[UPDATE: 05/24/2010, Two open source projects to facilitate interoperability with Outlook .pst data files][UPDATE: 02/20/2010, New Office Documentation Now Publicly Available ]
Data portability has become an increasing need for our customers and partners as more information is stored and shared in digital formats. One scenario that has come up recently is how to further improve platform-independent access to email, calendar, contacts, and other data generated by Microsoft Outlook.
On desktops, this data is stored in Outlook Personal Folders, in a format called a .pst file. Developers can already access the data stored in the .pst file, using Messaging API (MAPI) and the Outlook Object Model—a rich set of connections to all of the data stored by Outlook and Exchange Server—but only if Outlook is installed on the desktop.
In order to facilitate interoperability and enable customers and vendors to access the data in .pst files on a variety of platforms, we will be releasing documentation for the .pst file format. This will allow developers to read, create, and interoperate with the data in .pst files in server and client scenarios using the programming language and platform of their choice. The technical documentation will detail how the data is stored, along with guidance for accessing that data from other software applications. It also will highlight the structure of the .pst file, provide details like how to navigate the folder hierarchy, and explain how to access the individual data objects and properties.
This documentation is still in its early stages and work is ongoing. We are engaging directly with industry experts and interested customers to gather feedback on the quality of the technical documentation to ensure that it is clear and useful. When it is complete, it will be released under our Open Specification Promise, which will allow anyone to implement the .pst file format on any platform and in any tool, without concerns about patents, and without the need to contact Microsoft in any way.
Designing our high volume products to enable such data portability is a key commitment under our Interoperability Principles, which we announced in early 2008. We support this commitment through our product features, documented formats, and implementation of standards. The move to open up the portability of data in .pst files is another step in putting these principles in action.
Over the past year, Microsoft Office has taken several steps toward increased openness and document interoperability. We’re proud of the work we’ve done around document interoperability, offering customers a choice of file formats and embracing a comprehensive approach that includes transparency into our engineering methods, collaboration with industry stakeholders, and shared stewardship of industry standards.
We’re excited about the possibilities created for our customers and partners by this kind of effort, and we look forward to continued collaboration with the industry in our pursuit of improved interoperability with Microsoft Office. Stay tuned.
Paul Lorimer, Group Manager, Microsoft Office Interoperability.
Related Items:
Please make OneNote 2007 format open as well.
Are there any plans to also document the .MSG file format? This is another useful format to have for importing into document management systems.
Hi Paul
Is it possible to get early access to .pst format documentation? I'm working with many of MS formats, and we're planning to implement support for them all in our products.
P.S. My company has signed agreement with MS about support for different office formats
@Leitg Bade: the .MSG File Format Specification is actually already available at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc463912.aspx
how can I help. I can't wait to having alternatives in a central manner. My productivity could greatly improve with alternatives to traditional email. a next generation integrated email...maybe called eknowledge is desperatedly needed. EMAIL HAS TO GET SMART. IT IS HOLDING US BACK...I am tired of all the notifiations from social network sites requiring horrendous time for organization and filtering...AY CARAMBA! Help@
I'm an "interested customer" (and Microsoft Partner) - can I sign up to get an early look at the documentation? Is there a way for me to be notified when it is available?
Please share this information with the Entourage group! To put it mildly, I was flabbergasted to discover that Entourage 2008 could NOT import contents directly from an Outlook 2003 PST file. I know that people get all hot and bothered discussing the merits of Mac OS vs. Windows, but for me, they're both just tools to run software applications. When Microsoft designs apps for the respective OS's, I expect that those apps should work nicely together. Instead, upon opening up Entourage, I felt beholden to some juvenile argument that was held between the Windows Office team and the Mac Office team. The above mentioned trajectory sounds much better, so please make sure it happens!
The PST file is one of the biggest problems with Outlook. Why would anyone else want to implement this on other platforms?
Brilliant! Any timeframe on this?
What about the .OST file format too?
Is that documented somewhere as yet or will it be covered in the .PST format documentation set?
Interesting.
Any comments on whether the format is documented in the context of MAPI calls (requiring the implementation of underlying COM as well as MAPI APIs for use), or simply as a byte stream oriented structure? The latter would be preferable from a multi-platform development standpoint.
Why not rather work on a format which removes the limitations inherent in the .pst format ( 2gb file size, 65535 items ) such as storing in a local MS SQL DB, or heaven forbid an open format such as sqlite?
This is good news and it will open the way for people to create innovative software components and applications which access PST files.
Mike
"This documentation is still in its early stages and work is ongoing."
Can you give a better time line for release like mid 2010 or 2011 or never ?
That would help
Interop is good, but please first:
-give us .NET Developers and MS partners easy .NET APIs rather than specs
-put formats in XML (e.g MSG, EML) like you did for the Windows Event Log since Vista
- Outlook (PST) storage could be extended/replaced by SQL Server (Filestream) or Sharepoint for better centralization/backup/retention/ .. you name it