Can Apple Mail open .msg files?

No. Apple Mail opens .eml files but not Outlook's .msg format. Drop the .msg file in the box above to read it.

Do I need Outlook for Mac?

No. This viewer runs in Safari, Chrome, Firefox or Edge with nothing installed.

Can Preview open a .msg file?

No, but it opens the PDF you save here. Click Save as PDF, save the file, then double-click it.

Is my email uploaded?

No. The file is read in your browser and never sent to our server or stored.

Does it work on iPhone and iPad?

Yes. Save the .msg to Files, open this page in Safari, tap Choose files and pick it.

Yes. No signup and no cap on the number of files: very large batches are limited only by your device's memory.

How to open a .msg file on a Mac

Why your Mac can't open .msg files

A .msg file is an email saved by Microsoft Outlook, usually on Windows, with Save As or by dragging a message out of Outlook. It uses Outlook's own file format.

A Mac without Outlook for Windows has no built-in app that opens it. Apple Mail opens .eml files, the standard email format, but not .msg. Preview, TextEdit and Pages can't read it either. When you double-click it in Finder, macOS asks which app to use, or opens it as unreadable text.

Open a .msg file on a Mac, step by step

Save the .msg file to your Mac. If it came as an email attachment, drag it from Apple Mail to the desktop or Downloads.
Drag it from Finder onto the box at the top of this page, or click Choose files. You can add several .msg files at once.
Read the email. You get the subject, from, to, cc, date and the message, laid out as the sender designed it.
Download attachments with the button next to each file, or Download all (ZIP). Double-click the ZIP in Finder to unpack it.
Save as PDF if you want to keep it. Click Save as PDF, then in Safari's Print dialog click the PDF button at the bottom-left and choose Save as PDF. File > Export as PDF works too. The PDF opens in Preview.

Chrome, Firefox and Edge on macOS work the same way; in Chrome, set Destination to Save as PDF.

What you see in the viewer

The message, including formatted HTML emails, shown in a locked-down frame where no scripts run. Messages stored as Outlook rich text are converted so you can read them.
Pictures from the internet are blocked by default, since they can tell the sender you opened the email. Click Load remote images to show them. Pictures embedded in the email show normally.
Attachments, each with its name and size.
Attached emails, like an .msg inside an .msg or a forwarded message, which open in the same viewer.

About the PDF

The PDF holds the header block, the message and a list of the attachment names. Picture attachments (JPEG, PNG, GIF) are printed after the list. Other files, such as Word documents or spreadsheets, are not embedded in the PDF; download them separately with Download all (ZIP). Several emails can go into one PDF with Save all as one PDF, oldest first, each on a new page. More detail on the MSG to PDF page.

Your email stays on your computer

The viewer runs entirely in your browser on your Mac. Your .msg files are never uploaded to our server and never stored. Only this page and its scripts come from us; reading the file and making the PDF happen on your computer, in Safari's own print engine.

Limits

Complex HTML emails print the way Safari (or your browser) renders them, and fonts follow the browser.
Encrypted messages aren't decrypted. Signed messages display, but the signature isn't verified.
Password-protected attachments stay protected.
Meeting invites appear as .ics attachments; double-click one to add it to Calendar.
Some very old or damaged files may not open.

Got winmail.dat in Apple Mail instead of attachments? That's a different Outlook format: see how to open winmail.dat on a Mac.