can't export full email address list from outlook

Question

I need to transfer an outlook email address list to another account. The system tells me that I have 132 people in 'your contacts'. When I select 'manage contacts' then 'export contacts', only 58 of the contacts are exported. There does not seem to be any pattern as to those which are exported or not exported. I see that there have been similar questions in the past. Is there a solution?

Answer 1

Hi @Julia W, 

Thank you for reaching out.

I understand that you are encountering an issue where only a portion of your contact list is being exported from the New Outlook for Windows, despite the system indicating a total of 132 entries. 

The discrepancy between your 132 total contacts and the 58 exported occurs because the New Outlook tool defaults strictly to your primary Contacts folder. The remaining entries likely reside in locations the standard export often skips, such as "Suggested Contacts" or the organizational Global Address List. Additionally, any contacts nested within specific subfolders or categories are frequently overlooked unless they are manually selected for inclusion. To capture your full list, you will need to identify these secondary storage areas and either consolidate them into the main folder or export them individually. 

To ensure you successfully capture all 132 contacts, please attempt the following methods: 

1/ Review your contact sources:  

Verify if the missing 74 entries are stored under "Suggested Contacts" or if they are part of the organizational "Directory" (Global Address List), as these specific categories are often excluded from a standard export. 

2/ Export via Outlook Web Access (OWA) 

The web-based version of Outlook often handles cloud-syncing data more effectively than the desktop application. 

• Log in to your account at outlook.office.com. 
• Navigate to the People module. 
• Select Manage contacts > Export contacts. 
• Verify if the dropdown menu allows you to select "All contacts" or specific folders where the missing entries may reside. 

3/ Consolidate Folders in New Outlook 

If your contacts are split between "Your Contacts" and "Other," the export may fail to bridge them. 

• In the People tab, select the contacts that were missing from your previous export. 
• Right-click and select Move to folder, then choose your primary Contacts folder. 
• Once consolidated, attempt the export again. 

4/ Revert to Classic Outlook 

The New Outlook is still evolving and occasionally lacks the deep indexing of the original version. 

• Toggle off the New Outlook switch in the upper-right corner to return to the Classic interface. 
• Go to File > Open & Export > Import/Export. 
• Select Export to a file > Comma Separated Values. 
• This version allows you to manually browse the entire folder tree, ensuring you select the specific folder containing all 132 entries. 

I hope these steps resolve the issue and allow for a seamless transition of your data. Please let me know if the discrepancy persists or if you require further clarification on any of these steps. 

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Answer 2

In new Outlook, export only includes contacts from the folder that is selected for export. The lower number (58) indicates that only one contacts folder or subset is being exported, while the total (132) is counting all contacts across folders.

To get all contacts out, check and export from the correct folder(s):

1. In new Outlook, open the People view from the side panel.
2. In the left folder list, check whether there are multiple contact folders (for example, Your contacts, Contacts, or other address lists). The total count (132) may be across more than one folder.
3. From the ribbon, select Manage contacts > Export contacts.
4. In the Contacts from this folder dropdown, choose the folder that actually contains the missing contacts (not just the default one), then select Export.
5. Repeat the export for any additional contact folders and combine the resulting CSV files if needed.

If using the Insiders version of new Outlook where only a single Export contacts button appears, it exports the contacts from the currently selected People folder. Switch to each contacts folder in turn and export again.

If some contacts are still missing after checking all folders, export from Outlook on the web instead, which lets you export All contacts:

1. In Outlook on the web/Outlook.com, go to People.
2. Select Manage contacts > Export contacts.
3. Choose All contacts and select Export to create a CSV with everything, then import that file into the other account.

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References:

• Import or export contacts in Outlook using a .csv file
• Export contacts in Outlook
• Export contacts from Outlook.com or Outlook on the web