How To Transfer Outlook Contacts

If you are looking for a way to transfer a list of contacts from one Outlook to another or you want to add them to your Gmail or iCloud account, we have you covered.

You could apparently re-add the contacts to other accounts manually which can take a lot of time and effort. But there is a sleek and quicker way to do it.

So without further delay, let’s get right into the article and learn about various ways of transferring your Outlook contacts.

How to Transfer Outlook Contacts

Transferring your Outlook contacts is basically a two-step process. First, you export the CSV file and then import it into the application to which you want to add the contacts.

In this article, we discuss different ways to transfer your Outlook contacts across Gmail, iPhone, and among multiple Outlook accounts.

Using the Outlook Desktop Application

If you have an Outlook desktop application, you can transfer contacts in the following two steps.

Export

Before you can get your hands on the contacts on one of your Outlook accounts, you need to export them in CSV format. Here’s how you can do it.

Open the Outlook app.
On the top menu bar, click on File.
Then, click on Open & Export and select the Import/Export option on the right pane.
On the Import and Export Wizard windows prompt, select the Export to a file option and click on Next.
Choose Comma Separate Values under ‘Create a file of type field.’
On the Select folder to export from the window, choose the Contacts option.
Save to your preferred location on the PC.

Import

Once you have obtained the CSV file, you can use it to import and add the list of contacts to your Outlook app on another computer. Here’s how you can do it.

Open the Outlook app.
Click on the File tab and then the Import & Export option.
On the right pane, click on Import/Export.
Select the Import from another program or file option on the Import and Export wizard window.
Then, on the Import a File window prompt, select the Comma Separated Values option and click on Next.
Under the File to import field, click on Browse, navigate to the file location, and open the CSV file. Then, click on Next. Furthermore, you can choose one of three options under the Options section according to your preferences.
- Replace duplicates with items imported: Combines contacts from the previous Outlook account with the existing Outlook account.
- Allow duplicates to be created: Keeps Contacts from both accounts even if they are the same.
- Do not import duplicate items: Skip the contacts that are already in the existing Outlook account.

Under Select, a destination folder, select the Contacts option and click Next.
Then, ensure the checkbox under ‘The following actions will be performed:’ section is checked and click on Finish.

Using the Outlook Web App

Even if you don’t have Outlook installed on your system, you can use Outlook’s web app. It is more or less the same method as the desktop version. Here’s how you can do it.

Export

Open a browser and log in to your Outlook account.
On the left side, click on the small People icon.
Now, on the top-right corner, click on Manage and select the Export contacts option.
Save the CSV file to your preferred location.

Similarly, to import the contacts, choose the Import contacts option from the Manage dropdown.

How to Transfer/Sync Outlook Contacts to iPhone

If you are using an iPhone, you can access the Outlook account and then add/sync its contacts to the device. Here’s how you can do it:

Open the Settings app.
Scroll down to Accounts & Passwords and tap on it.
Then, tap on Add Account and select Outlook.com.
Enter your Outlook account credentials.
Next, toggle on the Contacts option and tap Save.

How to Import Outlook Contacts in Gmail

Once you export the CSV file, which contains your Outlook contacts, you can easily import them to your Gmail account. Here’s how you can do it.

Open a browser and log in to your Gmail account.
Then on the top-right corner of the window, click on the Google apps icon(9 dots forming a square) next to your profile icon and select the Contacts option.
On the left sidebar, click Import and then Select file.
Navigate to the CSV file, double-click on it, and click on Import.
Wait for the import process until the All done message appears from the bottom.

Also, you can add the contacts on your Gmail account to your Outlook account by exporting the CSV file from Gmail and importing them into the Outlook account.