{"id":1463,"date":"2015-07-15T10:05:25","date_gmt":"2015-07-15T10:05:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stellaroutlooktools.com\/blog\/?p=1463"},"modified":"2015-07-15T10:05:25","modified_gmt":"2015-07-15T10:05:25","slug":"guide-to-import-export-move-or-copy-the-outlook-address-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stellaroutlooktools.com\/blog\/guide-to-import-export-move-or-copy-the-outlook-address-book\/","title":{"rendered":"Guide to Import \/Export \/Move or Copy the Outlook Address Book"},"content":{"rendered":"

Transporting or moving<\/strong>\/copying\/importing<\/strong>\/exporting<\/strong> Outlook Contacts or Address Book is quite frequently required and is often a tricky<\/strong> task to complete. To successfully achieve it with all data intact, one needs to properly understand what the process is all about and know exactly what settings to use.<\/p>\n

This article will serve as a guide<\/strong> for all those who wish to understand<\/strong> what the Outlook Address Book (OAB<\/strong>) is and how to move<\/strong> it between computers.<\/p>\n

Outlook Address Book \u2013 The Basics<\/strong><\/p>\n

Each Windows PC<\/strong> that has Microsoft Outlook<\/strong> installed has a default OAB<\/strong> that consolidates all the Outlook Contacts folders. Contrary to general perception, the OAB is not a physical address book<\/strong> but is a virtual concept. It is a highly customized \u201cView<\/strong>\u201d of the Contacts folder or in other words, the OAB is just a representation<\/strong> of underlying Contacts folders<\/strong>. It is hence NOT a standalone entity and should not be thought of as such. Microsoft Outlook also doesn\u2019t save the OAB as a file that is separate from your data store. On a local machine, the presence of the OAB is termed as a Personal Address Book<\/strong> (PAB). In contrast to the OAB, the PAB is a physical address book that is saved on the disk<\/strong> by Outlook and it is separate from your data store.<\/p>\n

Now that we\u2019re through with the basics, let\u2019s get straight<\/strong> to the main focus of this article, that is, moving \/copying the OAB and exporting<\/strong> \/ importing it.<\/p>\n

How to copy PAB (physical OAB) to another computer<\/strong><\/p>\n

The PAB file has an extension .pab<\/strong> and it is created as soon as you add it to your email profile. To copy it to another computer:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. In Outlook Tools menu, click on E-mail Accounts -> Directory -> View<\/strong> or change existing directories or address books -> Next<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  2. Under \u201cYou can choose a directory or address book below to change or remove it<\/strong>\u201d, click Personal Address Book -> Change. Copy the path<\/strong> of your PAB file that is in the \u201cPath\u201d box.<\/li>\n
  3. Quit Outlook<\/strong> and any associated email programs and open Windows Explorer<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  4. In the address bar of Windows Explorer, paste the path of the PAB file you copied<\/strong> in step 2.<\/li>\n
  5. You\u2019ll find the PAB file in the folder that opens. From here you can select and copy the PAB file to another computer via any appropriate media. If the source<\/strong> and target<\/strong> computer are on the same network<\/strong>, you can even paste the PAB file in a shared folder and access it from the target computer.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    How to Export Outlook Address Book<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Exporting the Outlook Address Book from Outlook 2010<\/em><\/strong>:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Launch Outlook 2010<\/strong> and click File -> Options.<\/li>\n
    2. An \u201cOutlook Options\u201d window will open, click Advanced -> Export<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    3. An \u201cImport and Export Wizard\u201d window will open, select \u2018Export to a file\u2019 and then click on Next.<\/li>\n
    4. An \u201cExport to a file<\/strong>\u201d window will open, select \u201cComma Separated Values<\/strong> (Windows<\/strong>)\u201d and then click on Next.<\/li>\n
    5. Under \u201cSelect folder to export from:<\/strong>\u201d click on \u2018Contacts\u2019 and then click on Next.<\/li>\n
    6. Under \u201cSave exported file as\u201d click Browse to select a destination folder. Thereafter type the target file name and click on OK.<\/li>\n
    7. Click on Next. Confirm that the \u201cExport Contacts from folder: Contacts\u201d option is checked. If you wish, you can click on \u201cMap Custom Fields<\/strong>\u201d to individually select the contact fields that you wish to export.<\/li>\n
    8. Lastly to complete the process, click on Finish<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Exporting <\/em><\/strong>the<\/em> Outlook<\/em> Address Book <\/em><\/strong>from<\/em> Outlook 2013:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Launch Outlook 2013<\/strong> and click File > Open & Export > Import\/Export<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
      2. An \u201cImport\/Export wizard\u201d will open, click on \u2018Export to a file\u2019 and then click on Next.<\/li>\n
      3. An \u201cExport to a file\u201d window will open, select \u201cComma Separated Values (Windows)\u201d and then click on Next.<\/li>\n
      4. Under \u201cSelect folder to export from:<\/strong>\u201d click on \u2018Contacts\u2019 and then click on Next.<\/li>\n
      5. Under \u201cSave exported file as\u201d click Browse to select a destination folder. Thereafter type the target file name and click on OK.<\/li>\n
      6. Click on Next. Confirm that the \u201cExport Contacts from folder: Contacts\u201d option is checked If you wish, you can click on \u201cMap Custom Fields\u201d to individually select the contact fields that you wish to export.<\/li>\n
      7. Lastly to complete the process, click on Finish.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Note:<\/strong> It is important to remember<\/strong> that through this process individual contacts<\/strong> in the address book<\/strong> will be exported but contact groups will not. They will have to be recreated at the target location.<\/p>\n

        How to Import Outlook Address Book<\/strong><\/p>\n

        Outlook Contact data stored in a file system<\/strong>\u00a0or spread sheet<\/strong> (CSV) can be easily imported into another Outlook client. The columns and fields can be mapped flexibly<\/strong> during the import<\/strong>. Here are the steps to import Contacts from a CSV file<\/strong> or Excel sheet<\/strong> into Outlook:<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Launch Outlook and click File -> Import and Export.<\/li>\n
        2. An \u201cImport\/Export wizard<\/strong>\u201d will open, click on \u2018Import from another program or file\u2019 and then click on Next.<\/li>\n
        3. An \u201cImport from a file\u201d window will open, select \u201cComma Separated Values (Windows)\u201d and then click on Next.<\/li>\n
        4. Under \u201cSelect file to import from:\u201d click Browse to select the desired file.<\/li>\n
        5. Check \u201cDo not import duplicate items<\/strong>\u201d and click on Next.<\/li>\n
        6. Select the Outlook folder where you want to import the Contacts (typically your Contacts folder). Click on Next.<\/li>\n
        7. Click on \u201cMap Custom Fields<\/strong>\u201d and map all columns from the CSV to the desired fields in the OAB.\n
            \n
          • New mappings can be created by dragging the column title to the desired field.<\/li>\n
          • Previous mappings of the same column are thus replaced by new ones.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
          • Click on OK<\/strong> and lastly to complete the process, click on Finish<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            To sum it up<\/strong><\/p>\n

            No task is difficult<\/strong> if you have the adequate<\/strong> knowledge about it. Just follow<\/strong> the above<\/strong> mentioned steps<\/strong> and perform all operations<\/strong> with the Outlook Address Book<\/strong> (OAB) successfully.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Transporting or moving\/copying\/importing\/exporting Outlook Contacts or Address Book is quite frequently required and is often a tricky task to complete. To successfully achieve it with all data intact, one needs to properly understand what the process is all about and know exactly what settings to use. This article will serve as a guide for all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1464,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[90],"tags":[422,420,421],"amp_validity":null,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stellaroutlooktools.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1463"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stellaroutlooktools.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stellaroutlooktools.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stellaroutlooktools.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stellaroutlooktools.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1463"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.stellaroutlooktools.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1463\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1465,"href":"https:\/\/www.stellaroutlooktools.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1463\/revisions\/1465"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stellaroutlooktools.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stellaroutlooktools.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stellaroutlooktools.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stellaroutlooktools.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}