OLM is the default data file created by Outlook for Mac that stores all kinds of data, such as emails, contacts, journals, calendars, archived messages, etc. As the data continues to accumulate in it, the size of this file is bound to increaseand become too large,which may cause it to become unstable, prone to errors and data loss. Large OLM files with sub-folders greater than 2GB in size may prevent you from exporting the data.
Hence, to prevent damage to the data, errors, and data loss, as a healthy practice,you should split a large OLM file by size. Let’s read further and understand the challenges of keeping large OLM files and methods to split OLM files by size without risking the mailbox data.
Overcoming the Challenges of Keeping Large OLM Files
It is a well-established fact that large OLM files are prone to instability, errors, and data loss. A large file can also lead to failure in exporting mailbox data, data corruption due to mailbox errors and instability and performance issues with the Outlook for Mac application.
Therefore, it becomes vital to split a large OLM file by size to overcome these challenges and keep the mailbox organized without impacting its performance. Here are some reasons why OLM files are split by size –
- Improves performance of Outlook for Mac and resolves any minor issues like slow search results, etc.
- Simplifies the process of finding a specific email, contacts, etc., without sifting through heaps of data
- Reduces chances of data corruption and errors during the data export process
- Smaller OLM files are easy to organize and share
How to Split an OLM File by Size?
As mentioned before, the best way to prevent errors and data loss from a large OLM file is to split it into smaller parts by size. There are two ways to do so – manually and using a specialized OLM to PST converter.
Let’s see both methods in detail.
Manually SplitLarge OLM Files
If you are looking for a way to split an OLM file by size, there is a DIY workaround that can help you split it into multiple smaller OLM files. Using this approach lets you divide the primary OLM file into smaller OLM files for each mailbox item such as Emails, Contacts, Calendars, etc. Follow the steps below to split a large OLM file into smaller files –
- Launch Outlook on your Mac.
- Click on File in the menu bar.
- Click on the Export option.
- It will open the Export to Archive File (.olm) window. Select Emailsand click Continue.
- Select the No, do not delete items option and proceed with the process.
- It will bring up the Export to Archive File (.olm) window. Browse for the save location and click Save.
- Outlook will start exporting the OLM file. Once the process is complete, click Finish to exit the wizard.
Repeat the above steps to segregate and create separate OLM files for other Mac Mail mailbox items. Doing this will help you split a large OLM files by size. However, there is one thing to note here – by no means is this processefficient. Hence, it is not recommended as it is time consuming and only suitable for segregating a specific type of mailbox data type from a few user profiles.
Convert and Split Large OLM Files to PST
Using the above workaround, it is clear that there is no efficient manual method to split a large OLM file by size. But, as a Mac user, you can use a powerful OLM to PST software that can help you accurately split large OLM files by size.
For this, you can use Stellar Converter for OLM. This software can help you convert OLM files to PST and split the large converted files into smaller PST files for easy data management. This software does all of this while retaining the original mailbox folder hierarchy and structure. You can also use this software to split and convert multiple OLM files into smaller PST files. Additionally, converting OLM to PST makes the Outlook for Mac mailbox data accessible on Windows PCs, too.
Here are the steps to use Stellar Converter for OLM to split OLM files by size –
- Download and install Stellar Converter for OLM on your Windows PC.
- Launch it.
- You will see the Select OLM File window. Click on Browse to choose the large OLM file.
- Once selected, click on Convert.
- The software will begin converting the selected OLM file.
- After the conversion process is finished, preview the mailbox items to check data integrity.
- Once you are satisfied with the results, click on Save Converted Mailbox to save the OLM file data.
- In the Save As window, select the Save As PST option to save the mailbox data.
Note – If the selected OLM file is larger than 45GB, the software will automatically split it by size at approximately 45GB.
In this way, you have successfully split a large OLM file by size while retaining the original mailbox folder hierarchy and structure.
Conclusion
Managing large OLM files is difficult as they are prone to running into errors and problems that can lead to various issues, such as instability, performance issues, mailbox data corruption, and failed mailbox export attempts. This is why splitting a large OLM file into smaller files is essential, as it can prevent all the issues stated above and prevent data loss.
To help you simplify the process, you can rely on Stellar Converter for OLM to convert OLM to PST and split large OLM files into smaller files.
