You can:

  1. 1️⃣ Save a single Outlook email as a PDF in any version, desktop or web.
  2. 2️⃣ Keep attachments and fix images that look stretched in the PDF.
  3. 3️⃣ Convert hundreds of saved emails to PDF at once, even without Outlook.
MSG to PDF Converter Software Capture d
️ Eugene - rédacteur en chef de SoftOrbits, candidat en sciences informatiques, CTO de SoftOrbits
📅 Dernière mise à jour:  2026-10-21

To save an email as a PDF in Outlook, use Microsoft Print to PDF, the virtual printer built into Windows 10 and 11. It works in classic desktop Outlook, the new Outlook, and the web app.

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Why doesn't Outlook have a "Save as PDF" button?

TL;DR

Outlook has no native Save as PDF option. Every version uses Microsoft Print to PDF, a virtual printer that turns print output into a PDF file.

PDF is absent from File > Save As. Choose Microsoft Print to PDF as your printer, and Windows writes the print output to a .pdf in a folder you pick. Microsoft Support documents this route; you do not need Acrobat or an add-in for a single email. You can also print a saved web page to PDF, though a dedicated MHTML to PDF Converter is faster for a folder of .mht files.

How to save a single email as a PDF in classic Outlook

Open the email you want to save

Double-click the message to open it in its own window, or select it in the reading pane.

Go to File and choose Print

Open the File menu, then click Print. Ctrl+P opens the same screen.

Pick Microsoft Print to PDF as the printer

Under Printer, open the drop-down and select Microsoft Print to PDF.

Click Print and name the file

Click Print. In the Save Print Output As box, choose a folder, type a file name, and click Save.

MSG to PDF Converter Software MSG to PDF Converter Software

Convertisseur MSG en PDF convertit des fichiers e-mail Outlook .MSG en PDF par lot sur Windows, localement et sans Microsoft Outlook installé.

Where does your saved PDF go, and how should you name it?

TL;DR

The Save Print Output As box defaults to your Documents folder. Choose a dedicated folder and a clear file name before you click Save. Microsoft Print to PDF does not use the subject line as the file name.

Avoid an archive full of "Untitled.pdf": name each file with the date and sender, such as 2026-03-12-acme-invoice.pdf. Save them in one folder for sorting, searching, or combining into a single record.
In classic Outlook, choose Memo Style in the Print dialog to keep the full header and body layout. Table Style prints only a list view. Outside Outlook, File Explorer removes the Print entry when you select more than 15 items, which limits attempts to print multiple Word documents at once.

How do you save multiple Outlook emails as a PDF at once?

TL;DR

Outlook cannot batch emails into separate PDFs on its own. Printing a selection produces one combined print job; printing a folder produces a list. Use a converter for bulk work.

Selecting ten messages and clicking Print does not give you ten PDFs. You get one continuous print job, or a table-style list if you print a folder. Microsoft says there is no built-in way to convert multiple Outlook emails to PDF at once, as third-party how-to guides also explain.

The manual route is fine for a handful of emails. To print a whole folder of saved messages on paper in one run, use our batch print software. For a quarter's correspondence, such as a 300-message project folder for an auditor, clicking Print 300 times is impractical. Export the messages and use MSG to PDF Converter Software to get one PDF per message or one merged PDF in a single run. The program works fully offline, so your mail stays on the PC. To search the result later, extract text from PDF files in bulk and grep the .txt files.

How to save Outlook emails as a PDF without Outlook installed

Download and install MSG to PDF Converter

Download the free trial for Windows and run the installer.

Add your saved .msg files or a folder

Open the program, click Add Files, or drag an entire folder of saved messages into the window.

 Adding saved .MSG files to MSG to PDF Converter..

Choose PDF and set one file per email or one combined PDF

On the Convert tab, pick PDF, toggle whether to include inline images, and choose a separate PDF per email or a single merged file.

 Choosing PDF output and per-email or combined mode..

Click Start

Press Start to convert the queue in one batch. The PDFs go into the folder you picked.

 Batch converting saved emails to PDF..

MSG to PDF Converter Software MSG to PDF Converter Software

Convertisseur MSG en PDF convertit des fichiers e-mail Outlook .MSG en PDF par lot sur Windows, localement et sans Microsoft Outlook installé.

Single saved Outlook messages are .MSG files. To keep them as native mail in Outlook, use MSG to PST converter software. For a lighter cross-client format than PST, batch convert MSG files to EML. You can also convert loose .EML messages to PDF, or use an EML to PST converter to bring them into Outlook. To just read a folder of them first, open .eml files in a viewer that runs without Outlook. For loose .EML files, the Microsoft Store has SoftOrbits EML to PDF Converter Software.

To keep a Thunderbird profile or other mbox export as working mail, convert mbox to outlook.
A .PST archive holds every mailbox folder in one file. You can select folders and export them to PDF without Outlook running. The same exporter is listed in the Microsoft Store as Bulk PST to PDF Converter by SoftOrbits. To find the right thread before exporting, view the PST file; you can also open a PST file without Outlook installed. The viewer is also in the Microsoft Store as SoftOrbits PST and OST Viewer. If the archive is too large to move, back up, or open reliably, a PST splitter splits it by size, date, folder, or sender. An Outlook attachment remover takes the other route and strips the bulky files out of a copy of the archive. To keep it as working mail in Thunderbird, a pst to mbox converter produces the folder-per-file layout Thunderbird reads natively.

You can open an .OST file directly, browse its offline-cache folder tree, and export selected folders to PDF. To keep the mail in Outlook, convert OST to PST. The Microsoft Store has an OST to PST converter that works offline as well.
An exported address book contains .vcf cards. A vCard to CSV converter turns that folder into one spreadsheet you can open in Excel or import into Google Contacts. The same tool is in the Microsoft Store as VCF to CSV Converter by SoftOrbits. Calendar exports use .ics files; an ICS to CSV converter turns them into dated rows. After cleaning up a contact spreadsheet, use a csv to vcf converter to turn the rows back into cards a phone can import. For a mailing list, mail merge for Outlook and Excel sends each row its own letter, subject, and attachment.

How do you save an email as a PDF in new Outlook?

TL;DR

In the new Outlook, open the email, click the three-dot More actions menu, choose Print, then Print again, and pick Microsoft Print to PDF as the printer.

The new Outlook, Microsoft's 2023 redesign that replaced Mail and the classic client, removed the old File menu. Open your message, click More actions (the three dots at the top right), and choose Print. In the preview, click Print again, select Microsoft Print to PDF, and save. If you are moving to Gmail, a Gmail migration tool transfers your saved mail.

If a feature is missing, switch back to classic:

Microsoft acknowledges missing features in the new Outlook in its own Q&A threads. If you need one, use the toggle in the top-right corner to return to classic Outlook. File then Print is the dependable fallback.

How do you save an Outlook email as a PDF on the web?

TL;DR

On Outlook.com and OWA, open the email, click More actions, choose Print, and select Microsoft Print to PDF in the browser print dialog, as in the new desktop app.

You do not need the desktop app. Open the message in Outlook on the web, click the More actions three-dot menu, and choose Print. In your browser's print dialog, select Microsoft Print to PDF or "Save as PDF" in Chrome and Edge, and save. Printing works message by message. To save a whole mailbox, backup Outlook emails into a single PST.

How do you save an Outlook email as a PDF with attachments?

TL;DR

Microsoft Print to PDF prints only the message body and leaves out file attachments. Save attachments separately, or use a converter that lists them by name and embeds inline images.

An attached contract or invoice will be missing from a printed email, as reported in Microsoft's Q&A. Do not treat that PDF as the complete record for legal or HR files. Outlook has no native way to merge file attachments into the printed PDF. For a Gmail mailbox, export Gmail to MBOX to keep every message with its attachments.

RouteWhat you getBest for
Print to PDF, then save attachments by handBody as PDF; attachments as separate filesOne email, few files
Classic Outlook "Print attached files" checkboxBody plus each attachment printed to PDF (often as separate prints)Printable attachments only
A dedicated email-to-PDF converterBody as PDF, file attachments listed by name; inline images embedded by optionMany emails, archiving

Use the attachments checkbox in classic Outlook:

In classic Outlook, Print attached files in Print Options sends attachments to the default printer alongside the email. Set Microsoft Print to PDF as your default printer before using it; attachments may produce separate PDFs. It works for documents and images, but cannot print file types Windows has no printer handler for.

Why is the Print button grayed out in new Outlook?

TL;DR

A grayed-out or missing Print button in the new Outlook usually means you selected several emails. Select one message, or open it in its own window, to print.

For bulk PDF work, use a converter. To move a whole account, move email between mailboxes over IMAP.

Why do you get a .crdownload file instead of a PDF?

TL;DR

A .crdownload file means the browser-based print download did not finish. Re-run Print, choose Microsoft Print to PDF or "Save as PDF," and let the save finish before closing the window.

Some new Outlook users reported half-finished .crdownload files after a late-2023 update. The extension marks a partial Chromium download. Microsoft suggests choosing "Print using system dialog" in the print preview and selecting Microsoft Print to PDF there. If that fails, use File then Print in classic Outlook to bypass the browser engine.

Pitfalls when saving an Outlook email as a PDF

TL;DR

Three common problems have quick fixes: missing attachments, images cut off by the print engine, and unwanted browser headers.

✔️ A damaged source archive.

Recover the mail from the broken PST before creating a PDF record. Printing from a partly readable archive can leave messages out.

✔️ Images stretched or cut off.

Modern Outlook uses the Word engine to render email and removed Shrink to Fit, so large inline images can extend beyond the page. Users report this in Microsoft's community threads. Open the message with "View in Browser" and print from there; this usually scales images correctly.

✔️ An unwanted header and footer.

Browser print dialogs can add the date, subject, page number, and page count. Open More settings and turn Headers and footers off before saving, as discussed in Microsoft's Q&A.

✔️ The Acrobat add-in disappearing.

The Adobe Acrobat ribbon button can vanish when you select more than one email in Outlook 365. Adobe blamed Microsoft for this regression in the Adobe Community forum. Use a standalone converter for multiple emails.

MSG to PDF Converter Software MSG to PDF Converter Software
Save an Outlook email as a PDF with Microsoft Print to PDF in classic Outlook, new Outlook, and the web - plus attachments, batch, and no-Outlook fixes.
MSG to PDF Converter Software Capture d


🙋Foire Aux Questions

No. Outlook saves messages as .msg or .eml. To create a PDF in any version of Outlook, select Microsoft Print to PDF in the Print dialog.

Open the email, choose File then Print, and select Save as PDF from the PDF drop-down at the bottom of the macOS print sheet. Our converters are Windows-only; use the built-in Print route on a Mac.

Not natively. Outlook uses the Print dialog and Microsoft Print to PDF. To convert saved messages directly without the print step, you need a dedicated email-to-PDF converter.

Text and layout carry over well, but very large inline images can extend beyond the page because modern Outlook removed Shrink to Fit. Printing from "View in Browser" usually fixes the scaling.

Export the messages and use a batch converter such as MSG to PDF Converter Software to create one PDF per email or a single merged file. Outlook cannot do this on its own.

No. Converters that read .msg, .eml, .pst, or .ost work offline, including on a machine where Outlook was never installed. Reading saved .msg files needs no conversion either: MSG viewer software opens them on the same machine. You can also convert an .nsf mailbox from Lotus Notes to PST with a Lotus Notes to Outlook converter on a PC without Notes installed.

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