If you want to know how to browse EML files on Windows, you are in the right place. In this article, we will provide the location of your EML files and the methods to read data from EML files.
The EML file saves your individual email messages in your local storage space, i.e., a hard disk. This file contains the properties of your emails, like to, from, subject, data, etc., and associated attachments. As the file is in your local storage place, it is easy to find the location of the file. Your file is stored in the app data folder; however, if you want to browse emails on Windows read the content, then that is what you will do.
Location of EML Files
Before opening the file, we first need to know the location of your EML files. If you do not know that, then it takes more time to find the file and open it. So, usually, you can find your files in C:\Users\\Appdata\Local\Microsoft\Windows Live Mail. In this, the user login indicates logging in to Windows when you open it. So, this is the path where you can find your files. With this, you can view your emails stored as EML files.
Methods to Browse EML Files on Windows
After you know the location of your files, let’s move on to the different ways in which you can open your files. EML files are used in various email clients, so there are also various ways to open and view EML file data. You can use Windows Live Mail, Outlook, and Notepad to read your files. If you want to analyze your files, then a third-party tool is a better option. Thus, there are two options to see your EML files.
- Manual method: use an email program to open and read the EML files.
- Professional method: using third-party software to view your emails.
Manual Method to Browse EML Files on Windows
In this, we use different email programs to read data from EML files. As you know, there are various email clients that use EML files.
- Windows Live Mail
- MS Outlook
- Notepad
These will be the programs we use to open and view the content in it.
Import EML Files in Windows Live Mail
Windows Live Mail is a free email client by Microsoft and is used only on Windows systems. This is one of the systems that uses EML files to store its data.
- Open Windows Live Mail on your devices.
- Click on the Files option, and then Import Messages.
- Select Windows Live Mail and click on the Browse button to navigate to the location of your files by following the path mentioned above.
- Select the EML files that you want in the program and click Next.
- The program starts the scanning process. Once it finishes importing your files, go to the inbox of the program and see the content of the files.
Open EML Files in MS Outlook
Outlook is also one of the email programs that can open EML files. You can also use this method to browse EML files on Windows. Here, we use a drag-and-drop method to import our files into Outlook.
- First, create a new folder in the Outlook program; for that, open the application.
- In the folder pane, right-click the place where you want to make the folder.
- Select the new folder, provide a name, and click OK.
- Go to the location of your EML files. Select one file and drag and drop it into the program.
- Again, choose another EML file and drag and drop it in the same folder. Repeat the step again until you import all the files in the folder.
- Now, go to the folder that contains your imported EML file and see the emails one by one.
Use Notepad to Browse EML Files on Windows
EML files store their data in text format, which makes it easier to open the files on other platforms, like Notepad applications. By opening the file in Notepad, you can view all the data in text.
- First, navigate to the location of your EML files.
- After that, right-click the file and select the Notepad option.
- Your file will open in the application. With this, you can see the content of the file.
Note: By following the above steps, you can open the email client. For this, select Outlook, Windows Live Mail, or any other program that is installed on your device and supports EML files.
Limitations of Manual Methods
All the above methods that we discuss are manual techniques. They are free and easy, but there are many drawbacks.
- You have to physically import an individual EML file into the program. This will become time-consuming if you have multiple files to import.
- During the process, there are chances that you can lose your data.
- These methods cannot be used for analyzing your EML files, as there are no advanced options.
Thus, if you don’t want to face these problems, it is better to use the next method, the professional one.
Professional Method to Browse EML Files on Windows
In the above methods, we use email clients to open and read the EML files. But, in this case, we use the FreeViewer EML Viewer Tool to directly open your files and read the content in them. The software can smoothly browse the emails and attachments and display them in your files in such a way that you can clearly see the content of the file. Moreover, it offers many additional features.
Features of Software
- There are multiple preview modes to open and read EML files, such as HEX, HTML, RTF, etc.
- It has advanced search options to search for specific data from your files.
- You can easily browse an oversized EML file because there is no file size restriction to read the content of the file.
- Users can read corrupt EML files without any difficulty.
- The software allows users to read the email properties as well, like to, from, subject, date, attachments, etc.
Steps to Read EML Files
- Download and open the software.
- Find your folder, which contains EML files, from the list of files and folders on the left side of the screen.
- When you find the EML folder, click it, and the software will display all the files in front of you.
- Click on the emails to see the content of the file and also preview them.
Conclusion
In this article, we see the location of EML files stored in your local storage. We also explain different ways to browse EML files on Windows. There are two methods to open and read the files. In the manual, we use Windows Live Mail, Outlook, and Notepad to import and read the content. The second method is to professionally open the files and view them without using an email client.