Learn why backing up Exchange Public Folders is vital and discover secure methods for exporting data to PST using Outlook or PowerShell.

Public Folders hold key business data. Find out how to export them to PST files safely using Outlook or PowerShell ISE in Exchange.

Public Folders serve as a common repository that many employees access collectively for collaboration. They contain a large amount of business-sensitive information such as email, documents and calendars. Therefore, it is crucial to back up Public Folders to ensure the information they contain is not lost in the event of a site-wide disaster or database corruption.

Exchange admins can back up Public Folders by exporting them to PST. However, they can’t be exported as easily as user mailboxes via PowerShell and the Exchange Admin Center (EAC). To export Public Folders, an Exchange admin needs to use methods that involve Outlook or the PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE), which we will discuss in this article.

Methods of Exporting Public Folder to PST without Losing Sensitive Information

To securely export a Public Folder to PST without losing sensitive information, you can use Outlook and Microsoft PowerShell ISE. Let’s discuss these methods in detail.

1. Exporting Public Folder Using Outlook

Outlook provides a simple way to export a Public Folder to a PST file. Before using this method, it is important to ensure that you fulfil the following requirements:

Prerequisites for Exporting Public Folder Using Outlook

• You need to have Outlook 2013 or above installed on a virtual machine or your computer.
• You need to have at least Publishing Editor or Owner permissions on the Public Folder.
• You must be able to see and access the Public Folder in your Outlook profile.
• You must have permission to create and save PST files on the local machine or network location where the export will be saved.
• You must have sufficient disk space to export PST files. The storage space needs to be 30-40% more than the current size of the Public Folder shown in Exchange.

After fulfilling the above prerequisites, follow the process below to export a Public Folder to PST using Outlook:

1. Open Outlook on the computer with the required permissions and then go to File > Open & Export > Import/Export.
2. This will open the Import and Export Wizard. Select Export to a file and click Next.
3. Select Outlook Data File (.pst) and click Next.
4. After clicking Next, you can view the complete mailbox structure. All the accessible folders can be viewed here. In this window, expand Public Folders, select the specific folder you want to export, then click Next. You can also filter content by clicking on the Filter button.

5. Include subfolders (if needed), click Next. Wait for the PST export process to complete.

If the size of your Public Folder PST exceeds 50 GB (the maximum PST export Size limit), you need to split the PST file.

Limitations of the Above Method

Although this method is simple to use, it has the following limitations:

• If Outlook crashes, the process will be terminated
• The process takes a long time to complete
• Public Folders need to be online for PST export to work
• You can only export one Public Folder at a time using this method

2. Exporting Public Folder using PowerShell ISE

To securely export the Public Folder to a PST file, you can also use Windows PowerShell ISE. This method is preferred while moving multiple Public Folders from a single computer. Before proceeding with the PowerShell ISE export, you need to ensure that the following requirements are met:

Things You Should Ensure Before Exporting a Public Folder Using PowerShell ISE

• The account performing the export must be assigned the “Mailbox Import Export” management role in Exchange
• You need to have access to the file share or local folder destination where the PST will be exported
• Exchange Mailbox Replication Service (MRS) must be running on the Exchange server
• You need to set an Outlook profile on the machine that has access to the Public Folders you want to export. This can be done by creating a profile, such as “PublicFolderExport”, by going to Control Panel > Mail. After that, type outlook.exe /profile “PublicFolderExport” in the Run prompt to launch Outlook using the profile you created. Then, use PowerShell ISE and run the script. The script communicates with PowerShell via COM, a Microsoft technology that enables various software components (PowerShell ISE and Outlook in this case) to interact with each other.

Exporting Public Folder PST Using PowerShell ISE

1. 1. 1. Open Search on your Windows Server and type Microsoft PowerShell ISE. It will open the following window.
      2. Type the following script in PowerShell ISE and press Enter.

   function Export-MailboxFolder($folder)
   {
   Begin
   {
   $Outlook = New-Object -ComObject Outlook.Application
   $namespace = $Outlook.GetNameSpace(“MAPI”)
   }
   Process
   {
   New-Item -Path '' -Name "$($folder.Name)" -ItemType Directory
   foreach ($f in $folder.folders)
   {
   $PSTPath = '' + '\' + "$($folder.Name)”
   $PSTName = $($f.name) + '.pst'
   $FullPST = $PSTPath + '\' + $PSTName
   $namespace.AddStore("$FullPST")
   $pstFolder = $namespace.Session.Folders.GetLast()
   [void] $f.CopyTo($pstFolder)
   }
   }
   End
   {
   "Remove attached PST in Outlook"
   $RemPST = $Outlook.Session.Stores | Where DisplayName -EQ 'Outlook Data File'
   foreach ($pst in $RemPST)
   {
   $Outlook.Session.RemoveStore($pst.GetRootFolder())
   }
   }
   }
   $PublicFolderToExport = $Outlook.Session.Folders.Item('Public Folders – Helpdesk').folders.item('All Public Folders').Folders.Item('Level-1').folders.item('Level-2').folders.item('Level-3')
   Export-MailboxFolder $PublicFolderToExport
   

   Note: To specify the location where the PST files get saved, you need to provide the UNC path of the target export folder as $PSTPath.

   1. 1. 3. To save the script, click on the Save disk icon or press Ctrl+S.
         4. After the script is saved, execute it by clicking on the Run button at the bottom right-hand side of the command window.

   Limitations of the PowerShell ISE Method

   1. 1. • Automatic mailbox export saves time because admins don’t have to use Outlook on multiple computers.
         • File transfer is very slow.
         • After the process completes, there is no confirmation that all the intended items have been exported.
         • Any interruption restarts the process.

   Overcoming Limitations of PowerShell ISE and Outlook Methods

   Although Public Folders can be exported to PST using Microsoft PowerShell ISE and Outlook, these methods are not optimal and have many limitations. The slow file transfer speed and the lack of a way to resume the export after an interruption can frustrate Exchange admins looking to back up or archive Public Folders alongside user mailboxes.

   To address these issues, many MVPs recommend using the Stellar Converter for EDB. This tool directly interacts with the mailbox database and extracts all mailbox items, including Public Folders, which you can export to PST. One of the major USPs of this tool is that it can convert EDB files to PSTs even when the mailbox database is offline, which is not possible with Outlook or a PowerShell script.

   “We were facing critical permission issues while exporting Public Folders from our Exchange Database to Microsoft 365. Stellar Converter for EDB resolved the problem within seconds, enabling a smooth and secure migration without any data loss.”
   — Florian, Team Leader, Data Management Company

   Read the complete case study to learn how a data management company successfully performed a smooth EDB to Microsoft 365 Public Folder migration using Stellar Converter for EDB.

   Conclusion

   Exporting a Public Folder to PST securely is essential for backing up vital business information. Classic Outlook and PowerShell methods provide a way to export the data; however, they have limitations in terms of speed and reliability. Powerful EDB-to-PST converter tools such as Stellar Converter for EDB overcome this limitation by providing a seamless and quick way to export PSTs with 100% precision.

   The software supports prioritizing mailbox conversion without affecting server performance. It even allows you to include/exclude folders and auto-split PST file before saving it to disk.

   ---

   Stellar Data Recovery is a leading data care corporation based in India, with presence in the US and Europe. The ISO 9001 & ISO 27001 certified organization specializes in Data Recovery, Data Erasure, Mailbox Conversion, and File Repair software and services. Our data care software products are known for their incredible ease, innovation, and value with practical features to fulfill both niche and broad needs of the users. Over the past 30 years, we have consistently organized our resources and efforts around developing innovative, future-ready solutions that are unrivalled on capability and built with the core purpose of enabling comprehensive data care for users in the consumers and enterprise segments.