Microsoft promises to pull back the covers on Outlook .PST files |
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Microsoft promises to pull back the covers on Outlook .PST files
Microsoft says it plans to publicly release documentation for the .pst format commonly used to archive messages, contacts and other data from Microsoft Outlook. The idea is to open up the format for other developers to use it in other programs, the company says.
"This will allow developers to read, create, and interoperate with the data in .pst files in server and client scenarios using the programming language and platform of their choice," writes Paul Lorimer, a Microsoft Office Interoperability group manager, in a blog post this morning explaining the move. "The technical documentation will detail how the data is stored, along with guidance for accessing that data from other software applications. It also will highlight the structure of the .pst file, provide details like how to navigate the folder hierarchy, and explain how to access the individual data objects and properties."
It's an interesting move, and the company's underlying motivations are likely to be scrutinized closely. Microsoft is pitching it as a way to make data more portable among different applications and services. That could make it easier for Outlook and Exchange rivals to persuade companies and users to switch.
However, more widespread implementation and use of .pst could further solidify the Microsoft format as a de facto standard -- the type of situation that the company's competitors have historically tried to avoid.
The company says the move is part of its Interoperability Principles pledge to be more transparent about the inner workings of its "high volume" products.
[Note: Spelling of Paul Lorimer's name corrected since original post. Thanks to the reader who pointed out the mistake below.]
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