- Microsoft Outlook app on your PC creates PST (Personal Storage Table) files to store your emails, attachments, and other relevant data.
- Outlook may fail to open or configure the data file on Windows if your user account lacks the necessary permissions to access the file.
- If the “Outlook data file cannot be accessed” error persists, run Microsoft’s Office repair tool.
Fix 1: Change the Default Mail Delivery Location
One of the most straightforward ways to fix the “Outlook data file cannot be accessed” error is to configure Microsoft Outlook to save your emails in a different location. So, let’s start with that.
Step 1: Open the Microsoft Outlook app and click the File menu in the top-left corner.
Step 2: In the Info tab, click on Account Settings and select Account Settings from the resulting menu.
Step 3: Switch to the Data Files tab and click the Add option.
Step 4: Select your preferred location and click OK .
Step 5: Select your newly created data file and click Set as Default .
Restart the Outlook app, and see if you can send and receive emails as before.
Fix 2: Change Ownership of the Outlook Data File
Microsoft Outlook may fail to open or configure the data file on Windows if your user account lacks the necessary permissions to access the file. To fix this, obtain ownership of the Outlook data file on your PC.
Step 1: Click the search icon on the taskbar, type control panel in the box, and press Enter .
Step 2: Use the drop-down menu in the top right corner to change the view type to Large icons . Then, click on Mail (Microsoft Outlook) .
Step 3: Click the Data Files button.
Step 4: Select your Outlook data file and click the Open File Location option.
Step 5: In the File Explorer window that opens, right-click on the Outlook data file and select Properties .
Step 6: Under the Security tab, click the Advanced button.
Step 7: Click on Change next to the Owner field.
Step 8: Enter your username in the text field, click the Check Names button, and click OK .
Step 9: Hit Apply and then OK .
Fix 3: Run the Inbox Repair Tool
Microsoft Outlook may fail to access the data files because they are damaged. Fortunately, Outlook offers a tool that can automatically fix problems with the data files .
Step 1: Press Windows + E to open File Explorer and navigate to the following folder.
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16
Step 2: Double-click the SCANPST.EXE file.
Step 3: Click Start to initiate the scan.
Step 4: If the tool finds any issues, click Repair .
After completing the above steps, check if the error occurs again.
Fix 4: Create a New Outlook Profile
If this profile has become corrupted, you could encounter the “Outlook data file cannot be accessed” error on your Windows computer. In that case, your best option is to create a new Outlook profile and start over.
Step 1: Click the search icon on the taskbar to open the Start menu, type control panel in the search bar, and press Enter .
Step 2: Click on Mail (Microsoft Outlook) .
Step 3: Click the Show Profile s button.
Step 4: Click the Add button, name your new profile, and hit OK .
Step 5: In the Add Account window, enter your account details and hit Next .
Step 6: Select your new profile using the drop-down menu and hit Apply .
Fix 5: Run the Office Repair Tool
Microsoft includes a dedicated tool for fixing issues with all the Office apps, including Outlook. So, if nothing works, run the Office repair tool to fix the error.
Step 1: Press the Windows key + R to launch the Run command. In the Open field, type appwiz.cpl and press Enter .
Step 2: In the Programs and Features window, select Microsoft Office Suite or Microsoft 365 and click the Change option.
Step 3: Select Online Repair and click the Repair button to continue.
Wait for the process to complete, then use Outlook again.
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- Select all the files you want to print, and use the Ctrl + P shortcut.
- Alternatively, right-click on the selected files and go to Show More Options > Print.
- You can select multiple PDF files, but you can’t print them at once. You need to use third-party apps to batch-print PDF files.
Method 1: Print Multiple Word, Excel, and Other Media
We will first show you how to launch the current print queue on Windows. If any print process is running in the background, complete or cancel it. Otherwise, you may run into errors with batch printing multiple files.
Step 1: Open the Settings app, go to Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners .
Step 2: This will display all the printers you have installed.
Ensure the printer you want to use is present in the list.
Step 3: Navigate to the relevant file explorer location. Select all the files you want to print.
You can only mark multiple files in the same location (for example, your Desktop), but not ones from two different places.
If you want to do that, you’ll have to repeat the process for every directory location with some of the files you want to print – or you can move them into the same location first.
Step 4: When all the ones you want to print are selected, press the Control + P keyboard shortcut at the same time. The usual print menu will open up, and you’ll be able to select your printer.
Alternatively, you can right-click on the selected files, go to Show More Options , and select Print .
Step 5: Select your printer, paper size, quality, paper type, and number of copies of each. You can fit the picture to the frame and hit click Print.
If you are looking for efficient methods to select multiple files on Windows , you can read our article on the same.
Method 2: Print Multiple PDFs
You can select multiple PDF files using the steps above, but you can’t print them at once. You need to use third-party apps to batch-print PDF files. Wondershare PDFelement is one such capable app to manage PDFs like a pro.
Step 1: Download and install Wondershare PDFelements .
Step 2: Launch File Explorer and select multiple PDF files using the Ctrl key trick.
Step 3: Right-click on your selection and select Show more options .
Step 4: Select Batch Print with Wondershare PDFelements .
Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the print job in no time.
