Microsoft Outlook is a popular email client that allows you to organize and manage mailbox items, including messages, calendars, tasks, and contacts. The email client also creates a list of contacts, under a Contacts folder, based on the emails you receive and send. You can also add, view, and edit contacts to keep the list updated. However, sometimes, need arises when you need to export contacts from your Outlook client. In this article, we will look into the reasons for exporting the contacts from Outlook and discuss some easy ways to export the Outlook contacts to different formats.
Reasons for Exporting Contacts from Outlook
Here are some possible reasons for exporting contacts from Outlook:
- Taking Backup: You can export contacts from Outlook to create a backup of your contacts information. This backup can come in handy in case of Outlook data file corruption or other issues.
- Data Migration: If you’re switching to another email client or another version of Outlook, then you need to export contacts and other mailbox data from Outlook.
- Offline Access: You can export contacts from Outlook to a CSV file which helps you to access the contacts offline on your system.
- Selective Sharing: You can export contacts from Outlook and share them without giving access to the entire mailbox.
Methods to Export Contacts from Outlook
You can export contacts from Outlook to CSV and PST file formats, depending on your requirements. Below, we will be mentioning different methods with stepwise instructions to export Outlook contacts in these file formats.
Method 1 – Export Contacts from Outlook using Import and Export Wizard
You can use Outlook Import and Export Wizard to export contacts to CSV or PST file format. To export contacts from Outlook to .csv file, follow the steps given below:
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- Open Outlook and navigate to ‘File’.Select ‘Open & Export’ and then click on ‘Import/Export’.
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- In the Import and Export wizard, select ‘Export to a file’, and click on ‘Next’.
- In the ‘Export to a File’window, select ‘Comma Separated Values’ under ‘Create a file of type’, and click on ‘Next’.
- Under the ‘Select folder to export from,’ select the ‘Contacts’ folder, and then click ‘Next’.
- Now, provide a name for the CSV file and click the Browsebutton to select a save location. Then, click Next.
- Click ‘Finish.’
Your contacts will be saved in a CSV file at the selected location. To check if all your contacts have been successfully exported, open the CSV file in Excel or any other program that supports the .csv format.
If you want to export your Outlook contacts to PST file using the Import and Export wizard, then follow the steps given below:
- In your Outlook, click on ‘File’.
- Select ‘Open & Export’ and then click on ‘Import/Export’.
- In the Import and Export wizard, select ‘Export to a file’, and then click ‘Next’.
- In the ‘Export to a File’window, choose Outlook Data File (.pst), and click on ‘Next’.
- Now, select the ‘Contacts’ folder and click on the ‘Next’
- Press the ‘Browse’ button to select the destination to save the PST file.
- Select the radio button ‘Replace duplicates with items exported’and then click ‘Finish’.
- In ‘Create Outlook Data File’dialog box, you can password-protect the PST file (optional). If you don’t want to password-protect the PST file, just click ‘OK’.
The Outlook will begin exporting your contacts to PST file. Wait for the export process to complete.
Method 2 – Export Contacts from Outlook using an OST Converter Software
The above method is quite lengthy and time-consuming. To easily and quickly export the contacts from Outlook, you can take the help of an advanced OST to PST converter software. Stellar Converter for OST is one such software that can help you export contacts from Outlook OST file to PST or CSV file in just a few simple steps. It comes in handy if your Outlook is not working. The software extracts contacts, emails, and other mail items from OST file and save them in PST and various other formats. Download and install the Stellar Converter for OST software on your Windows system and follow the steps given below to export the contacts:
- Launch Stellar Converter for OST.
- On the main interface, click on the ‘Browse’ button and select the OST file from which you want to extract the contacts. You can also use the ‘Find’ button to search the OST file on your system, if you do not know the file location.
- After selecting the OST file, click the ‘Convert’
- Once the process is complete, the software will list all the OST mail items including the Contacts. You can click on the Contacts folder to preview its contents.
- Select the ‘Contacts’ folder from the left-hand pane.
- From the ‘Home’ menu, select ‘Save All Contacts as CSV’.
- Now, click the Browsebutton to select the location on your system where you want to save the CSV file and then click OK.
Your Outlook contacts will be saved in .csv file at your desired location on your system.
Similarly, you can save the Contacts in PST file format. You just need to select the Save as PST option while saving the converted file.
Conclusion
Outlook users need to export contacts from Outlook due to different reasons. In this article, we have mentioned different methods to export contacts from Outlook. The manual method is time-consuming and may not work if the Outlook is not working or if the OST file is inaccessible. In such cases, the best option is to use a reliable OST converter software, like Stellar Converter for OST. The software can easily extract the contacts from the OST file and then export them to CSV or PST format in just a few simple and quick steps.
