How to import contacts into Outlook

If you have a list of friends or family and their email addresses you can import this list into Outlook meaning you have their e-mail address handy when you next need to send them an email.

If your list also contains phone numbers another advantage is once you have imported your list you can synchronize your outlook contacts with your BlackBerry phone following the instructions in last month’s issue.




Make sure the first row of your Excel list contains headings for each column such as “First Name”, “Surname”, “Email Address”, etc. Now save the file as a CSV file by selecting the File menu and choosing “Save As”. In the file type dropdown list, select the “CSV Comma Delimited” option, give the file a name and save it in a location you will remember.





Now go to Outlook and click on the File menu. Select Open & Export then select the Import/Export option. A new window will open with several options. Select the “Import from another file or program” option and click the “Next” button. At the next step, select “Comma separated values” and click the “Next” button.





Click the “Browse” button and select the file you created in step 1, then click the Next button. Now select the folder you want to import these contacts into, of course this would be the Contacts folder, but you may have more than one Contacts folder to choose from. Once selected, click the Next button followed by the “Map Custom Fields” button.





You will now see a list of the column headings from your file on the left, and a list of the available fields in Outlook on the right. Drag the column headings on the left and drop them onto the correct field headings on the right so your information is imported into the correct places. Once finished, click the OK button and then the Finish button to import your contacts.