SUMMARY
This step-by-step article describes how to copy or how to
move your Personal Address Book (PAB) from one computer to another computer.
On all installations, including those with no e-mail accounts,
Microsoft Outlook creates a default Outlook Address Book. The Outlook Address
Book consolidates all your Outlook Contacts folders. The Outlook Address Book
is a virtual address book instead of a physical address book because Outlook
does not store the Outlook Address Book as a file that is separate from your
data store. The Outlook Address Book provides a view to your Contacts folders.
Unlike the Outlook Address Book, a personal address book (PAB) is a
physical address book that Outlook stores on disk that is separate from your
data store. You can add one PAB to an e-mail profile, and use the PAB to store
additional contact information.
You can use the PAB to store personal
addresses or to store other contact information that you want to keep separate
from your other Outlook data. Additionally, you can use a PAB to share
addresses with other users. The PAB uses a .pab file name extension, and
Outlook creates the PAB file when you add the PAB to your e-mail profile.
back to the topHow to identify the PAB file that your e-mail profile uses
- Start Outlook.
- On the Tools menu, click E-mail
Accounts.
- Under Directory, click View or
change existing directories or address books, and then click
Next.
- Under You can choose a directory or address book below to change or remove it, click Personal Address
Book, and then click Change.
- Note the path of your PAB file that is in the
Path box. You will require this information to find the PAB
file in step 3 in the "How to copy the PAB file to a second computer" section
of this article.
For example, C:\Exchange\Mailbox.pab indicates that a PAB named Mailbox.pab is located on a Microsoft
Exchange folder on your drive C. - Click OK, and then click
Finish to close all dialog boxes.
- On the File menu, click
Exit.
back to the topHow to copy the PAB file to a second computer
- Quit all e-mail programs.
- Start Microsoft Windows Explorer.
- In the Folders pane, expand the folders to
locate the PAB file whose path you took note of in step 5 in the "How to
identify the PAB File that your e-mail profile uses" section of this
article.
- Copy the PAB file to a 3.5 inch disk, and then use that
disk to copy the PAB file to the second computer. Note the path of the PAB file
on the second computer.
For example, if you copy the PAB file named
Mailbox.pab to a folder that is named Address Book on drive C, the path of the
address book is as follows:C:\Address Book\Mailbox.pab
Alternatively, if your two computers are on the same
network, you can copy the PAB file from the source computer to a network share
on the second computer.
For more information about how to perform this
task in Microsoft Windows, see your Windows printed documentation or your
online Help.
Note You can save the PAB file in any folder on the destination
computer as long as you remember the location.
back to the topHow to configure your second computer to use the new PAB file
If you do not have the Personal Address Book service in your
e-mail profile on the second computer, you must add the service before you can
add the new PAB file to your profile. To add the Personal Address Book service
for the new PAB file, follow these steps:
- Start Outlook.
- On the Tools menu, click E-mail
Accounts.
- Under Directory, click Add a new
directory or address book, and then click Next.
- Click Additional Address Books, and then
click Next.
- In the Additional Address Book Types box,
click Personal Address Book, and then click
Next.
- In the Path box, type the path of the PAB
file that you copied to the second computer in step 4 in the "How to copy the
PAB file to a second computer" section of this article. Alternatively, you can
click Browse to locate the PAB file.
- Click OK.
- If you receive the The E-mail account you have just
added will not be start until you choose Exit from the file menu, and then
restart Outlook prompt, click OK.
- On the File menu, click
Exit, and then restart Outlook. Your new PAB is now available.
If you have the Personal Address Book service in your e-mail
profile on the second computer, you can change the service to use the new PAB
file. To change an existing Personal Address Book service to use the new PAB
file, follow these steps:
- On the second computer, start Outlook.
- On the Tools menu, click E-mail
Accounts.
- Under Directory, click View or
change existing directories or Address Books, and then click
Next.
- In the Outlook processes e-mail for these accounts
in the following order list, click Personal Address
Book, and then click Change.
- On the Personal Address Book tab, type the
path of the PAB file that you copied to the second computer in step 4 in the
"How to copy the PAB file to a second computer" section of this article.
Alternatively, you can click Browse to locate the PAB
file.
- Click the PAB file, click OK, and then
click Finish.
- On the File menu, click
Exit.
- Quit and then restart Outlook. Your new PAB is now
available.
Note There can be only one Personal Address Book service per e-mail
profile. There is not a method for merging one PAB file with another. You can
use the Outlook Import and Export Wizard to merge the active PAB entries in
your Contacts folder.
Additionally, you can add both recipients and
distribution lists to contacts that are in the Personal Address Book interface
in Microsoft Office Outlook 2003.
For more information about the Outlook Import and Export Wizard, click
Microsoft Office
Outlook Help on the
Help menu, type
Outlook Import and Export
Wizard in the
Search for box in the Assistance pane, and then click
Start searching to view the topic.
back to the
top