Relocating Outlook Data Files - Tue, Dec 23, 2014

Outlook 2013 data files (ost, pst) can be really huge, especially if you use emails too much, or have a lot of attachments in your accounts. By default, Outlook keeps these files in the APPDATA folder, and even if you move your home folder to another drive, it still uses the old folder in the original APPDATA path. There is no direct way to move this folder, and this can be quite annoying if the files are saved on a low capacity SSD.

Here I will show you how to move the data files to another path:

  1. First, close Outlook and find where its data files are stored. You should be able to find them in C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook.
  2. Move the Outlook folder to your desired destination. (Let’s assume it’s D:\Outlook).
  3. Open a Command Prompt with Administrator access and make a junction (symbolic link) that points to the new folder:
mklink /j C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook D:\Outlook
  1. Start Outlook. It now reads data files from the new destination.

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