Contact data stored in an Excel spreadsheet can be easily exported and then imported into Outlook. Once the Excel file is saved in CSV format, you can import it into your Outlook contact list.
Save your contacts as a CSV file
The contact list below is stored in an Excel spreadsheet. Make sure your Excel spreadsheet is labeled similarly.
To export the document as CSV, first click on “File” to open the menu. Then select Save As > Browse.
Specify the location of the saved file on your computer, and then select “CSV (Comma Delimited)” in the Save as type list. Click the “Save” button.
Close the Excel workbook. The contacts are ready to be imported into Outlook.
Import contacts from a CSV file to Outlook
Open Outlook and then click on “File” to open the menu. From there select Open & Export > Import/Export.
Select “Import from another program or file” and then click the “Next” button.
Highlight the “Comma Separated Values” option and then click the “Next” button.
Select the “Browse” button to find the CSV file you want to import.
Choose an option for how you would like Outlook to handle duplicate contact details and click the “Next” button.
In this example, “Replace duplicates with imported items” is selected. This will update the existing contacts in Outlook with the latest contact details.
Select the destination folder for the imported contacts and then click the “Next” button. The destination folder will probably be the Contacts folder, but it could be a different folder that can store contact details.
Make sure the action to import your contact list to Outlook is selected.
Click the “Map Custom Fields” button. This will allow us to correctly match the column headers in the Excel spreadsheet with the corresponding fields in Outlook.
In the Custom Fields Map window, the fields from the CSV file appear in the “From” panel on the left. In the “To” pane on the right, the fields from the Contacts folder in Outlook are displayed.
All fields that have already been successfully matched are listed in the “Assigned from” column to the right.
The Email Address field did not match. To work around this problem, click and drag the Email Address field from left to right. Doing so will map the field. Click the “OK” button to continue.
A window may appear to show the progress of the import.
The contacts should now have been successfully imported into Outlook.
