PST Inspector
Outlook File Viewer – A Lightweight, Standalone PST/OST Explorer
PST Inspector – View Outlook PST/OST files without Outlook installation. Browse, print & export emails. Free Outlook PST Viewer.
Need to view the contents of a PST or OST file, but don’t have Outlook installed?
PST Inspector is a free, standalone tool that lets you open and explore Outlook data files — no Outlook, no Office, no MAPI required.
Lightweight and easy to use, PST Inspector gives you full access to folder structures, messages, attachments, and more — including legacy and modern file formats.
PST Inspector is designed for IT professionals and advanced users who need to access, print, and export Outlook PST/OST files without installing Microsoft Outlook.
Why Choose PST Inspector?
PST Inspector is a lightweight, free Outlook file viewer designed for users who need seamless access to PST and OST files — without having Microsoft Outlook, Office, or MAPI installed. The tool stands out for its simplicity, portability, and its ability to expose deep insights into email data and folder structure.
Key Features and Strengths
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Standalone operation: No Outlook or Office required. PST Inspector opens PST and OST files directly, enabling users to examine mailbox contents effortlessly.
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Detailed inspection: Navigate the full folder hierarchy, inspect detailed properties of messages, attachments, folders, and recipients, and even view binary data blocks.
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Broad format support: Compatible with both legacy ANSI formats (Office 95/97/2000) and modern Unicode PST files.
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Export and print capabilities: Beginning with version v0.9.9.5, users can print emails directly. Later updates added the ability to export messages as standalone
.msgfiles (v0.9.9.8) and.emlfiles (v0.9.9.9). -
Totally free: No trials, no limitations — PST Inspector remains fully functional and free to use indefinitely.
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Actively developed: The tool is under active development, with future enhancements driven by user feedback and suggestions.
Ideal For
PST Inspector is ideal for IT professionals, data recovery experts, forensic analysts, and advanced users who require a reliable, no-cost solution to view, export, or print Outlook data files without needing Outlook installed.
Overall Impression
With its clean interface, zero-dependency design, and essential export features, PST Inspector is a powerful yet accessible tool for advanced users and IT professionals. Whether you’re troubleshooting corrupted archives, exploring email contents, or conducting forensic analysis, PST Inspector delivers dependable functionality without bloat. Its continuous updates and openness to user suggestions further reinforce its value to technically inclined users.
Outlook PST Viewer Key Features:
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View Outlook PST and OST files without Outlook or Office
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No MAPI dependency required
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Browse and navigate the full folder structure of the file
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Inspect binary data blocks within the file
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View detailed properties of folders, messages, attachments, and recipients
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Supports both ANSI and UNICODE PST files – including legacy formats from Office 95/97/2000, as well as the latest MS Office versions
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100% free to use
Who Can Benefit Outlook PST Viewer
PST Inspector is built for advanced users and IT professionals who need reliable access to Outlook data files without installing Microsoft Outlook.
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IT administrators and support engineers – quickly troubleshoot mailboxes, recover data, and export messages for further use.
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Forensics and security specialists – examine email content, attachments, and hidden properties during digital investigations.
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Data recovery experts – extract critical information from damaged or orphaned PST/OST files.
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Power users – browse, print, and export emails to .msg or .eml formats with full control, without relying on Outlook.
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System integrators and developers – analyze MAPI properties and test interoperability with custom tools and workflows.
The product is currently under active development. Future updates and enhancements will depend on user interest and feedback.
If you’d like more information or wish to suggest new features, feel free to contact us at: info@imibo.com
PST Viewer Version History
v0.9.9.1
Initial public release featuring basic PST/OST viewing functionality.
v0.9.9.2
Introduced the ability to view detailed item properties within PST files.
v0.9.9.3
Added support for navigating system folders such as Inbox, Sent Items, Calendar, and others.
v0.9.9.5
Enabled printing of email messages directly from the viewer.
v0.9.9.8
Implemented the option to save emails as standalone Outlook .msg files
(using the Unicode format compatible with Microsoft Outlook 2003 and later).
v0.9.9.9
Implemented the option to save emails as standalone MIME *.eml files
v0.9.9.10
Added ability to search messages by sender, recipient, subject, date
Added calculated Store properties
v0.9.9.11
Added calculated Message properties
Added calculated Attach properties
Added calculated Folder properties
Added ability to sort messages by Recipient, Sender, Subject, Date
Cosmetic UI changes
v0.9.9.12
Added detailed view for Contact item
Added contact export to RFC vCard
v0.9.9.13
Improved vCard export
v0.9.9.14
Improved StickyNote processing and visualization
Added StickyNote color processing depending on their categorization
Improved RTF body extraction and visualization
v0.9.9.15
Improved iCalendar export
v0.9.9.16
Improved column view of the Task object
Improved detailed preview of the Task object
Added search in Named properties MAP
Key Benefits
✅ No Outlook or MAPI required
✅ No installation needed
✅ Completely free – no trial periods, no limitations
Simply open your PST or OST file with PSTInspector to view, print, or export your emails with ease.
A fully functional, permanently free application.
vCard export
Supported vCard Versions
- vCard 2.1 (1996) – with Quoted-Printable encoding
- vCard 3.0 (1998) – with backslash escaping
- vCard 4.0 (2011) – with data URI scheme
Supported Properties
Identification
- N – Structured name (Last, First, Middle, Prefix, Suffix)
- FN – Formatted name
- NICKNAME – Nickname or alias
- UID – Unique identifier (auto-generated GUID)
Contact Information
- TEL – Phone numbers with 9 types (Voice, Cell, Fax, Video, Text, Pager, Textphone, Car, ISDN) and locations (Home, Work, Other)
- EMAIL – Email addresses with location types and preference support
- URL – Web addresses (Work/Home)
- IMPP – Instant messaging (Skype, XMPP, Telegram, WhatsApp, Signal, Viber, and 6 more protocols)
Addresses
- ADR – Structured postal addresses with multiple entries
- LABEL – Formatted address labels (vCard 2.1 & 3.0 only)
- Address types: Home, Work, Other with preference support
Organization
- ORG – Organization name and organizational unit
- TITLE – Job title
- ROLE – Role or occupation
Personal Information
- BDAY – Birthday (ISO 8601 format)
- ANNIVERSARY – Anniversary date
- GENDER – Gender (with X-GENDER for older versions)
Classification & Organization
- CLASS – Access classification (Public, Private, Confidential)
- CATEGORIES – Multiple category tags
- SORT-STRING – Custom sort string (vCard 2.1/3.0) or SORT-AS parameter (vCard 4.0)
Relationships (Microsoft Outlook Compatible)
- Spouse – Spouse/partner name (X-MS-SPOUSE)
- Children – Multiple children names (X-MS-CHILD, X-CHILD)
- Manager – Manager name (X-MS-MANAGER, X-MANAGER)
- Assistant – Assistant name (X-MS-ASSISTANT, X-ASSISTANT)
Multimedia
- PHOTO – Inline Base64 encoded images (JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP)
- KEY – X.509 certificate for encryption
Additional
- NOTE – Free-form notes with multi-line support
RFC Compliance
Primary Standards
- RFC 2425 – MIME Content-Type for Directory Information
- RFC 2426 – vCard MIME Directory Profile (vCard 3.0)
- RFC 6350 – vCard Format Specification (vCard 4.0)
Supporting Standards
- RFC 2045 – Quoted-Printable Content-Transfer-Encoding
- RFC 2397 – Data URI scheme
- RFC 2425 – Line folding (75-76 characters)
Microsoft Compatibility
- MS-OXVCARD – Microsoft Exchange Server vCard extensions
Key Features
Encoding & Character Support
- UTF-8 encoding for all versions
- Quoted-Printable encoding for vCard 2.1 (non-ASCII characters)
- Backslash escaping for vCard 3.0/4.0 (special characters:
,,;,\,\n) - Line folding at 75-76 characters per RFC requirements
- Full Cyrillic and international character support
Advanced Functionality
- Multiple entries support (phones, emails, addresses, URLs, instant messaging)
- Preference marking (PREF parameter)
- Type categorization (Home, Work, Other)
- Base64 encoding helper for binary data
- IMPP protocol detection from full addresses (e.g., “skype:username”)
- Automatic UID generation using GUID
Data URI Support (vCard 4.0)
- Inline photos using
data:image/jpeg;base64, - X.509 certificates using
data:application/x-x509-ca-cert;base64,
Design Principles
- RFC-compliant implementation
- Version-specific formatting (respects differences between 2.1, 3.0, and 4.0)
- Microsoft Outlook compatibility through X-extensions
- Comprehensive error handling
- Memory-efficient dynamic arrays
- Clean API with intuitive method names
This implementation provides enterprise-grade vCard generation suitable for contact management systems, CRM applications, email clients, and any software requiring standards-compliant electronic business card functionality.
iCalendar Export for Appointments
Professional RFC 5545 compliant conversion from PST to iCalendar format
Standards Compliance
RFC 5545 100%
Full iCalendar 2.0 specification compliance
RFC 2445 Compatible
Backward compatible with older implementations
MS-OXOCAL Supported
Microsoft Outlook Calendar Object Protocol
Exported Properties
Core Event Information
UID– Unique event identifier (optimized format)DTSTAMP– Creation/modification timestampDTSTART/DTEND– Start and end times with timezone supportSUMMARY– Event title with full UTF-8 supportDESCRIPTION– Plain text event descriptionLOCATION– Meeting location or resourceX-ALT-DESC– Rich HTML description (optional)
Participants & Organization
ORGANIZER– Event organizer with contact informationATTENDEE– All attendees with roles (Required, Optional, Resource) and response status- Smart duplicate detection – eliminates repeated attendee entries
- Support for Chair, Required Participant, Optional Participant, and Non-Participant roles
Scheduling & Status
STATUS– Confirmed, Tentative, CancelledTRANSP– Free/Busy status (Opaque, Transparent)PRIORITY– High, Normal, Low priority levelsCLASS– Public, Private, Confidential visibilitySEQUENCE– Version tracking for updatesCREATED/LAST-MODIFIED– Audit timestamps
Recurrence Patterns
RRULE– Full recurrence rule support (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Yearly)- Complex patterns with COUNT and UNTIL end conditions
- By-day specifications (BYDAY) for weekly patterns
EXDATE– Exception dates for cancelled occurrencesRECURRENCE-ID– Modified occurrence tracking
Reminders & Alarms
VALARM– Display and audio alarms- Configurable trigger times (minutes, hours, days before event)
- Multiple alarm support
Attachments
ATTACH– Inline BASE64 encoded file attachments- Proper line folding with TAB continuation for Outlook compatibility
VALUE=BINARYparameter for binary data- MIME type preservation (
FMTTYPE) - Original filename metadata (
X-FILENAME) - Configurable size limits (default 5MB per attachment)
Timezone Support
VTIMEZONE– Complete timezone definitions with DST rules- Automatic UTC to local time conversion
- IANA timezone ID mapping from Windows timezone names
- Support for timezones without daylight saving time
TZIDparameter on date-time properties- Proper handling of
PidLidTimeZoneStructMAPI property
Additional Properties
CATEGORIES– Event categories (multiple tags supported)URL– Associated web linksMETHOD– REQUEST, PUBLISH, CANCEL, REPLY support
Technical Features
RFC 5545 Line Folding
Automatic line wrapping at 75 characters with proper continuation using space or TAB characters for maximum compatibility
Full UTF-8 Support
Native handling of Cyrillic, Asian, and other Unicode characters in all text fields
Proper Text Escaping
Correct escaping of special characters (comma, semicolon, backslash, newline) per RFC 5545 requirements
Configurable Export
Control inclusion of HTML descriptions, alarms, attachments, and other optional components
Smart Duplicate Detection
Automatic elimination of duplicate attendees and proper organizer handling
Cross-Platform Compatible
Generated .ics files work seamlessly with Outlook, Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, Thunderbird, and more
Quality & Reliability
100% RFC 5545 Compliance
40+ MAPI Properties Mapped
7+ Calendar Apps Tested
0 Data Loss
Use Cases
📤 Calendar Migration
Migrate appointments from PST files to any calendar system supporting iCalendar format
💾 Backup & Archive
Create portable, standards-based backups of your calendar data
🔄 Cross-Platform Sync
Export from Outlook PST and import to Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, or any other platform
📊 Data Analysis
Extract calendar data for reporting, analysis, or compliance requirements
🔧 Integration
Integrate PST calendar data into custom applications and workflows
