XstReader is an open source viewer for Microsoft Outlook’s .ost and .pst files, written entirely in C#, with no dependency on any Microsoft Office components.
It presents as a classic mail viewer, with configurable layout:
XstReader goes beyond Outlook in that it will allow you to open .ost files, which are the caches created by Outlook to hold a local copy of a mailbox. Wanting to read an .ost file as the original motivation for this project: now it also as the ability to export the messages.
You can export any message (email, Contact, Appointment, Task):
- As a single html file, with all the attachments and all available information embedded in the file, to inspect all available information with a single file.
- As .msg file, to import later in Outlook
- With the Original format, only body, without headers
XstReader is based on Microsoft’s documentation of the Outlook file formats in [MS-PST], first published in 2010 as part of the anti-trust settlement with the DOJ and the EU: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff385210(v=office.12).aspx
To install a binary:
- Choose a release, then download the XstReader-[release].zip file attached to it.
- Extract the contents of the zip file to a programs folder.
- Run XstReader.App.exe, and create shortcuts to it as required.
Distributed under the MS-PL license. See license for more information.