Create contacts from distribution list members

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
  • Start date Start date
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Guest

A client of mine manually created a large distribution list in Outlook but
forgot to check the "Add to Contacts" box when creating the entries. How can
I now propagate all the members of the Distribution list to his contacts?
 
Save it as an RTF file
Open in Word and convert to a text file
Open in Excel and convert it to a CSV file. Take care to clean up and create
the correct Field Names over each column.
Import this CSV file into your Outlook Contacts Folder
 
Actually it's easier than that. Save it as a .txt file, then open in Notepad to remove the top few lines, everything but the names and addresses. The resulting text file is tab-delimited and can be readily imported using the File | Import and Export command.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Microsoft Outlook 2007 Programming:
Jumpstart for Power Users and Administrators
http://www.outlookcode.com/article.aspx?id=54


Russ Valentine said:
Save it as an RTF file
Open in Word and convert to a text file
Open in Excel and convert it to a CSV file. Take care to clean up and create
the correct Field Names over each column.
Import this CSV file into your Outlook Contacts Folder

--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
Brian said:
A client of mine manually created a large distribution list in Outlook but
forgot to check the "Add to Contacts" box when creating the entries. How
can
I now propagate all the members of the Distribution list to his contacts?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
True, but only just. I added the extra crutches since more users would be
familiar with the process. Many won't realize that a file they save from
Notepad can be a tab delimited file and that they even can name "columns" in
that file. Send them to Excel where columns rule to do the same thing and
they are as happy as clams.
I've always wondered why clams are happy and oysters are not. Each seems to
have the same existence and fate.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
Actually it's easier than that. Save it as a .txt file, then open in Notepad
to remove the top few lines, everything but the names and addresses. The
resulting text file is tab-delimited and can be readily imported using the
File | Import and Export command.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Microsoft Outlook 2007 Programming:
Jumpstart for Power Users and Administrators
http://www.outlookcode.com/article.aspx?id=54


Russ Valentine said:
Save it as an RTF file
Open in Word and convert to a text file
Open in Excel and convert it to a CSV file. Take care to clean up and
create
the correct Field Names over each column.
Import this CSV file into your Outlook Contacts Folder

--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
Brian said:
A client of mine manually created a large distribution list in Outlook but
forgot to check the "Add to Contacts" box when creating the entries. How
can
I now propagate all the members of the Distribution list to his contacts?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Aw, that's obvious: Clams are tougher. They don't know any better than to be happy. Oysters, on the other hand, are sweeter and more sensitive to their surroundings. They may not always be happy, but they live life to the fullest.
 
Sue Mosher said:
Aw, that's obvious: Clams are tougher. They don't know any better
than to be happy. Oysters, on the other hand, are sweeter and more
sensitive to their surroundings.
Click to expand...

However, any noisy noise annoys an oyster.
 
That did it. I was just hoping for a drag-and-drop option, but no such luck.

Thanks.

Sue Mosher said:
Actually it's easier than that. Save it as a .txt file, then open in Notepad to remove the top few lines, everything but the names and addresses. The resulting text file is tab-delimited and can be readily imported using the File | Import and Export command.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Microsoft Outlook 2007 Programming:
Jumpstart for Power Users and Administrators
http://www.outlookcode.com/article.aspx?id=54


Russ Valentine said:
Save it as an RTF file
Open in Word and convert to a text file
Open in Excel and convert it to a CSV file. Take care to clean up and create
the correct Field Names over each column.
Import this CSV file into your Outlook Contacts Folder

--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
Brian said:
A client of mine manually created a large distribution list in Outlook but
forgot to check the "Add to Contacts" box when creating the entries. How
can
I now propagate all the members of the Distribution list to his contacts?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I tried both suggestions, Russ and Sue. I completely failed with Sue's
suggestion, but Russ's worked great.
It's worth noting that Microsoft's instructions for loading a distribution
list into contacts was completely wrong, as the command "Add to Outlook
Contacts" did not appear on the shortcut menu that appeared on right-clicking
the distribution list attachment. Why should this be so difficult?

Brian said:
That did it. I was just hoping for a drag-and-drop option, but no such luck.

Thanks.

Sue Mosher said:
Actually it's easier than that. Save it as a .txt file, then open in Notepad to remove the top few lines, everything but the names and addresses. The resulting text file is tab-delimited and can be readily imported using the File | Import and Export command.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Microsoft Outlook 2007 Programming:
Jumpstart for Power Users and Administrators
http://www.outlookcode.com/article.aspx?id=54


Russ Valentine said:
Save it as an RTF file
Open in Word and convert to a text file
Open in Excel and convert it to a CSV file. Take care to clean up and create
the correct Field Names over each column.
Import this CSV file into your Outlook Contacts Folder

--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
A client of mine manually created a large distribution list in Outlook but
forgot to check the "Add to Contacts" box when creating the entries. How
can
I now propagate all the members of the Distribution list to his contacts?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Because Microsoft has never developed DL's as a reliable or consistent
feature. As a result, most of us abandoned them in favor of more reliable
ways to group recipients in Outlook.

DL's vary greatly in their behavior depending on their environment (AD,
Exchange mailbox, or PST) and on how they were created (as links to Contact
Records within the same folder or as standalone containers of names and
email addresses not found elsewhere in the folder). Once a DL is moved from
the folder in which it was created it usually cannot survive without
intensive care. I've changed the status of all my DL's to DNR. We have to
start rationing healthcare somewhere.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
sweetolive said:
I tried both suggestions, Russ and Sue. I completely failed with Sue's
suggestion, but Russ's worked great.
It's worth noting that Microsoft's instructions for loading a distribution
list into contacts was completely wrong, as the command "Add to Outlook
Contacts" did not appear on the shortcut menu that appeared on
right-clicking
the distribution list attachment. Why should this be so difficult?

Brian said:
That did it. I was just hoping for a drag-and-drop option, but no such
luck.

Thanks.

Sue Mosher said:
Actually it's easier than that. Save it as a .txt file, then open in
Notepad to remove the top few lines, everything but the names and
addresses. The resulting text file is tab-delimited and can be readily
imported using the File | Import and Export command.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Microsoft Outlook 2007 Programming:
Jumpstart for Power Users and Administrators
http://www.outlookcode.com/article.aspx?id=54


Save it as an RTF file
Open in Word and convert to a text file
Open in Excel and convert it to a CSV file. Take care to clean up and
create
the correct Field Names over each column.
Import this CSV file into your Outlook Contacts Folder

--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
A client of mine manually created a large distribution list in
Outlook but
forgot to check the "Add to Contacts" box when creating the entries.
How
can
I now propagate all the members of the Distribution list to his
contacts?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
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