4 Steps to Extract Individual Contacts from Distribution List in Outlook

If you receive a distribution list in Outlook, would you like to save and convert it to individual contacts, instead of a group? This article will introduce an effective and efficient method to you.

When I receive a distribution list, I prefer to expand the group in the message and then add them individually to my contacts folder. To be honest, it will take me a great deal of time. I look forward to a handier and quicker approach.

Step 1: Save the Distribution List as Text File to Your Desktop

1. For a start, drag the received contact group from the message to the Contacts icon in the navigation pane, saving it to your Contacts folder.
2. Then pitch on the group in Contacts folder. And go to “File” > “Save as”.
3. Next in the popup window, change “Save as type” to “Text only”, and select “Desktop” as the saving destination.
4. Lastly, click “save” button.

Step 2: Transfer the Contacts into an Excel File

1. To start with, open the previously saved text file by notepad.
2. Then copy all the lines with the names and email addresses by “Ctrl + C” key shortcut.
3. Next open MS Excel application. In the cell A1, type “Name”. And in the cell B1, input “Email Address”.
4. After that, put the cursor on the cell A2 and press “Ctrl + V” to paste the lines.
5. Later go to “File” > “Save As”.
6. In the emerging window of “Save As”, choose “Desktop” as the saving location. And then specify a name for this file, such as “Contacts”.
7. Select “CSV (MS-DOS)” in the “Save as type” field. And ultimately, press “Save” button.

Step 3: Ensure that Names and Email Addresses Are Separated by Commas

1. After backing to the Desktop, right click the CSV file and choose “Open with” > “Notepad”.
2. Then check if the names and corresponding email addresses are separated by commas. If not, you can use a built-in feature – “Replace” to change into commas in batches.

Step 4: Import the CSV File to Outlook Contacts Folder

1. At the outset, open Outlook and go to “File” > “Open” > “Import”.
2. In the arisen dialog box of “Import and Export Wizard”, choose “Import from another program or file” and click “Next” button.
3. Then in the subsequent screen of “Import a File”, select “Comma Separated Values (DOS)” and click “Next”.
4. Next click “Browse” button to select the source CSV file, and check “Do not import duplicate items”. Click “Next”.
5. Select the target contact folder to import the individual contacts. And press “Next”.
6. In the final screen of “Import a File”, click “Finish” button.
7. Eventually after the importing progress, the individual contacts will be added to your contacts folder in batches.

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Author Introduction:

Shirley Zhang is a data recovery expert in DataNumen, Inc., which is the world leader in data recovery technologies, including sql recovery and outlook repair software products. For more information visit www.datanumen.com