet Mail Account Settings and press Next.

Now you will have to select the e-mail client you want to import from. Choose Microsoft Outlook Express or Microsoft Windows Mail and press Next.

The wizard will show you a number of windows where it loads the settings found in Outlook Express or Windows Mail. Press Next until all the settings are imported to Microsoft Office Outlook 2007.

Related articles:
How to setup an e-mail account in Outlook 2007
Backup your Outlook Inbox
Configure Microsoft Office 2007 to save files using the old Office 97-2003 format