What is .PST File Extension?

Where PST file is Located:

• For Windows 8: drive:\Users\\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
• For Windows 7 / Windows Vista : drive:\Users\\Documents\Outlook Files
• For Windows XP: drive:\Users\\My Documents\Outlook Files

A Brief Details About Outlook PST Format!

A PST (personal storage table) file is an email type personal folder file of Outlook program, developed by Microsoft. It is also known as Outlook data file which contains all mail components including emails, attachments, tasks, calendars, journals, contacts and notes etc. in a single file with extension .pst.

Now a query comes that how to open a PST file so let me clear that a .pst extension can be open or import into any edition of Microsoft Outlook. But if you don't have Outlook installed in PC then use a fee PST viewer. We hope now you will able to understand what is .pst file extension and how to open PST files. Read the next section for specification or much more.

Types of Outlook PST file Format!

This section will let you what does pst folder mean and its types. PST files are the most reliable format used by MS Outlook to store all data. Generally there are two types of Outlook PST files:

1. ANSI: These PST types are created in MS Outlook 2002 and later editions with 2GB size limitation.


2. Unicode: Unicode types of PST files are created in MS Outlook 2003 and earlier editions. The standard size of these files depends on Outlook edition.
   • MS Outlook 2003 & 2007 (20 GB)
   • MS Outlook 2010 & 2013 (50 GB) which can be increase or decrease by making changes to the Windows registry

For more details about PST file size must visit- https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/982577

PST File Internal Structure

PST File is built using Binary data file algorithm and at the logical level, the MS-PST binary file has three different layers:

• NDB: The Node Database (NDB) layer includes the file allocation info, header and the blocks and nodes which contain the message data. It uses two Btrees to locate the data, one is NBtree (Node Btree) and another is BBtree (Block Btree).
• LTP: This layer keeps Lists, Tables, and Properties in two-dimensional tables.
• Messaging Layer: Messaging Layer has logic to merge two layers into folders, message properties, and attachments.

Find Related Posts:

Manual Solution to Convert MBOX files to PST format

What Programs Open .PST Files?

Open PST file in Windows Platform :

1. Microsoft Outlook
2. Microsoft Exchange Server
3. Free PST File viewers

View PST files in MAC OSX :

1. Stellar PST to MBOX Converter for Mac