How to Convert Batches of Email Into PDFs

24 March 2022 by Ross eDiscovery pdf email
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Takeaway: GoldFynch is the perfect online tool to convert batches of email into PDFs. And it’s free up to 512 MB of emails, making it ideal for quick conversions. For larger batches of email, you can upgrade to a monthly subscription starting at $27 a month for 3GB of storage. Either way, you also get access to a complete suite of eDiscovery tools like an advanced search engine, quick file tagging, and secure redactions.

GoldFynch is an online tool with a feature to convert emails into PDFs.

Here’s how to repurpose GoldFynch’s eDiscovery service to convert emails into PDFs for free.

Step 1: Open GoldFynch via your web browser.

GoldFynch runs in the Cloud, and you’ll access it via your web browser. That means there’s nothing to download and install. Just go to the GoldFynch signup page, sign up for free via your email address, and you’re good to go.

Step 2: Gather your emails.

Select the emails you want to convert. Usually, this means selecting the container file (MBOX, PST, etc.) holding your archived emails.

  • Gmail makes it easy to export emails via Google Takeout. On the Google Takeout landing page, deselect all the default apps and scroll down to select the Gmail app as your email source. You’ll get a download link, which sends you the MBOX within a ZIP file. Here’s a detailed guide to exporting emails from Gmail.
  • Yahoo! doesn’t have a built-in export tool, but we can use the IMAP protocol as a workaround. First, open your free GoldFynch trial case (from Step 1 above) and click the ‘help’ button on the top right. This opens a support request where you can enter your Yahoo! User ID and the application password generated from within your Yahoo! account. GoldFynch will then coordinate with Yahoo! to gather your emails directly. Here’s a detailed guide to exporting emails from Yahoo!
  • Outlook stores your mailbox and email folders as PST & OST files. To find where these are stored, go to your Outlook Account Settings and look for the Data Files tab. Select the account you want to export and click the Open File Location button to take you to your PST/OST. Here’s a detailed guide to finding your Outlook PSTs/OSTs.

Step 3: Upload your emails to GoldFynch.

To upload your emails, drag-and-drop their container file (MBOX, PST, etc.) into the GoldFynch window of your web browser. Alternatively, you can use GoldFynch’s ‘upload file’ option and select the container file by navigating to its folder. (Note: Yahoo! users can skip this step since you imported your files in Step 2 above.) GoldFynch unzips and bulk-processes all your emails automatically – extracting metadata, using OCR to convert scanned documents into machine-readable text, and indexing your data to make it searchable. Importantly, it preserves your email folder hierarchy and file family links (e.g., it stores an email and its attachments together).

Step 4: Choose the emails you want to convert.

GoldFynch lets you upload entire mailboxes and choose to convert only select emails. Here’s how. (You can skip this step if you’ve pre-selected the emails before uploading to GoldFynch.)

  1. Find emails using GoldFynch’s search engine. If you only want to convert specific emails, GoldFynch’s search engine can find them for you. Search for simple keywords or use Boolean operators to combine keywords into advanced search phrases. For example, you can give GoldFynch a search command like “Find all the emails Jan Levinson sent Michael Scott about the Staples meeting before 2015.” Note that, unlike regular email applications, GoldFynch will check for keywords in email attachments, too. Learn more about advanced searches.
  2. Tag emails you want to convert. Tags are like virtual sticky notes that you’ll use to label emails to be converted. After finding the emails using GoldFynch’s search engine, tag them with a convenient label like ‘To convert.’ Learn more about tagging.

Step 5: Convert your emails into PDFs.

Click on GoldFynch’s ‘Production’ tab to start converting your emails into PDFs. You can produce (i.e., convert) all your emails or only those with particular tags. And you can add/remove emails manually, too. Importantly, you can also cover up privileged content by placing ‘redaction boxes’ over sensitive text. These boxes stay translucent when in ‘preview’ mode (so you can read what’s under them) and turn opaque when in ‘final’ mode. (Learn more about redactions.) Once GoldFynch has converted your emails, you’ll be able to download the PDFs as a ZIP file or share them with someone via a download link. GoldFynch will generate this link for you, and you can invalidate it at any point to revoke the sharing rights. Learn more about sharing productions.

GoldFynch can do more than just convert emails into PDFs, though.

GoldFynch is an eDiscovery subscription service that can help you search, organize, and prepare all sorts of data – not just emails – using a few carefully chosen review tools. If you want more than the free trial case, consider signing up for a paid plan. Here’s why:

  • It costs just $27 a month for a 3 GB case: That’s significantly less than most comparable software. With GoldFynch, you know what you’re paying for exactly – its pricing is simple and readily available on the website.
  • It’s easy to budget for. GoldFynch charges only for storage (processing files is free). So, choose from a range of plans (3 GB to 150+ GB) and know up-front how much you’ll be paying. You can upload and cull as much data as you want, as long as you stay below your storage limit. And even if you do cross the limit, you can upgrade your plan with just a few clicks. Also, billing is prorated – so you’ll pay only for the time you spend on any given plan. With legacy software, pricing is much less predictable.
  • It takes just minutes to get going. GoldFynch runs in the Cloud, so you use it through your web browser (Google Chrome recommended). No installation. No sales calls or emails. Plus, you get a free trial case (0.5 GB of data and a processing cap of 1 GB) without adding a credit card.
  • It’s simple to use. Many eDiscovery applications take hours to master. GoldFynch takes minutes. It handles a lot of complex processing in the background, but what you see is minimal and intuitive. Just drag-and-drop your files into GoldFynch, and you’re good to go. Plus, you get prompt and reliable tech support.
  • Access it from anywhere, and 24/7. All your files are backed up and secure in the Cloud.

Want to find out more about GoldFynch?

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