Summary: The article provides some manual and instant solutions to fix errors that cannot open MSG files with Outlook. Read this article very carefully and find out some useful techniques.
MSG is an email message format used by MS Outlook or MS Exchange. When drag and drop the Outlook message on the desktop then MSG files are created. A MSG file stores a single Outlook message with their attachments. It is very useful for storing, archiving and sharing crucial emails with Outlook users. MS Outlook is required to open MSG files but sometimes you are not able to open MSG files with Outlook. So, in the next section we know some problems that prevent us from opening the MSG files and then discuss the techniques to solve these problems.
Reasons to Cannot Open MSG Files with Outlook
There are some common reasons when MSG files are not open with Microsoft Outlook.
- MS Outlook is not configured properly.
- If the user is not allowed to open or access the MSG files.
- If MSG file is already open and minimize it, you try again to open it.
- Old Outlook version is used to open MSG files.
Solve the Problem Cannot Open MSG Files with Outlook
There are four ways to solve the problem “cannot open MSG files with Outlook”.
- Change Outlook Configuration
- Open File Manually
- Disable Outlook Add-ins
- Convert MSG files into another format using third party tool.
Method 1: Change Outlook Configuration
Sometimes you cannot open MSG files in MS Outlook, and you get an error message “cannot open MSG files with Outlook”. Then you can change the Outlook configuration to solve this error. Follow the given steps-
- Firstly, Open MS Outlook on your system
- Now, click on File tab and then go to Mail option
- Click on Section and go to Save Messages option
- After that, click on Disable option and change Use Unicode Format
Note: When Drag & Drop the Outlook message then click on Save as and change from Unicode to Outlook message format.
Method 2: Open File Manually
It is another way to fix the problem “Cannot open MSG files with Outlook:”. Sometimes Outlook is not default set to open the MSG files. Then you can open the file manually and solve this error.
- Go to the location of MSG files
- Right click on the MSG files and click on Open with MS Outlook option.
Method 3: Disable Outlook Add-ins
This is another manual way to solve the problem “cannot open MSG files with Outlook”. Follow the given steps to disable Add-ins option-
- Open MS Outlook and click on File tab.
- Now, click on Options and select Add-ins from left side.
- Then, select COM Add-ins from drop down list and click on Go option.
- After that, click on deselect all add-ins and press Ok.
- Again, Open MS Outlook and Check it to open MSG files.
Method 4: Convert MSG Files to PST Format using Alternative Solution
If you are not able to open the MSG files after applying all manual solution, then you can use an automated solution to solve this problem. However, Xtraxtor MSG Converter is a reliable tool to open MSG files without facing any issues. The tool is capable of converting MSG files to PST or various other file formats. It converts multiple MSG files at once without losing any data.
Additionally, the tool maintains complete data integrity during and after the conversion process. It preserves the metadata and property of the files and also folder hierarchy during the process. The main benefit of this tool is that it provides a preview option to read and access the data from MSG files before the conversion process. You can download the demo versions of this tool to check the work efficiency. Using this tool, you can convert MSG to PST and then import these PST files to Outlook to open MSG files with Outlook. So that, you can easily solve the error “cannot open MSG files with Outlook”.
Steps to Convert MSG to PST using Professional Tool
Step 1. Download and Run Xtraxtor MSG Converter on your system.
Step 2. Now, Click on Open >> Email Data Files >> MSG Files >> Choose Files or Folders.
Step 3. The tool provides Preview option to view MSG files data in software panel.
Step 4. After that, click on Export and Select PST from File Formats option.
Step 5. Click on Browse to set the destination path and finally, click on Save button.
The process is complete. Now Open MS outlook and import these converted PST files in Outlook to open the MSG files with Outlook.
Conclusion
In this article, we have discussed the techniques to fix the error “cannot open MSG files with Outlook”. You can solve this problem with manual ways but if the problem is not solved then you can use the suggested professional method. Hence, the recommended tool is the appropriate way to open MSG files with Outlook without facing any hassle.