How to Convert MSG to OLM Format for Mac Outlook?

  

Rollins Duke   
Published: July 8th, 2026 • 6 Min Read

Reasons to Convert MSG Files into OLM Format

• Cross-Platform Compatibility: Outlook for Mac presently does not support opening .msg files. It needs to convert the files into .olm file format for accessing them.
• Efficient Data Management: Conversion of multiple .msg files to a single .olm file helps in easy import and keeps the folder structure intact.
• Better Searching & Indexing: Importing of emails in .olm format helps to ensure that they are indexed and can be searched easily within Outlook for Mac.
• Simplified Backup & Archiving: Transforming different files into .olm container helps to create a liquid archive in next to no time.

How to Convert MSG Files to OLM Format Manually?

Since Microsoft Outlook does not allow importing .msg files into .olm file format directly, there are alternative ways to achieve this.

• Import into Windows Outlook: First of all, you need to drag and drop .msg files into a folder within a configured Microsoft Outlook for Windows.
• Sync to Mac: After the transfer, both versions, i.e. Windows version of Outlook and Mac version, need to be connected by means of the same IMAP or Exchange account.
• Export data to Mac: The final step is to use the Tools Export menu in Outlook for Mac to select desired items and copy them into an .olm file format.

Limitations of Manual Solution

One must bear in mind the pitfalls of being confined to the manual synchronization and export method.

• The first caveat is the storage limitations; you can only use the amount of storage space allocated by your email service provider which might not be sufficient for your huge data.
• Next, the second drawback is that using the synchronization method before exporting will depend on the speed of your internet.
• Also, there is the risk of loss of unsupportable metadata, which includes the time of the creation of emails along with the headers.
• Next, the other limitation is the risk of unstable synchronization; failure to upload or download data will lead to the upload of data that has already been uploaded which will lead to duplication of data.
• Finally, cleaning up your data post-export is not an easy task. You will have to delete manually the transferred data from the email server to eliminate the clutter.

1. After download and installation, run MSG to OLM Converter. Click on the Select Files… or Select Folders… option to choose MSG files.
   
2. Select the folder including MSG files from your computer.
   
3. This screenshot is showing the path of the selective folder. Select the required files and click on the Next button.
   
4. Select OLM as the saving format from the listed file extension.
   
5. Select the destination path and click on the Convert button to start MSG to OLM conversion process.
   
6. Wait for the completion of the task and thereafter see conversion process has been completed successfully.
   
7. After completing the conversion process, it will automatically open the destination path. Get the resultant OLM files now.
   

Note: Using above mentioned steps, anyone can easily convert .msg to .olm file extension. Thereafter, you can access converted OLM files with Mac Outlook personal information manager program. Let’s know all steps.

Final Thoughts

MSG to OLM converter is a professional software, which is helpful to open MSG files in Mac Outlook. The tool comes with a free trial edition, which is helpful to evaluate the tool before investing money. The software converts a maximum of 25 MSG files to OLM format so that users can easily know the working procedure of the tool. After upgrading this software, users can save valuable time and effort as it gives permission to convert unlimited MSG files to OLM format at once.