How to open .msg files in "New" Outlook?

Question

How to open .msg files in "New" Outlook?

Ryan Pistorius 10

It's August 2025, and this is becoming silly. Why can't (New) Outlook open .msg files anymore?

I have the latest version of New Outlook for Mac, fully updated, and need a reliable way of accessing the emails sent by clients as evidence.

For the longest time, Microsoft had this preferred format (which, I'll note, doesn't work on Mac Mail) that they insisted on using. Now they've finally updated to .eml, which is fine, but it boggles my mind that they've removed even read-only support for their old .msg format.

It's been 20 years since .docx was introduced, and I can still open .doc files. How on Earth can I open .msg files? When I try to open them in Outlook, all it does is open a new email message with the .msg file attached. That's entirely useless. I've even tried emailing it to myself, but that doesn't help because I can't open the attachment on the receiving end either.

If you've stumbled across a way to make Microsoft work the way it's supposed to... please share.

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Answer 1

Hi Ryan Pistorius,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A Forum!

Have a good day and I hope you're doing well!

I totally get your frustration. It's really aggravating when updates break something you've relied on for years, like opening .msg files for client evidence. I'm sorry this has been such a headache, and thanks for detailing it; it helps spotlight these issues for the community.

As you pointed out, Microsoft has shifted focus to .eml as their preferred format (which, as you noted, doesn't always play nice with Mac Mail), but they've removed even basic read-only support for the older .msg format in the "New" Outlook for Mac. This stems from Outlook for Mac's different architecture compared to Windows. It's a known limitation where macOS doesn't natively handle .msg files the same way, leading to that useless "new email with attachment" loop you described.

From research and similar user reports, here are some workarounds that might help. You mentioned trying to open and send the files to yourself, so these build on that starting with the most reliable option:

1. Revert to Classic Legacy Outlook for Mac: This often resolves the issue by allowing direct, full access to .msg files. In New Outlook, go to the menu bar > Outlook > Revert to Legacy Outlook. Once switched, drag the .msg file into the app or right-click and select Open With > Outlook.

2. Use the Outlook Web App: Email the .msg file to your Outlook.com account, then open the attachment via the web to view it. To set Outlook as default: Right-click the file > Open With > Other > Check "Always Open With" > Select Outlook > Open. Note that this is only partially helpful and requires a Microsoft account (like Outlook.com).

3. Open with TextEdit: For a quick text peek (though it may show gibberish), find the file in Finder > Right-click > Open With > TextEdit, and scroll for readable content.

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4. Change the File Extension: Since you mentioned .eml, this could be a good next step. It's not exactly what you described trying, but it leverages that format. Rename the file from .msg to .eml (Right-click in Finder > Get Info > Expand Name & Extension > Change to .eml). Then, open it in Apple Mail or Outlook; it often works well for simpler files without the attachment loop.

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If these don't cut it, I know there are third-party tools that can assist with viewing or converting .msg files, but as a moderator, I can't point you to specific ones. You can easily find them by searching online for "MSG viewer for Mac."

I truly appreciate your feedback, insights like yours are invaluable and directly help us improve products like Outlook. To get this in front of the Microsoft product team quickly, I encourage you to submit feedback directly. This can amplify your voice and influence future updates: Within the Outlook app: Go to Help > Feedback > Report a problem (be sure to include your Outlook version, macOS details, and steps to reproduce the issue, such as trying to open a .msg file and observing it creates a new email with the file attached instead of displaying the content) or through the Microsoft Outlook Feedback Portal.

Please know that while our initial response might not resolve the issue right away, your input is incredibly valuable. I hope this information helps resolve your issue to some extent, and I truly empathize and understand it. If you have any questions, or if I was unclear or misunderstood something, feel free to let me know. I'm here to help!

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment". User's image Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Hornblower409-4652 1,460 Reputation points

2025-08-25T05:29:45.56+00:00

Some (there are many more) of the Feedback Request you can vote for:

Can not open the MSG emails in MAC with Outlook
https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/idea/d9610938-0c1c-ef11-989b-000d3a05ece8

.msg on Mac IOS
https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/idea/10ee00f1-dd44-ef11-b4ad-000d3a0e6a3a

Allow Embedded Outlook Messages (.msg files) to be opened in Outlook for Mac.
https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/idea/747bc7ee-75bd-ed11-83ff-002248273995
Ryan Pistorius 10 Reputation points

2025-08-25T15:09:01.0033333+00:00

Thank you, Nghia, for your quick reply. Unfortunately, I must advise you that three of your four solutions are incorrect (and the fourth is a view-only workaround).

Option 1) Classic Outlook for Mac displays exactly the same behaviour (i.e., trying to "open with" Outlook simply attaches the file to an email). We've replicated this on both Mac and Windows.

Option 3) As you acknowledge, doesn't actually provide the full file.

Option 4) None of the .msg file's contents display when you simply change the file type to .eml – neither the body content nor the attachments.

The only option which offers a workaround is, as you say, re-emailing all the documents to myself and viewing them in the web-based Outlook (Option 2). Unfortunately, this is a temporary solution only, as I cannot then export the file from web Outlook into a usable format. The court will not accept "please email them to yourself and view them in your browser".

I should also clarify two points:

.eml plays very nicely with Mac, which has been using that format for years. My frustration comes from the fact that Microsoft's own preferred .msg format is now being sunsetted without any support from Microsoft. This is unprofessional at best.

My firm has attempted to open the documents in Windows-based New Outlook, and is running into the same problems. In other words, it's a Microsoft issue, not a Mac issue. The issue isn't the architecture; it's the architect.

I will up-vote the problem reports that you (and Hornblower409-4652, thank you for the addition) have recommended. However, I must be honest that seeing no solution on the horizon – given that Microsoft has been stumbling along the "New Outlook" path for a few years now – this experience only further reinforces my decision to #ChooseMac.
Austin-H 3,750 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-08-26T02:31:49.5666667+00:00

Hi @Ryan Pistorius
Thank you for your comment for Nghia.
I have been checking on this issue, yes - that's true about there is no official information about this New Outlook which could open *.msg files.
Unfortunately, as we are all forum moderators, we do not have any access to internal information to check this for you (I really wish I could). The only workable method is trying to open it via Outlook Web.

From my perspective view, this *.msg file is old extension file which is no longer supported (for example, in the past I tried to find workaround by using other email clients - I will not mention them here at the moment due to our policy) in many email clients. Either you might need to open it via Outlook on Web or use the conversion application is preferred for now to solve this issue.
I could not give any opinion about Microsoft on doing this on architecture side, but I really hope that this feedback you gave could be considered in the future.
I am truly sorry to hear that these inconveniences have been there for a long time until now but for now it seems like Outlook Web is the only practical way

Answer 2

Chris Smith 6

Thanks for the response and I'll try to rename existing/historical messages (we have many saved in our CRM from customers) but please Microsoft, just make new tool be able to read these. It's been years.

Chris Smith 6 Reputation points

2025-08-25T17:45:09.2266667+00:00

also renaming .msg to .eml does not work, the encoding is not the same. MS just needs to fix this.

Also notes like "SUBMIT YOUR FEEDBACK" on a site where people are submitting their feedback is Dumb. Microsoft - USE SOME AI to scrape all the sentiment and requests people are already sharing and you're ignoring.
Ryan Pistorius 10 Reputation points

2025-08-25T19:29:33.6633333+00:00

I wish there was a way to up-vote your comment, Chris Smith (though you didn't "solve [my] problem", haha). I agree, it has been years and it's ridiculous. It's clearly wilful ignorance at this point.

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How to open .msg files in "New" Outlook?

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