Save Outlook email as PDF

How to Save Outlook Emails as PDF — Every Method That Actually Works

Saving an Outlook email as a PDF should be simple. It’s not always. The methods that work depend on which version of Outlook you have, what operating system you’re on, and whether you need the result to be an accurate, complete representation of the original or just a readable version of the body text.

This guide covers every approach, including the one that works when you don’t have Outlook at all.

Method 1: Print to PDF Directly from Outlook

Works on: Windows, Mac

This is the simplest in-Outlook approach. It uses your system’s PDF printer driver to create a PDF from the print preview.

1. Open the email in Outlook
2. Go to File → Print (or press Ctrl+P / Cmd+P)
3. In the printer selector, choose “Microsoft Print to PDF” (Windows) or “Save as PDF” in the print dialog (Mac)
4. Choose your file name and save location
5. Click Print/Save

What you get: A PDF of the email body as rendered in Outlook’s print preview. Headers (From, To, Subject, Date) are typically included at the top. The result looks like a printed email, not a structured document.

What you lose: BCC recipients are frequently dropped from the print preview — Outlook’s print-to-PDF doesn’t reliably include the BCC field. Attachments are listed as their filenames at the bottom of the print, but not with full metadata. Inline images are usually preserved. For a casual save-to-read-later, this is fine. For legal or records purposes, the missing BCC is a problem.

Method 2: Save as PDF via File Menu (Outlook 2016 and Later)

Works on: Windows

In newer versions of Outlook for Windows, you can save directly to PDF without going through the print dialog:

1. Open the email
2. Go to File → Save As
3. In the “Save as type” dropdown, select “PDF”
4. Choose a filename and location, then click Save

What you get: Similar to the print-to-PDF output. Some versions of Outlook include slightly more complete header information through this method than through the print dialog.

Availability note: This option isn’t present in all Outlook versions. If you don’t see PDF in your Save As dropdown, you’re likely on an older version that doesn’t support direct PDF export — use Print to PDF instead.

Method 3: Copy Email Body and Print from Word

Works on: Windows, Mac — with significant caveats

Some guides suggest copying the email body, pasting it into Word, and saving as PDF. Don’t do this. You’ll lose all header information (From, To, Date, Subject), formatting will be unpredictable, and the result won’t bear any resemblance to the structure of the original email. This is only worth mentioning to warn against it.

Method 4: Save as MSG, Then Convert to PDF

Works on: Any platform — best for complete, accurate output

This is the approach that gives you the most complete, accurate PDF — and it works even if you don’t have access to the recipient’s Outlook installation.

1. In Outlook, right-click the email (or drag it to your desktop on Windows) and save it as an MSG file
2. Upload the MSG file to the Outlook MSG to PDF converter
3. Download the resulting PDF

What you get: A complete PDF with the full header block including BCC, preserved body formatting, inline images, and attachment references. The conversion reads the MSG file’s binary structure directly — all the metadata that Outlook stores internally gets included in the output.

Why this is better than print-to-PDF: Outlook’s print-to-PDF renders the email through the print preview system, which drops certain fields and doesn’t access the underlying MAPI properties where BCC and extended metadata live. A purpose-built MSG converter reads the raw file and produces a more complete output. The full process is on the how-to conversion guide.

Method 5: Use Outlook on the Web (OWA)

Works on: Browser

If you’re accessing Outlook through a browser (Outlook.com or Office 365 web interface), you can use the browser’s built-in print-to-PDF:

1. Open the email in Outlook Web Access or Outlook.com
2. Click the three-dot menu (…) on the email
3. Select Print
4. In your browser’s print dialog, choose “Save as PDF” as the destination
5. Save the file

What you get: A PDF of the email as rendered in the browser. Formatting is usually clean since the web interface renders HTML email natively. BCC fields are handled inconsistently by browser print — you may or may not see them in the output.

Method 6: Outlook for Mac — PDF via Print Dialog

Works on: Mac

On Mac, the PDF export path is slightly different:

1. Open the email in Outlook for Mac
2. Go to File → Print (or Cmd+P)
3. In the bottom-left of the print dialog, click the PDF dropdown
4. Select “Save as PDF”
5. Choose a filename and location, save

Mac’s PDF engine handles HTML email rendering well, and the output is generally clean. The same BCC caveat applies as with Windows print-to-PDF.

Dealing With Bulk Email-to-PDF Conversion

All the Outlook-native methods above require you to open each email individually and repeat the process for each one. For anything more than a handful of emails, this becomes a significant time investment. The MSG-then-convert approach scales much better: save all the emails as MSG files (you can drag multiple emails to your desktop at once in Outlook), then upload them in batch to the bulk converter.

For batches of 10+ emails, the time saved is substantial. An account is required for batch mode. See the pricing page for what’s included.

When You Don’t Have Outlook Access

If someone sent you an MSG file and you don’t have Outlook, none of the Outlook-native methods above apply. The MSG-file-to-PDF approach works without Outlook — the converter handles the file format parsing directly in the browser. No Outlook installation needed, no Windows required. The What Is an MSG File guide covers the format basics if you’re not familiar with why MSG files require special handling.

Which Method Should You Use?

The right method depends on what you need:

• Quick save for reading later: Print to PDF from Outlook. Fast, no extra tools needed. Accept that BCC may be dropped.
• Sharing with someone who needs to read the full email: Print to PDF works. If BCC matters, use the MSG converter route.
• Legal, compliance, or audit purposes: Save as MSG, convert with a purpose-built tool. Complete metadata, accurate BCC, documented output.
• Multiple emails at once: Save as MSG files, batch convert.
• You don’t have Outlook: Upload the MSG file directly to msgtopdfconverter.com.

Common questions about Outlook MSG conversion are answered on the FAQ page. The blog has more conversion guides if you’re dealing with other email file types.

Need a complete, accurate PDF from an Outlook MSG file? Skip the print dialog — convert the MSG directly for full metadata preservation.Convert Outlook MSG to PDF →