A Simple Guide to Migrate Lotus Notes Emails to Outlook

In recent years, email migration has become quite common. Most organizations are migrating from Lotus Notes due to its financial management and complexity and switching to Outlook as their email client. As a result, the question of how to migrate lotus notes emails to Outlook pops up again. 

This article overall discusses the reasons that may have pushed the user’s to export their emails from Lotus Notes to Outlook and offers prominent solutions.

Why is it Necessary to Export Lotus Notes Emails to Outlook?

When a company decides to migrate from Lotus Notes to Outlook, the necessity to access NSF files in Outlook arises immediately. Because IBM Lotus Notes uses NSF files exclusively for mailbox storage. Thus, moving the NSF files in Outlook first is essential to accomplish the data migration efficiently.

Most Typical Reasons to Export IBM Notes to Microsoft Outlook

1. MS Outlook offers an easy-to-use interface that is customized to the demands of the user.
   
2. On the whole, Outlook provides superior data management capabilities.
   
3. Outlook allows email data to be accessed on smart devices such as phones and tablets.
   
4. When compared to Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes has a slower system connection.

How to Migrate Lotus Notes Emails to Outlook?

There are two ways for users to access Lotus Notes NSF data in MS Outlook such as-

1. The manual method utilizes IBM Notes and Outlook’s native import/export features.
   
2. Using an NSF to Outlook conversion tool for Lotus Notes.

First, we’ll go through the manual technique. Keep a copy of NSF files as a backup in case of an emergency. There is a risk of data corruption, and losing the data is not recommended.

There are two steps to the manual procedure:-

1. Exporting Lotus Notes data
   
2. Importing NSF files into Outlook

Method 1. Free Method to Save IBM Notes to Outlook

There are two stages of this procedure:-

Step 1. Exporting Lotus Notes Data to CSV

1. To begin, select the Export option from the File menu. Users will see a new dialogue box.
2. As the saving method, choose Comma Separated Value.
   
3. Fill up the CSV Export dialogue box with any extra information, then click the OK button to continue with the instructions to read the NSF file in Outlook.
   
4. Now, Press the Export button to complete the export procedure.

The CSV files will be present in the stored place. The following step will be to import these files into the Microsoft Outlook application.

Step 2. Import the Exported CSV File into Outlook

1. Navigate to the File menu and select Open & Export, then Import/Export.
   
2. To begin, select Import from another application or file and press the Next button.
   
3. Choose the format into which you previously exported the data.
   
4. Now, navigate to the directory where the Lotus Notes exported files are kept and press the Next button.
   
5. Continue with the procedure and, at the conclusion, click the Finish button.

The CSV data will be imported into Outlook, and you should be able to migrate lotus notes emails to Outlook.

Limitations With Manual Methods

1. Inconsistency and integrity of data.
   
2. Other mailbox elements, including contacts, journals, tasks, notes, and so on, are not exported through CSV.
   
3. Emails from imported files are lost owing to missing header information.
   
4. It entails much too many steps and takes far too long.
   
5. This is not something that everyone can do because you require access to both email clients.

However, by using Method 2, users may simply solve these queries.

A Reliable Conversion Tool to Migrate IBM Notes to Outlook

It is obvious that the above-described method is complicated and includes several concerns. It is also not possible to export bulk emails from Lotus Notes into the MS Outlook application’s readable format. Thus, it is advisable to utilize third-party software such as the NSF to PST Converter.

This tool maintains data integrity while also saving both the user’s time and effort. All Lotus Notes NSF database files may be converted to PST format using this automatic conversion tool. This software helps users to migrate lotus notes emails to Outlook 2021, 2019, 2016, 2013, and its previous versions as well. The tool protects data security and integrity, as well as prevents data loss.

To migrate Lotus Notes Emails to Outlook, follow the below-mentioned Steps:-

1. To begin, download and run the tool on your system.
   
2. After that, select the NSF Files radio button and click on the Add Files button.
   
3. Now, choose the categories and then press on the Apply Filter button.
   
4. Then, Click on the Export button.

Wrapping Up

We’ve covered how users can migrate lotus notes emails to Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, 2007, and 2003 in this article. Aside from that, we’ve included several strategies that users may utilize to quickly resolve this problem. Users can choose any approach that meets their needs.

However, as we all know, free approaches have certain downsides, and the findings may not always be correct. As a result, we strongly advise that in this circumstance, one should always use a professional solution, such as the one described in this article.