OL98: Cannot Import or Export User-defined Contact Fields (180829)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Outlook 98
This article was previously published under Q180829

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Outlook 98, you cannot import or export user-defined fields from or into other file formats using the Import and Export command on the File menu. This is true of user-defined fields in all Outlook items.

CAUSE

User defined fields are visible only in the Outlook viewer. These fields do not appear in the Outlook internal name list, therefore they are not exported.

RESOLUTION

Importing User-defined Fields

You can import data into four general Outlook fields called User Field 1, User Field 2, User Field 3, and User Field 4. These fields are available in a Contact record on the All Fields tab under Miscellaneous fields.

For information on programmatically importing user-defined fields, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

180981 OL98: Programmatically Import Outlook Items from MS Access

Exporting User-defined Fields

To export user-defined fields from your Contacts, define a Table view of the Contacts containing the user-defined fields. Then copy the contacts from Outlook and paste them into Microsoft Excel where you can save them in a variety of formats.

MORE INFORMATION

To define a Table view of your Contacts folder containing the user-defined fields you want to export, follow these steps:

  1. On the Tools menu, click Organize and click Using Views.
  2. In the Change Your view list, click to select a tabular view such as Phone list, click Customize Current View and then click Fields.
  3. Click to select the field source from the "Select available fields from" list. This may be either "User-defined fields in folder" or a form containing the user-defined fields.
  4. Select the user-defined fields from the "Available fields" list and click Add to move the fields to the "Show these fields in this order" list.
  5. To position a field in the list click the field to select it and then click Move Up or Move Down. Click OK and OK.
  6. In the Current View list, click to select the current view name and type a name for your new view. Press ENTER and click OK.
The new column should now display the User-defined field.

Export the Contacts

  1. Click to select the set of Contacts you want to export and on the Edit menu, click Copy.
  2. Open Microsoft Excel and paste the contacts into a new worksheet.
  3. On the File menu, click Save As to save the Contact records. In the Save As Type list, click to select the format you desire.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:7/29/1999
Keywords:kbhowto kbprb KB180829
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