ARCHIVED: In Microsoft Outlook, how can I import address information from an Excel workbook into my Contacts list?

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To import Excel data into Outlook:

  1. Arrange the Excel data in the traditional database format; i.e., give each column a title to match your Outlook Contacts list, and make each row a record.
  2. To display the Name dialog box, press Ctrl-F3. Use this dialog box to assign the name Contacts to the entire range of contacts data.
  3. Open Outlook. In Outlook 2010, from the File menu, select Open and then click Import.

    In earlier versions, from the File menu, select Import and Export....

  4. In Outlook, select Import from another program or file.
  5. Select Microsoft Excel. Import the file as .xls (not .xlsx). Click Next.

    Note: You may get the following prompt: "Microsoft Office Outlook cannot start the required translator. This feature is not currently installed. Would you like to install it now?" If you do, verify the Excel Contacts file is not currently open; then, click Yes to continue.

  6. From the file import page, make your desired selections, depending on how you want to handle duplicates. To navigate to the Excel file you are importing, click Browse....
  7. In the Browse window, select the file, and then click OK. In the Import a File dialog box, click Next.
  8. In the Select a destination folder window, select the Contacts folder. Click Next.
  9. On this last page, you will see two buttons:
    • Map Custom Fields...: Click if you want to change the "field mapping", i.e., the selection of which columns in your Excel file match up with which data in Outlook's contacts. For example, one of your Excel file columns might read "Home", and you'll have to map that in Outlook to either "Home Address" or "Home Phone", accordingly.
    • Change Destination...: Click to change the destination folder. Since you are importing contacts, and since you already selected the destination folder in the last step, you only need to click this if you've made a mistake or want to double-check that you've selected the right one.

    When you are done, click Finish, and wait for Outlook to complete the task. To check the results in Outlook, open your Contacts folder.

This is document aemb in the Knowledge Base.
Last modified on 2018-01-18 12:05:28.