OL97: How to Import and Export Text Data with Outlook (167337)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Outlook 97
This article was previously published under Q167337

SUMMARY

This article describes how you can use the Microsoft Outlook 97 Import and Export Wizard to import text data into Outlook and export Outlook data to a text file.

Use of a text file is helpful when the converters provided with Outlook do not directly match the format of the other program. Most programs can export and import text files, so you can often use a text file as a common file format for exporting and importing data with Outlook.

MORE INFORMATION

Outlook's Import and Export Wizard can import and export the following types of text data:

Comma Separated Values (MS-DOS) Comma Separated Values (Windows) Tab Separated Values (MS-DOS) Tab Separated Values (Windows)

MS-DOS Versus Windows

You should make the decision to use the MS-DOS or Windows converter based on the text character set used in your data. ASCII is a character set used by many MS-DOS programs, and ANSI is a character set used by many Windows programs. The largest difference between ASCII and ANSI are the upper 128 characters; the lower 128 characters are the same. The upper 128 characters are often referred to as extended characters. ASCII extended characters include line draw characters while ANSI extended characters include international characters and publishing symbols.

Comma Versus Tab

The character used to separate (delimit) each field in your data determines if you use the comma or tab separated converter. If you open your data in Microsoft Word 97 and see commas between each field, then your data is comma separated. Comma separated values are sometimes referred to as a CSV file. If rather than commas you see space between the fields, then your data is either tab separated or uses a fixed width field. Outlook's tab separated converter looks for a tab character between fields. In Word 97 you can select the Show/Hide option; tabs appear as arrows that point to the right, and space characters appear as small dots.

NOTE: Do not save your file as a Word document, since Word uses a different file format.

Importing Text Data

Follow these steps to import data from a text file:
  1. On the File menu, click "Import and Export" to open the Import and Export Wizard.
  2. In "Choose an action to perform," click "Import from Schedule+ or another program or file" and click Next.
  3. In "Select file type to import from," click to select the file type that matches your data and click Next.
  4. In "File to import", type the path and file name of the file you want to import, or click Browse to navigate to the file and Click Next.
  5. In "Select destination folder," click the folder you want to import into and click Next.
  6. Click "Map Custom Fields" if you want to control how fields map from your text data into the destination folder fields, otherwise click Finish.

Exporting Text Data

  1. On the File menu, click Import and Export to open the Import and Export Wizard.
  2. In "Choose an action to perform," click "Export to a file" and click Next.
  3. In "Select folder to export from," click the folder you want to export and click Next.
  4. In "Create a file of type," click to select a format for the file you want export and click Next.
  5. In "Save exported file as", type the path and file name for the file you want export and click Next.
  6. Click Map Custom Field if you want to control how fields map from your folder to the text file, otherwise click Finish.

REFERENCES

For more information about types of files you can import and export, type import export in the Office Assistant, click Search, and then click to view "File types you can import or export from Outlook."
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:7/27/2001
Keywords:kbExport kbhowto kbImport kbmigrate KB167337
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