Communication and Social Networking

All of my personal and professional contact information was stored within my corporate Outlook Address Book. I initially printed out my address book and started hand entering contacts into my new Gmail account. As an IT professional, I knew there had to be a better way, and once I stopped took a breath, I realized that all of the communication and social networking tools have the ability to export and import contact information.

Please find below the steps I took to export my address book out of Outlook and import this information into my newly created Gmail and LinkedIn accounts.

Export Outlook Address Book

Select Contact Tab -- File -> Import and Export -> Export to a file -> NEXT
Select Comma Separated Values (Windows) -> NEXT
Select folder to Export from: -> Contacts -> NEXT
Save Export as a file -> Browse -> NEXT -> FINISH

Import into Gmail

Gmail requires that your imported address book be in a CSV format. Spreadsheet programs like Microsoft Excel make it easy to create and edit CSV files.

Your CSV file should be formatted as a table and must include a header, or first line, that defines the fields in your table. Gmail accepts many common header fields (name, email address, etc.). If you're updating an existing file, you probably won't need to change your header field names; if you're creating a new file and need some guidance, you can use any of the field names used in the examples below.

Outlook.CSV Table Format:

First Name Last Name Email Address
Stephen Matteson mattesonsp@gmail.com

Select “Contacts” -> Upper Right “Import” -> “Browse”
Select “Outlook.csv”

Import into LinkedIn

LinkedIn will allow you to import directly off of your Outlook address book.

Select Contacts -> Import Contacts -> Upper Right “Add Connections”
At the lower right side of the screen you will see an icon “Check Outlook Contacts” that will allow you to import directly off of your Outlook Address book

NOTE: You will be prompted to download an additional application that will assist you with this process. Your import list will also show which contacts you have already LinkedIn and will allow you to deselect and select who you would like to reach out too.