Process Of Importing Contact to Outlook from CSV and PST File

Many email users save their contact addresses to an address book. You can easily export and import emails when you migrate from a specific email platform to another one or change your email client. You might also need to transfer contacts in your Outlook contact or address list when setting up a new account. So you must know the correct process of importing contacts to Outlook. Outlook offers a quick and easy method to import the contacts in a single go. In this article, you’ll find stepwise instructions to help you import contacts into Outlook.

Which File Types Can You Import Contacts?

MS Outlook permits you to import contacts from two types of files, PST and CSV. PST or Personal Storage Cable is a unique file format for keeping data in Outlook and other such Microsoft software. In this file, contacts are present in the correct format and don’t need any modification.

Your contact information will be in a . CSV file if you have stored it in Excel or a spreadsheet program. The CSV or Comma Separated Values file can be imported to MS Outlook with some simple changes. You must ensure that the values in the CSV file are separated by commas. Outlook supports comma as a field separator. Therefore, you must replace semicolons and other delimiters with this symbol before importing contacts into Outlook.

Importing Contact to Outlook from CSV File

The steps for importing address books to Outlook are the same for Outlook 2019, 2016, and 2013 versions. Follow the steps below.

• Go to MS Outlook and tap ‘File.’
• Choose ‘Open & Export’ followed by ‘Import/Export.’
• You will view the ‘Import and Export Wizard.’ Opt for ‘Import from another program or file.’ Then, tap ‘Next.’

• Choose ‘Comma Separated Values’ for importing CSV contacts to Outlook and tap ‘Next.’

• • Now, you need to make some choices-
    • Tap the ‘Browse’ button. Locate and tap your .csv file to choose it
    • You can choose how you desire to handle ‘Duplicate contact items.’

• After you complete this, tap ‘Next.’
• Choose ‘Contacts’ below the target email account and tap ‘Next.’

• If you are importing previously exported CSV contacts from Outlook, the contact list is in the needed format. So, you should tap ‘Finish’ to immediately begin the process of importing the contacts.
• If you are importing contacts from a mail app or excel other than Outlook, you should map some columns in the CSV file to the contact fields of Outlook. In such an instance, tap ‘Map Custom Fields.’
  You’ll see a dialogue box appearing. Here, under ‘From,’ you’ll view the column names present in your CSV file.

• Under ‘To,’ you’ll view the typical Outlook contacts fields.
• If a CSV file’s column name matches an Outlook field, that specific column is mapped automatically. It will show under ‘Mapped From.’
• But if a column name doesn’t seem to match any field in Outlook, you must conduct manual mapping. To do it, drag the column and put it beside the corresponding field present in the right pane.
• To find a match, tap the plus sign beside the appropriate field present in the right pane to expand it.
• When every column gets mapped, tap ‘OK.’
• In the dialogue box of ‘Import a File,’ tap ‘Finish.’
• Outlook will display a progress box. It allows the user to know that it has started importing your contacts. When this box closes, the import process is complete.
• To ensure that the process to import contacts to Office 365 is done successfully, tap the ‘People’ icon present on the navigation bar. Here you can see your contact list.

How To Import Contacts into Outlook from PST File

Importing contacts to Outlook from a PST file is useful when you are shifting contacts from one to another computer. It’s also helpful when you want to transfer all Outlook items like contacts, tasks, and appointments. Follow these steps to import contacts into MS Outlook from a .pst file.

• Launch Outlook and tap ‘File’ followed by ‘Open & Export’ and ‘Import/Export.’
• Select ‘Import from another program or file’ and tap ‘Next.’
• Select ‘Outlook Data File (.pst).’ Then tap ‘Next.’
• Hit ‘Browse’ and select the PST file that you desire to import. Always select how to deal with ‘Duplicate items’ below ‘Options’ and then hit ‘Next.’
• Provide the password if your .pst file is password protected.
• Choose ‘Outlook Data File’ below ‘Select a folder to import from’ if you desire to import the full PST. You can also expand and select a specific sub-folder to import.
• Select the ‘Import items into the current folder’ option if the target account is presently chosen in the Navigation pane. Otherwise, tick ‘Import items into the same folder in’ and select the mailbox where the contacts should get imported.
• Click ‘Finish’ when you’ve done everything. The process for importing the address book to Outlook will commence right away. When it’s completed you will find the progress box disappearing.

Importing Contacts into Outlook Online

Outlook Online is an element of the Microsoft 365 suite. To conduct the process of Outlook import contacts, follow these points.

• Login to your Outlook.com account.
• Tap the ‘People’ icon present on the lower-left corner.
• On the page’s upper-right corner, tap ‘Manage’ and choose ‘Import Contacts.’
• Tap ‘Browse,’ choose your CSV file and tap ‘Open.’
• When the CSV file is in the box, tap ‘Import.’

If the .csv file has any contact that is already present in your Outlook account, it will result in the creation of duplicate items. However, it will not delete or replace any of your existing contacts.

Read Also- How To Recover Deleted Emails In Outlook?

Final Words

Follow the instructions in this post, and you’ll find no problem in importing contact to Outlook. They may seem lengthy but will get the work done easily. If you encounter any issues, feel free to contact our experts at the Microsoft outlook support number. The Outlook technical support staff will help you resolve any kind of problem.