Know Briefly Regarding What is PST File Format?

Abbreviation of PST File

PST File stand for Personal Storage table.

PST File Extension – A Brief Glossary

PST files the vital component of MS Outlook. If a user is using an Outlook account, it works as a backbone for Outlook. In the terms of computing, a Personal storage table is an open proprietary file that saves the messaged, events, to-do list, calendars, contacts, and many more. Microsoft Outlook supports the file format and saves it on a particular location on local machine. These files are used on a large scale by home users as well as the small scale organizations. Home based users make use of ISP to connect to the internet. PST files make use of three protocols always one is HTTP, IMAP, and POP3. In addition to it, one can easily archive any Outlook PST file and it does not make use of any mailbox. Moreover, it is not subjected to mailbox size limits. Outlook has an ability to deliver new items to the Personal Folder File. In contrary to it, Outlook has a major drawback that creates trouble for some users. The demerit is mentioned below:

Warning: Never use Outlook Data File (.pst) from a shared network or some other system it may lead to data loss.

CTM: One should keep regular backup of .PST and save them timely. Microsoft and ISP cannot recover any item if the file is lost.

How much memory does Outlook .PST file take?

Before MS Outlook 2003 and 2007, the .PST file could store 2 GB of emails and the attachments. But, with the incarnation of new editions of Outlook it rose up to 20 GB.

Default location of PST File

By default, the location of Outlook PST file is C:\User\Admin\Documents\Outlook Files\File_Name.pst. But, even one can change the location of a PST File by using the Registry Editor.

Types of PST File

PST files are categorized in two types. One is ANSI and the other one is UNICODE. One can read the paragraph mentioned below to understand both the types with an ease.

1. ANSI (97-2002):- It is that type of PST file that supported the older versions of MS Outlook. These kinds of files are capable to store the data up to 2 GB. The main drawback of these files is that they do not support multilingual files. Its structure is 32-bit unsigned value. In addition to it, Outlook provides the user an option to make ANSI PST file in the latest edition.
2. UNICODE (2003-2016):- The UNICODE (2003 – 2016) is an Outlook PST file format that renders multi-lingual data files. It is structured as 64-bit unsigned value. It can hold up to a 50GB data. But, it has a drawback that it cannot run the older versions of Microsoft Outlook.

Application Category of Outlook PST

The Outlook PST file format belongs to the category of Database files.

To Sum it Up

From the above write up, users get the information about what is Outlook .pst file extension?. The description mentioned above states each and every thing clearly without any hassle. One should keep regular backup of files as it is very difficult to get the files back in case of data loss. To protect, secure Outlook PST data you can import into cloud platform like Office 365, there are multiple services available to export PST data into cloud platform one such solution is PST to Office 365 wizard, it will help you to save Outlook data into the cloud platform.