How to Save an Outlook Email as a PDF

Create a file that’s easier to use with other project documents

By
Karen Marcus
Karen Marcus
Karen Marcus
Writer
  • University of Colorado at Denver
  • Colorado State University
Karen Marcus is a former Lifewire writer who has also written for companies like HP, Intel, IBM, Samsung, and others.
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Updated on September 19, 2022
Reviewed by
Ryan Perian
Ryan Perian headshot
Reviewed by Ryan Perian
  • Western Governors University
Ryan Perian is a certified IT specialist who holds numerous IT certifications and has 12+ years' experience working in the IT industry support and management positions.
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What to Know

  • Open email > File > Print > Printer > Microsoft Print to PDF > Print. In Save Print Output As, enter filename and location > Save.
  • On Mac, open email > File > Print > PDF > Save as PDF > enter filename and location > Save.
  • For older versions, you will need to save as HTML first then convert to PDF.

This article explains how to save an Outlook email as a PDF. Instructions apply to Outlook 2019, 2016, 2010, and 2007.

Convert Email to PDF With Outlook 2010 or Later

Follow these steps if you have Outlook 2010 installed.

  1. In Outlook, open the message you want to convert to PDF.

  2. Click the File tab and select Print.

  3. Under Printer, click the drop-down menu and select Microsoft Print to PDF.

    Microsoft Outlook showing the Print dialog box with Print to PDF selected.

  4. Click Print.

    Outlook Print screen with Print button highlighted

  5. In the Save Print Output As dialog box, navigate to the folder where you want to save the PDF file.

  6. If you want to change the name of the file, do so in the File Name field and then click Save.

    Microsoft Outlook Print file name and Save button

  7. The file is saved to the folder you chose. 

Previous Versions of Outlook

For versions of Outlook earlier than 2010, you need to save the email message as an HTML file, and then convert to PDF. Here’s how:

  1. In Outlook, open the message you want to convert.

  2. Click the File tab and select Save As. 

  3. In the Save As dialog box, navigate to the folder where you want to save the file.

  4. If you want to change the name of the file, do so in the File Name field. 

  5. Click the Save as Type drop-down menu and select HTML. Click Save. 

  6. Now open Word . Click the File tab and choose Open. Select your saved HTML file.

  7. Click the File tab and select Save As.

  8. Browse to the location where you want to save the file. In the Save As dialog box, click the Save as Type drop-down menu and choose PDF. 

  9. Click Save. 

  10. The PDF file is saved in the folder you selected.

Convert Email to PDF With Office 2007

If you’re using Outlook 2007, there’s no easy way to convert an email message directly to a PDF. But you can get the information into a PDF using a few extra steps:

  1. In Outlook, open the message you want to save.

  2. Place your cursor in the message and press Ctrl+A on your keyboard to select the entire body of the message. 

  3. Press Ctrl+C to copy the text.

  4. Open a blank Word document. 

  5. Press Ctrl+V to paste the text into the document. 

  6. Press the Microsoft Office button and click Save. 

    This process won’t include the message header. If you want to include that information, you can type it into the Word document manually, or click Respond > Forward, copy the content, and paste it into the document. 

  7. In the Word document, press the Microsoft Office button, hover your pointer over Save As and select PDF or XPS. 

  8. In the File Name field, type a name for the document. 

  9. In the Save as Type list, select PDF. 

  10. Under Optimize For, choose your preferred print quality. 

  11. Click Options to select additional settings and then click OK. 

  12. Click Publish.

  13. The PDF file is saved to the folder you selected.

Convert Email to PDF on a Mac

Follow these steps if you’re using Outlook on a Mac: 

  1. In Outlook, open the message you want to convert to PDF.

  2. Click File in the menu bar and select Print from the drop-down menu.

     

  3. Click the PDF drop-down menu and select Save as PDF. 

  4. Type in a name for the PDF file.

  5. Click the arrow next to the Save As field and navigate to the folder where you want to store the file. 

  6. Click Save. 

  7. The PDF file will be saved into the folder you selected.

FAQ
  • Why does Outlook show my saved PDFs as Chrome files?

    This is likely caused by a combination of Chrome being set as your default browser, and Chrome's own integrated PDF viewer. In Windows Explorer, right-click on the file and select Open With > choose a PDF reader to open it with. Next, turn on Always use this application by default. You may need to restart Outlook for the changes to take effect.

  • How do I save multiple emails as a PDF?

    Open Adobe Acrobat Reader and select Select a Task > Combine Files into PDF. Next, open Outlook and select all of the emails you want to save, then drag and drop them into Acrobat's Combined Files window and select Combine Files to begin the conversion to PDF.

  • How do I save an Outlook calendar as a PDF?

    Open the calendar you want to save and select File > Print > Print to PDF.

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