How to import contacts into Outlook from Excel (295664)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Outlook 2000
  • Microsoft Outlook 2002
  • Microsoft Office Outlook 2003
  • Microsoft Excel 2002
  • Microsoft Office Excel 2003
This article was previously published under Q295664

SUMMARY

If you have a list of contacts contained in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, it will not be readily accessible to Microsoft Outlook or to other programs that may access the Address Book. To overcome this obstacle, you can export and then import the list into Outlook by using the procedure in the "More Information" section of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

Exporting from Excel

  1. If row 1 of your spreadsheet contains column descriptions, such as "Name," "E-mail Address," and so on, skip to step 3. If it does not, add one that does by right-clicking the 1 to the left of the first row, and then clicking Insert.
  2. In the new blank cells at the top of each column, type a description for that column, such as "Name," "E-mail Address," "Company," "Phone Number," and so on.
  3. On the File menu, click Save As.
  4. Choose a folder to save to from the Save in drop-down list, type a name for the file, such as "Contacts," in the File name box, and in the Save as type drop-down list, click CSV (Comma delimited).
  5. Make a note of the folder location, and then click SAVE.

Importing into Outlook

  1. If you are importing into an existing Contacts folder, skip to step 3. To create a new folder in Outlook, click Folder List on the View menu, unless the Folder List is open already.
  2. Right-click the Contacts folder, and then click New Folder, type a name for the new folder, and then click OK.
  3. On the File menu, click Import and Export, click Next, click Comma Separated Values (Windows), and then click Next.
  4. If the file that is displayed is not the correct file, click Browse, browse to the folder noted in step 3, and then double-click the file to select it.
  5. If you are importing into a new folder, the Options settings is irrelevant because there are no duplicates. If not, choose the most logical selection. Click Allow duplicates if you are not sure, and then click Next.
  6. Click the Contacts folder, or other contacts-type folder that you have created, to import into, and then click Next.
  7. If you are not sure that the column names in the first row of the spreadsheet will map correctly to the Outlook fields, click Map custom fields to verify them.

    NOTE: If Map custom fields is unavailable, you have chosen a non-contact-type folder to import into. Click Back, and then choose the correct folder. If you are satisfied with the mapping, click OK to close the Map Custom Fields dialog box, and then click Finish.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:1/26/2006
Keywords:kbhowto KB295664
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