How-To Guide

How to Convert MSG to PDF (Outlook Email Archive)

MSG is Microsoft Outlook's proprietary email format — saves emails with attachments, formatting, and metadata in a Compound Object format. PDF is the universal archive format. Converting MSG to PDF is essential for legal hold, e-discovery, compliance archiving, and forwarding emails to people who don't have Outlook installed. The conversion preserves headers (From, To, Date, Subject), formatted body, embedded images, and references attachments.

See the document converters

Quick answer

To convert a .msg file to PDF, open it in Outlook and print it to PDF. Without Outlook, use the free msgconvert tool to make an .eml copy, then print that to PDF from Thunderbird or Apple Mail. A FormatDrop MSG converter is coming soon; it is not live yet.

On a Mac — Outlook for Mac cannot open .msg. Use msgconvert, or print from Microsoft 365 web access.
What carries over — the headers, the formatted body and inline images. Attachments are listed by name, not embedded.
Not in the browser yet — the document converter does not read .msg files yet.

Method 1: Convert MSG to PDF online (free, in your browser)

1
Know what works today
A browser-based MSG to PDF converter is coming soon to FormatDrop; it is not live yet, and the document converter at formatdrop.com/document-converter does not read .msg files today. The two working routes are Outlook's Print to PDF on Windows, or the free msgconvert tool on Mac and Linux.
Go to converter
2
On Windows: print from Outlook
Double-click the .msg file so Outlook opens it. Choose File, then Print, and pick Microsoft Print to PDF. The PDF keeps the From, To, Date and Subject lines, the formatted body and inline images. Attachments are listed by name, not embedded.
3
Without Outlook: msgconvert, then print
Install msgconvert. Mac: brew install libemail-outlook-message-perl. Linux: apt install libemail-outlook-message-perl. Run msgconvert file.msg to get file.eml, open the .eml in Thunderbird or Apple Mail, and print it to PDF.
4
Check the PDF
Open the result and confirm the From, To, Date and Subject lines, the body formatting and the inline images. Save attachments separately if you need them — the print routes list attachments by name and do not embed them. The PDF is then ready for legal hold systems, compliance archives, or non-Outlook recipients.

Method 2Outlook (Windows)

Method 2: Convert MSG to PDF in Outlook

Outlook handles MSG natively — the canonical conversion path on Windows.

Double-click the .msg file → Outlook opens it.
File → Print → choose 'Microsoft Print to PDF' as printer.
Click Print → choose save location → save as .pdf.
For batch: select multiple MSG files in Windows Explorer → drag into Outlook inbox → select all → File → Print → Microsoft Print to PDF.

Note: Outlook is the highest-fidelity conversion. Headers, formatting, embedded images all preserved. Attachments referenced but not embedded.

Method 3msgconvert (Linux/Mac CLI)

Method 3: msgconvert for cross-platform CLI

msgconvert is a Perl utility that converts MSG to EML on any platform.

Install. Mac: `brew install libemail-outlook-message-perl`. Linux: `apt install libemail-outlook-message-perl`.
Convert MSG to EML: `msgconvert input.msg` produces input.eml.
Then convert EML to PDF (see our convert-eml-to-pdf guide): use Thunderbird, Apple Mail, or command-line tools.
Combined: `msgconvert *.msg && for f in *.eml; do eml-to-pdf "$f" "${f%.eml}.pdf"; done`.

Note: Two-step process but cross-platform. Best for batch jobs without Outlook access.

Method 4Thunderbird with ImportExportTools NG

Method 4: Thunderbird import path

Thunderbird can read MSG via add-ons.

Install Thunderbird (thunderbird.net) and ImportExportTools NG add-on.
Tools → ImportExportTools NG → Import EML → MSG support varies by version.
Alternative: convert MSG to EML first (msgconvert), then drag EML into Thunderbird.
Right-click email → ImportExportTools NG → Save as PDF.

Note: More complex than Outlook's direct path but free and cross-platform.

Method 5Online converters

Method 5: Online MSG-to-PDF tools

Browser-based services for one-off conversion.

Local, coming soon: a FormatDrop MSG converter that runs in your browser with no upload is planned but not live yet. The current document converter does not read .msg files.
Server-based: zamzar.com, convertio.co — upload MSG, download PDF. Faster for large files but uploads to their servers.
For sensitive emails (legal, HR, financial), use local tools.

Note: Online tools handle MSG well but require uploading. Privacy-sensitive content should stay local.

When you need to convert MSG to PDF

1
Legal hold and e-discovery
Litigation and regulatory matters require email preservation in PDF. Bulk-convert Outlook MSG archives to PDF for legal teams.
2
Compliance archiving (HIPAA, SOX, FINRA)
Regulated industries require email retention. PDF/A is the archival standard.
3
Sharing Outlook emails with non-Outlook recipients
Lawyers, contractors, regulators — many don't use Outlook. PDF works on every device.
4
HR and workplace investigations
Emails as evidence in HR matters → PDF format is the convention.
5
Backup before email migration
Migrating from Exchange to Gmail or another platform? Preserve key emails as PDFs first.

Troubleshooting common MSG to PDF problems

macOS can't open MSG files

Outlook for Mac handles MSG since 2019. If you don't have it, use msgconvert to convert MSG to EML first, then open in Apple Mail. A FormatDrop browser tool for MSG is coming soon; it is not live yet.

Attachments not included in PDF

Outlook's Print to PDF doesn't embed attachments — only references them. To include attachments in the PDF, save attachments separately and merge with PDF tools, or use Bluebeam Revu / Acrobat with email export plugins.

Headers missing in PDF

Configure Outlook to include headers: View → View Settings → Other Settings → ensure 'Use headers' is enabled. Outlook for Mac has similar settings.

HTML formatting broken in PDF output

Outlook renders HTML emails for printing — should preserve formatting. If broken, the email may use external CSS/images that didn't load. Open in Outlook first to verify rendering before printing to PDF.

Why convert MSG to PDF?

MSG is Outlook's email format; PDF is universal archive. Converting between them is essential for legal hold, compliance, and sharing emails outside Outlook. The standard path on Windows is Outlook → Microsoft Print to PDF. Cross-platform: msgconvert + EML-to-PDF in two steps.

Your files never leave your device

FormatDrop runs the conversion engine entirely inside your browser using WebAssembly. No file upload. No server. Nothing stored. You can verify this by opening DevTools → Network tab and watching: zero upload requests.

Frequently asked questions

Best free tool for MSG to PDF?

Outlook (if you have it — Microsoft 365 includes Outlook). Free alternatives: msgconvert (CLI) + EML-to-PDF tools. A FormatDrop browser tool with nothing to install is coming soon. Today the working free routes are Outlook, or msgconvert plus a mail client's print to PDF.

Will attachments be included in the PDF?

Inline images (embedded in body) yes. Separate attachments are referenced by filename but not embedded. To include attachments fully, use a PDF editor to combine, or convert attachments separately.

Can I batch convert MSG files?

Yes. Outlook: drag all MSG files into inbox, select all, print to PDF. msgconvert + EML-to-PDF: scripted batch via shell. For 1000+ files, scripted Python is fastest.

Browse the document converters

No account. No upload. Works in any browser.