Save email as PDF from Outlook
Save email as PDF from Outlook for sharing, record keeping or legal discovery. Embed attachments in original formats to produce a PDF Portfolio. Combine emails and attachments into One PDF and many other possibilities.
Highlights:
- Seamless integration with Microsoft Outlook.
- Save Emails, Appointments or Tasks as PDF files.
- Save email and its attachments as PDF Portfolio.
- Combine emails and attachments to a flat One PDF or PDF Portfolio file.
- Convert Outlook folder into multiple PDF files or combine into one PDF file.
- Append emails and attachments to an existing PDF file.
- Preserve inline images and hyperlinks in PDF files.
- Set security restrictions to PDF documents (i.e., ability to edit or print).
- Secure PDF documents by setting a user password for viewing.
- Apply watermark image or text to PDF (i.e., company logo or name).
- Add table of contents when combining emails to one PDF file.
- Perform batch export of emails to PDFs in a click.
- Dynamic naming scheme of PDFs using metadata from email.
- Add page number, header and footer information in PDF such as copyright or disclaimer information.
- Automatically convert newly added attachment as PDF attachment while composing an email, appointment or task.
- Convert attachments of more than 120 file types, even compressed ZIP, MSG or EML, multi-page TIFF to PDF files.
- Works with Outlook 2007, 2013, 2016, 2019 (32-bit and 64-bit).
- Option to output to PDF/A files for archiving and long-term preservation of emails and attachments.
Microsoft Office apps like Word, Excel, or PowerPoint can export documents to PDF files. In contrast, no such option exists to save email as PDF from Outlook.
One workaround is to use third-party PDF virtual drivers to print and save email as PDF from Outlook. However, it involves multiple steps and can be an overhead when printing many emails as PDF files. Besides, you don’t have much control over the output. For instance, it can’t combine multiple emails and attachments to produce one long PDF file.
Another workaround is using Adobe Acrobat plug-in, to save email as PDF from Outlook. But you will need to purchase or subscribe to the whole Acrobat software eco-system. In other words, an expensive investment for many users.
Email to PDF add-in brings the much needed ‘Save As PDF’ production feature to Microsoft Outlook.
Once installed, you can save email as PDF from Outlook, by simply selecting it and hitting the Export button. Furthermore, it can export attachments to their separate PDF files or combine all to one long PDF file. In the latter option, it would automatically add table of contents that lets you jump from one email or attachment to another quickly.
In particular, you can automate the add-in to save email as PDF from Outlook folder or Inbox. Truly, an excellent way of archiving or book keeping emails as part of company’s email retention policy. By and large, saving your Outlook emails and attachments as PDF files make them easier to view, search, print, store and share.
How It Works
How to save email as PDF file from Outlook
Save email as PDF from Outlook in just a click!
The easiest way to save email as PDF from Outlook is from the Explorer view. Just select that particular email and click ‘Export As‘ button from the ribbon located in the Outlook Explorer window.
Click the drop down menu under Export button to show further export options. Choose to save email and attachments as PDF from Outlook individually or combine with attachments as one PDF file.
Likewise, you can also find these options under the context menu (i.e., popup menu you get when you right-click the email item.)
When you export and save email as PDF from Outlook, a ‘Save As’ dialog box appears. Notice the file name of the PDF to be generated is already pre-filled with metadata information of the selected email item. Therefore, you don’t even need to input and key in the name of the document.
For example, below in the screenshot, the file name is in the format Subject + Underscore (_) + Received Time + Underscore (_) + Sender Name.
You can, of course, also customize what metadata information from the email is used to name the generated PDF file.
Merging an email and attachments as one PDF file
There can be times when you want to save email and its attachments into one long PDF file from Outlook. In that case, choose the ‘Merge attachments and email to a single PDF‘ option from the ribbon menu. By default, the attachments will be sorted alphabetically. Consequently that will affect the placement of the attachments within the one PDF file. Therefore, if you want to customize the sequence of the attachments, use the advanced merging mode as shown below:
In advanced mode, use the up and down arrow buttons to change the sequence or, drag and drop files using your mouse in the order you want. To exclude a particular attachment from being included in the one pdf file, simply uncheck the box.
NOTE: If the attachment is a ZIP or MSG or EML file, the intrinsic child files that make up this composite file will show up in the list too. As a result, you can re-arrange the sequence or exclude certain files from inclusion into the one PDF file. Hence, you can have finer control on the composition of the final PDF document.
How to save multiple emails as PDFs in batch
Save multiple emails as PDF files in batch from Outlook in a click!
Select multiple emails and click the ‘Export As‘ menu to save the emails to PDF files in batch. Notably, save each email as PDF from Outlook in separate PDF files or combine all to produce one long PDF file.
From the ‘Batch Export’ dialog box, you need to specify the destination folder where the PDF files would be saved. Above all, you have the option to choose the naming scheme of the PDF files. For example, it can be either a defined generic name or metadata information extracted from the email such as Subject, Sendername, ReceivedTime etc.
How to merge multiple emails and attachments to one long PDF file
Combine multiple emails and attachments to one long PDF file
The add-in support saving multiple emails and their attachments in one long PDF file. Such PDF also features an auto-generated table of contents – comes handy for easy reference and navigation. As a result, you can jump from one email to another quickly within the PDF document.
In the first place, you will be prompted to specify a filename and the folder location to save as PDF.
Furthermore, the add-in can automatically add page number, watermark, custom footer such as your company name to the PDF file. As an illustration, below is the structure of the one PDF file, with the table of contents and watermark.
How to add or append emails and attachments to an existing PDF file
Append emails and attachments to an existing PDF file
The add-in supports appending emails and their attachments to an existing PDF file. First of all, the emails are converted to PDF pages in the background, before ultimately appended to the chosen PDF file. You can, of course, choose where in the existing PDF file, namely, at the start or the end, those new pages would be added.
How to convert attachments as PDF in outgoing emails
Convert attachments as PDFs in outgoing emails in Outlook
Before sending emails to recipients, the add-in provides an option to convert any attachments that you might have added to PDF. To summarize, whether the documents are Word, Excel, PowerPoint, images, TIFF or plain text, the add-in would automatically convert to PDF.
Here is a demonstration of this feature. Below is a reply that is made to an existing email. And 2 attachments of different types (eg. Word and Excel documents) are added as attachments.
Before pressing the ‘Send’ button, click the ‘Embed PDF version of attachments‘ option available under the ribbon toolbar of the add-in.
Pressing the PDF embed option would convert the attachments, regardless of the file types or format, to PDF files. As a result, these converted PDF files would be added to the email.
And below is a one PDF file being added, after merging all attachments to one PDF.
Finally, you can then remove the non-PDF attachments, that were added already, before you press the ‘Send’ button.
How to save incoming emails as PDF files automatically
Save incoming emails as PDF files in Outlook automatically
One of the most noteworthy feature of this add-in is its ability to auto-process incoming emails and save to PDF files from Inbox or any other Outlook folder. In fact, this automation ability to save email as PDF from Outlook items requires no input and intervention from the user. As a result, you can easily maintain a parallel copy or backup (as PDF files) of your current Outlook items.
Add a new Outlook folder, for automatic export
When you press the ‘Select Folder…’ button, you will be prompted to choose an Outlook folder. Consequently, this folder would be then tracked and monitored by the add-in for automatic PDF export. In general, you can select a Mail/Post items folder, or an appointment folder, or a task folder. Furthermore, this folder can be a public folder or a shared mailbox folder.
