How to Backup Lotus Notes NSF Files?

Backup is an important activity that ensures data security. The same applies to data files of email clients. IBM Notes is one such email client that stores data in .nsf file extension and stores Lotus Notes complete data including emails, contacts, tasks, calendars, journals, etc.

After getting many queries of users to backup NSF files, we would like to provide the solution for users in this blog where you will get a variety of methods to backup IBM Notes NSF files.

There could be many reasons behind the backup of IBM Notes NSF file, which we will discuss in this blog.

Why backup IBM Notes NSF files?

There are various reasons for the backup of IBM Notes (NSF) like file corruption chances, unmanageable file size, migration needs, etc.

How to take backup of IBM Notes NSF file?

Here is the list of some methods which can help you to backup NSF files on your hard drive. There are different methods for backup.

1. Archiving IBM Notes emails
2. Saving Lotus Notes emails to EML/HTML/PDF
3. Exporting Lotus Notes emails to CSV file
4. Backup Lotus Notes NSF file to PST with Softaken Lotus Notes to Outlook

Now, let us discuss the solutions in detail.

1. Archiving IBM Notes emails

To backup IBM Notes emails, a solution is available in Notes itself, i.e. Archiving. Users can archive Lotus Notes emails and save them to local system with .nsf file extension.

1. Start IBM Notes application. Click on Actions tab and select Archive > Create criteria
2. In the Create Archive Criteria window, enter a name for archive folder under Descriptive name of these archive criteria option, select the checkbox enable this criteria and click Selection Criteria option tab.
   
   
3. Select NSF file with the folder and click OK
   
   
4. You can modify the default location of the archive file under copy documents into my archive application here. Go to the Schedule tab on Archive settings and provide days and time for archiving.
   
   
5. Select Archive > Archive Now option. The process of archiving gets started.

(2). Saving Lotus Notes emails to EML/HTML/PDF

This method can be used to save selected emails from Lotus Notes NSF file to desired formats such as EML, HTML, PDF, etc.

1. Start IBM Notes application and export emails for backup.
2. Drag and drop emails from the application to a system folder.
3. If you want to these EML files in HTML, go to your Outlook application and open EML files. Select these files and move to File > Save as and select HTML option to save in HTML file format.

It is easy to save HTML files to PDF format after opening HTML files with word application. In word document, go to the File > Save as option and select HTML format to save it in HTML files.

You can save Lotus Notes emails in EML, HTML, and PDF format.

(3) Exporting Lotus Notes emails to CSV

Launch Lotus Notes email client and open NSF files that you want to backup. Go to File > Export option. Provide a location for NSF file under Save as type option.

Select Comma Separated Value option and click Export. It will save NSF file in CSV file format at a specified location. Later on, you can import CSV file into Outlook using Import/Export feature.

(4) Backup Lotus Notes files with Softaken for Lotus Notes to Outlook

This is one of the reliable and secure methods to backup Lotus Notes files. Softaken for Lotus Notes to OutlookTool exports NSF file directly to Outlook PST file format. The tool allows users to export desired items as per their convenience.

Which is the best method for NSF backup?

We have provided various solutions in this blog. You can choose any of the solutions as per your desire. With archiving feature, you can save data of Lotus Notes in .nsf file extension which can be used in Lotus Notes email client. You can choose free methods to convert Lotus Notes files to PST format as well but these solutions are unreliable. Also, exporting NSF emails to EML, PDF, HTML, and CSV formats is a long process. You can choose the best solutions as per your demands.

Concluding Lines

To take backup of NSF files with manual solutions, it needs technical knowledge with users. Also, these solutions pose risk of data loss. However, Softaken for Lotus Notes to Outlook offers a direct solution which easily converts NSF files to PST without limitations of file size.